The Child Poverty Action Group is urging senior Government Ministers to put children first and find the money needed to reverse the cuts it has made to the school lunches programme.

CPAG has today written to Minister of Finance Nicola Willis with a ‘Budget Bid’ on behalf of the children of New Zealand.

CPAG Executive Director Sarita Divis said David Seymour, Erica Stanford, Winston Peters and Louise Upston had been copied into the bid and CPAG wanted one of them to put the bid in.

"It’s been problem after problem with school lunches this year: late deliveries, flies in food, inappropriate and unsafe food for students, a student in hospital with burns. Not to mention excessive wastage and lost economic opportunities for local community suppliers," Ms Divis said.

"The time has come for the Government to admit the cuts were a mistake and to put things right by funding the previous model properly."

CPAG was also concerned that nutritional information about the food under the new model was not clear. Good nutrition is essential for children, especially if they are not having breakfast or dinner.

A recent Talbot Mills poll showed 60 percent of voters want the government to reinstate the previous Ka Ora, Ka Ako system.

"Budgets and taxes are how we prioritise the things that really matter and the Government needs to put children first," Ms Divis said.

"Ministers will right now be putting in their Budget bids for Budget 2025. We ask the Ministers to consider stepping forward to do the right and compassionate thing, which is what most Kiwis want, and reverse the cuts for the children of New Zealand."

As well as reinstating the budgeted amount for food from $3 back to $8 per meal, CPAG wanted schools to once again be able to source school lunches from local community suppliers.

"The new model has been bad news for children. David Seymour continues to say it’s working well, but Kiwis know that’s just not the case," CPAG Deputy Chair Rich Greissman says.

"Funding needs to be found in Vote Education, which is within the power of both Ministers Stanford and Seymour."

Ms Divis said Minister Upston, as Minister for Child Poverty Reduction, was also well within her power to call for funding to be reversed.

"She has prioritised reducing material hardship in her Child and Youth Strategy over the next two years. Just last month she said school lunches were a part of the Government’s plan to curb rising child poverty figures," Ms Divis said.

"Corporate tax cuts or feeding hungry kids? It’s a no-brainer. The Government can find the money to do this. It is a choice."

Based on the 2023 and 2024 Budget Summary of Initiatives, CPAG refers to estimates of the cost of restoring school lunches to their 2024 standard, between $107-115 extra a year.

There are also hidden costs to the new model, with many schools citing unexpected costs associated with the new model that are not covered by the School Lunch Collective.

For example, schools are now having to employ people to remove waste which comes out of a school’s operations budget.

Background

The Ka Ora Ka Ako Healthy School Lunches programme was introduced in 2020 to meet genuine unmet needs in New Zealand classrooms and homes.

It was a policy created by New Zealand First when it was in government with Labour and championed by former NZ First MP Tracey Martin which is why Winston Peters has also been copied into CPAG’s letter.

In the lead up to the 2023 election, National leader Christopher Luxon described Ka Ora, Ka Ako as a "good programme" and promised it would "continue to improve each and every year under a National government".

A Ministry of Education evaluation of the original Ka Ora, Ka Ako in October 2022 found that the wellbeing results of the programme often exceeded expectations, with even greater benefits for students who rarely had enough food at home. Other benefits included less hunger at school, improvement in dietary patterns and greater local employment.

The Child Poverty Action group is concerned the new model for school lunches, along with the cuts to the programme budget, puts these gains at risk.

Under the Child Poverty Reduction Act (2018), the Government is legally required to address child poverty rates in the Budget with specific policies.

The Child Poverty Action Group believes an additional $115m a year of funding for the school lunches programme represents a remarkably small cost when the wider economic and social benefits of Ka Ora, Ka Ako are considered.

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