School lunch funding cut ‘a huge step backwards’

School lunch funding cut ‘a huge step backwards’

A change to the free school lunch programme is going to be a “huge step backwards” for Ōtaki College, says principal Andy Fraser.

The government announced in the Budget on May 8 that from the end of the year, funding for year 7 students and above through the lunch programme Ka Ora, Ka Ako would reduce from $8 a child to $3. That affects secondary and intermediate schools; current funding would continue to apply to primary schools, at least to the end of 2026.

The college has in the past year been provided with school lunches through Te Puna Oranga o Ōtaki (TPOŌ), prepared at the old health camp and delivered fresh to the college. Next year it will have to go back to a centralised provider, and deal with the logistics of ordering, storing and serving food to students, or no lunches.

“Under a centralised system, the quality of food, the service and the ability to respond to local needs was totally inadequate,” Andy says. “When we went to Te Puna Oranga there was a significant leap in the uptake of food by the kids, there was very little wastage and it employed local people.

“It was just the ideal model for us. This move is a huge step backwards.”

He couldn’t see how students could be well fed for $3.

“I think it’s just a political move to save money, rather than spend it on a really good initiative like Te Puna Oranga. It’s cutting costs and affecting families that actually need the support. Those families rely on their kids being fed at school so they can use what money they have for rent or kai on the table at night. They won’t be able to do that any more.

“And who will it impact the greatest – most likely Māori. It seems to me that this is just another policy designed by this government to try and put Māori on the back foot.”

Andy says when the government in Finland restructured its education system, it de-politicised education and introduced universal school lunches as a key initiative.

“They recognised that kids who were well fed, had good relationships in schools and were well cared for, were more likely to learn than those who didn’t.”

The changes for New Zealand will not only locally affect Ōtaki College.

Te Puna Oranga o Ōtaki has geared up in the past couple of years to provide lunches to more than 1000 local students every school day. Losing the college – that has about 460 students – could mean the loss of four local jobs, but kaiwhakahaere (general manager) Heniti Buick says she’s also worried about the health and well-being of students and the community.

“Next year Ōtaki College will come out from Te Puna Oranga o Ōtaki and back into a system that failed them in the first instance,” she says. “The funding reduction for older children is going to have detrimental effects not only on the health and learning ability of our students, but also put further strain on our economically stretched community.”

She says schools that have both years 6 and 7 – especially the kura kaupapa Māori – will have to split their systems.

“A tikanga lens would mean everyone receives the same meal in the same setting,” Heniti says. “The new system would mean teina [young siblings] are fed on site, while their tuakana [older siblings] have to wait for a separate delivery, or get something heated out of the school freezer.”

She says TPOO has supported Ōtaki kura to let the government know how the changes will affect their students, and ask that the iwi/hapū model should be considered.Ōtaki