School lunches cut by $107m: 'No more quinoa and hummus' - Seymour

David Seymour says the school lunch programme will feed more but cost less with a change of approach based on "the government's significant buying power".

The Act leader and Associate Education Minister said it showed the Government was treating taxpayers' money with respect, and will also mean an end to "quinoa, couscous, and hummus" lunches.

"It will be more like sandwiches and fruit."

Seymour said all students currently receiving a lunch through the programme would continue to receive one at school at a significantly lower cost to taxpayers.

“The Healthy School Lunches Programme will continue, alongside a new targeted programme for up to 10,000 two-to-five-year-olds in early learning services."

Seymour said the targeted programme for younger children would be for those who attended low-equity, not-for-profit, community-based early learning services.

It would be funded using the cost savings found in the lunch programme.

He said the first 1000 days were key to a child's development and he was proud the Government could "innovate to help even more children who need it".

Budget 2024 would provide $478 million of funding for the school lunches programme.

That would fund an interim model to be put in place for 2025 and 2026, while a full redesign of the programme is implemented, based on "commercial experience, data, and evidence", Seymour's office said in a statement.

According to an information sheet accompanying the announcement, the new approach would use "commercial acumen" and the government’s considerable buyer power to procure a range of goods nationally. it would distribute these to schools with students year 7 and over.

Schools would order food from a central source to store, prepare and distribute to students. That was aimed at providing "more flexibility to the school to adjust to the roll and attendance and allows intermediate and secondary school students more choice", an information sheet said.

Seymour said, in the meantime, there will be no change to the school lunch programme for primary children in years 0 to 6 who currently receive a taxpayer-funded lunch.

"An alternative provision model will be established for years 7 and up."

He said the new model would "save money on food, give schools more flexibility on what they provide, and significantly reduce wastage".

"It also means parents and students can choose to make their own lunch."

Currently school lunches are offered to all students at participating schools, an approach the Ministry of Education website says is in an attempt to avoid the stigma free lunches might bring to children who need it.

“Because of the fiscal cliff left by the previous government, we have had to fund an interim solution for 2025 and 2026 in an environment of extreme fiscal restraint to ensure we do not leave children and their families in the lurch," Seymour said.

“Through innovation and embracing commercial expertise, we’re delivering a better programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million per annum compared to how Labour funded it.

“The previous Government conditioned people to believe that the only way to show your love as a government is to spend more money and employ more people. We think getting improved outcomes for all New Zealanders is better and those things are not always connected.

“Students will receive nutritious food that they want to eat. It will be made up of the sorts of food items thousands of mums and dads put into lunch boxes every day for their kids – forget quinoa, couscous, and hummus, it will be more like sandwiches and fruit."

Students at schools receiving taxpayer-funded lunches would also continue to be supported by the Kickstart Breakfast and Fruit in Schools programmes, Seymour's statement said.

For the remainder of 2024, the school lunches programme will remain as is with all current contracts and commitments in place.

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.