KidsCan free meals a ‘huge help’ for Gate Pā preschoolers, families

Hudson Kriel, 1, eating the free food at Kids Campus, which comes from a KidsCan scheme. Photo / David Hall

• Preschoolers in Gate Pā are enjoying free meals from KidsCan, benefiting families and the community.
• Kids Campus receives meals for its 40 children, easing the burden on families and ensuring everyone is fed.
• The scheme, separate from the government’s programme, provides healthy meals adhering to safety guidelines.

While students around Aotearoa turned their noses up at the glitch-plagued Ka Ora, Ka Ako - Healthy School Lunches Programme, preschoolers in Gate Pā are chowing down on their new free food packages.

The free kai – which the children are “absolutely loving” – is provided via KidsCan and has become a “huge help” to many of their preschoolers’ families, and the wider community.

Kids Campus – a small, community-owned, not-for-profit incorporated society serving Gate Pā for more than 40 years – has been receiving free meals for its 40 children since March 31 after qualifying for the KidsCan ECE Food for Kids Programme.

The scheme is completely separate from the Government’s Healthy School Lunches Programme. The KidsCan scheme supplies free food to children aged 2 to 5 at eligible early childhood education centres around Aotearoa.

Kids Campus operations leader Melissa Jeffcoat said in only one month, it had made a huge difference to the centre’s tamariki, but also to less fortunate families in the community.

“Until now, parents had to pack lunchboxes, but some children would arrive without one.

“Now we know everyone’s being fed. Parents can donate fruit, biscuits or crackers to go towards morning and afternoon teas if they wish – but there’s no pressure. It’s taken a huge weight off many families.”

Hudson Kriel, one, eating the free food at Kids Campus, which comes from a KidsCan scheme. Photo / David Hall

Jeffcoat said Kids Campus was licensed for 40 children and staffed above government ratios – 1:3 for under-2s and 1:6 for over-2s – allowing staff to prepare and serve meals on-site at no extra cost.

“The food arrives from Auckland on Mondays and is well organised,” Jeffcoat said.

“The children have had things like beef lasagne with salad, egg sandwiches, fruit platters and yoghurt.

“Meals are healthy and adhere to the Ministry of Health choking guidelines for young children, so it removes any worry for us.”

Jeffcoat said some parents were initially apprehensive that their children wouldn’t like the meals, but now even the fussiest eaters had come around.

“When 29 of their friends are eating the same thing around the table, they want to try it too. Our children are absolutely loving the kai.”

Best of all, leftover meals did not go to waste, she said. Recently, extra lasagne was divided among several families in need, and peas that didn’t appeal to the kids were blitzed up and added to macaroni that was renamed “Hulk’s pasta”. Leftover fruit is blended into smoothies.

“We’re not just feeding children, we’re reaching the whole community,” Jeffcoat said.

“This is such a huge help for many of our whānau, and we could not be any more grateful and pleased with how it’s working out.”