School staff are dipping into their own pockets to feed teenagers at a middle-class Auckland college, as growing numbers of students turn up hungry.
The situation echoes survey findings from last year pointing to growing poverty in mid-decile schools.
Rutherford College principal Gary Moore has appealed to programme Eat My Lunch for help, and food from cooking classes is used to fill empty stomachs. He and up to 20 of his staff also fork out daily to buy food or replace kids' poor-quality lunches, which include pies and soft drinks.
Mr Moore spends an average of $10 a week at the 1300-pupil decile 5 secondary school. Total contributions from teachers and other staff amount to about $8000 a year.
"Staff will dip into their pockets for the kids because we want them to succeed," Mr Moore said. "It can be a balancing act."