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Kowhai Intermediate School is proud to promote healthy eating - but it wasn't all plain sailing getting the canteen up to scratch.
"There was a lot of resistance to saying goodbye to the pies," says principal Paul Douglas. "We had people saying that they wouldn't buy from the canteen any more, that they would buy on the way to school. They've got a taste for it now."
Soft drinks, pies and sweets are banned from the Kingsland school canteen and all changes to the menu go through its student-led Health Promoting Schools team.
Chicken burgers - at $2 - are the the most popular item. New additions this term include samosas, pork buns and American hot dogs, which sell for between $2 and $2.50.
"Some people go there most days," says Tessa Gray, 12, a student member of the health team and fan of the canteen's vegetarian design-a-sandwich option ($3.50). "Every day," adds Miki Ikeda, 11, another team member.
Jack Anderson, 12, says all items for sale get the Heart Foundation tick.
But small refinements, such as addressing the serving size of flavoured milk, are now on the agenda.
Fruit is on sale for 50 cents but Jack admits it tends to be more popular with the teachers than the students.
Meanwhile, the healthy-eating drive has sparked some entrepreneurial initiatives. Sushi is on the rise in several schools around town, thanks to a group that delivers to the gate. Ponsonby Intermediate introduced its own brand of bottled water when it banned soft drinks.
