Catering giant Compass Group not included in next round of school lunch scheme

Associate Education Minister David Seymour says the average cost of a lunch under his scheme is $3.46 compared to up to $8.68 per student under Labour. Photo / NZME

Catering giant Compass Group has not been included in a list of suppliers contracted to deliver primary school lunches under the next chapter of David Seymour’s Ka Ora, Ka Ako scheme.

Contract winners include long-term providers such as Cafe Mahia, which Seymour said had a track record for being able to deliver lunches to isolated schools even during flooding and road closures.

“They have the know-how to deal with the unique asks of the region,” he said.

“The regional approach was found to best meet the needs of contributing primary schools in New Zealand. For example, many small primary schools serve remote communities.”

Other suppliers are Appresso Pro Foods, Montana Group, Ka Pai Kai, KDJ Catering, Star Fresh, University of Canterbury Student Association (UCSA), Knuckles (The Food Company), The Y Gisborne, Pita Pit and Subway.

The suppliers chosen will deliver lunches to 188 primary schools under the national Ka Ora, Ka Ako scheme.

Seymour’s secondary school lunches programme is a slimmed-down version of what was offered under the previous Labour Government.

The Act leader says the average cost of a lunch under his programme is $3.46 compared to up to $8.68 per student under Labour. This is expected to save $145 million in 2026, he says.

Primary schools will be included in the scheme from Term 1 next year, which would be funded by efficiencies made in the wider programme through more flexible ordering.

Some suppliers in the existing programme would be affected, which Seymour acknowledged “will be tough”.

“However, the emphasis of the programme is to ensure students get healthy meals at an affordable cost to the taxpayer.”

The announcement follows a rocky year for Compass.

BusinessDesk reporting has revealed undisclosed funding top-ups to Compass as well as food-safety failures and misleading statements on recycling and the beef mince being used.

Sean Teddy, the Ministry of Education’s hautū (Leader) operations and integration, said key factors when selecting suppliers included price point, ability to be operational within the required timeframe, sustainable practices, provision of data and reporting and school relationship management.

“Many contributing primaries have a small roll and NZ’s geographical layout, and the remote locations of many of these schools presents delivery challenges – especially in areas where road closure is common.

“The selected suppliers were the best match for these requirements for meal provision to contributing primary schools.”

Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.