A funding boost will see more Rotorua primary school children able to order a nutritious and affordable lunch as Ka Pai Kai Rotorua gears up to fill as many young bellies as possible.
It's hoped the $12,500 grant from BayTrust will help the charity expand its low-cost lunch order serviceinto more schools in the near future.
Nine schools are already involved in the initiative and the money will help cover operational costs so the programme can continue to expand.
Ka Pai Kai treasurer Aroha Dorset said they were "absolutely stoked".
"Because we only sell lunches at cost, we need to find money to fund all of our overheads. Every bit helps especially when we're starting off and trying to grow. Growing actually costs a lot of money."
Ka Pai Kai Rotorua is searching for a new location to set up a commercial kitchen and wants to buy more equipment so it can service more schools and establish an income stream.
Dorset said one of their main goals was to be self-sustaining.
"Ideas on how to do that include selling workplace lunches, frozen meals for family dinners, and a lunch bar for local mountain bikers or people attending multisport events in Rotorua.
Ka Pai Kai Rotorua began in mid-2017 and now makes and delivers 600 - 800 school lunches a week. Photo / File
"We're also looking to get into the education space as well by setting up cooking classes, running school holiday programmes or teaching kids about nutrition in the classroom. We don't just want to feed them, we want to teach them to feed themselves."
Ka Pai Kai Rotorua began in mid-2017 and now makes and delivers 600 to 800 school lunches a week. Prices vary from $2.50 for soup and a bread roll, to $4.50 for hot lasagne or cottage pie.
Several corporate sponsors have come on board so some schools receive free lunches or a further discount.
"The feedback we've had from schools is that attendance rates are better and concentration levels are better," Dorset said.
"Kids like going to school more because they know they're going to be fed. We're also having an impact by changing their palates away from sweet and salty food so healthy food is becoming more normal for them."
Ingredients are sourced locally where possible and each lunch is designed to be nutritious, filling and affordable.
BayTrust chief executive Alastair Rhodes said the new grant acknowledged the important work Ka Pai Kai was doing to address poverty in the community and help Rotorua children to thrive.
"It's pretty hard to concentrate and do well at school if you have an empty stomach. The sad reality is that many of our young tamariki don't have enough to eat so providing a healthy lunch at school for a nominal cost can make a big difference to their future success.
"Strengthening whanau is a key priority for BayTrust and will help us achieve our vision of making the Bay of Plenty 'the greatest place to be'. We applaud Ka Pai Kai's efforts and are looking forward to helping them expand their reach even further in the coming 12 months."
