Taupō Pita Pit keeps school running

Simon Kuriger (left) and Pita Pit's Alan Arnold (right) with Lake Taupo Christian School students who have received sports equipment and lunches.

Students at Lake Taupō Christian School are having a good meal and a great playtime, thanks to some help from Pita Pit Taupō.

The school receives daily lunches from Pita Pit as part of the Ministry of Education’s Ka Ora, Ka Ako Healthy School Lunches Programme.

Staff fill the orders for 136 students each day, getting to work at 7.30am to make sure the children have warm, healthy lunches to help them learn.

They have provided 11,500 lunches to the school this year alone.

The school was chosen along with others in the area for the free lunch programme through an equity index.

To remove the stigma that can surround free school lunches, every student gets one.

Students at the school told the Taupō and Tūrangi Herald it was hard to choose a favourite from the weekly lunch lineups because they were all good, but meatballs, pasta and butter chicken were among the top choices.

Pita Pit Taupō operator Alan Arnold said the lunches were not just tasty, but healthy too.

“All the food we do has very strict nutritional guidelines.”

This included wholewheat wraps, low- or no-sugar dishes, and sneaking vegetables into unexpected places.

“Even the brownie that we feed the kids is called a ‘hidden veggie brownie’.”

The meals also aim to be as low-waste as possible, as part of Pita Pit’s commitment to minimising the amount sent to landfill.

As well as making sure the students are well-fed, Pita Pit donates sports equipment to Lake Taupō Christian School, including basketballs, footballs and cricket gear.

The donations are made through the Tania Dalton Foundation, set up by Pita Pit CEO Duane Dalton in honour of his late wife.

Lake Taupō Christian School sports coordinator Simon Kuriger said the equipment was gratefully received.

“It just helps.

“[Equipment] gets lost and ruined and broken, so the replenishment is always great.

“It’s been a great help.”