Shari Thoumine with her assistants Felix and Brandon distribute the new lunch packs at Keith St School.
Photo / Bevan Conley
Shari Thoumine with her assistants Felix and Brandon distribute the new lunch packs at Keith St School.
Photo / Bevan Conley
As far as children at Keith St School are concerned, there really is such a thing as a free lunch.
Two beef sandwiches, a salad and a banana muffin followed by an apple were in the lunch pack on Wednesday, while children with special dietary needs have individually tailored options.
Keith St is one of around 640 New Zealand schools selected to join the Government's school lunch programme which began this week.
"I really liked the muffin," eight-year-old Olivia said.
"It's only the second day but we are seeing positive peer pressure in action, where children are trying foods they think they don't like because their neighbour is eating it," she said.
While some eligible schools have opted to employ their own caterers for the programme, Keith St elected the option to have the Ministry of Education choose the provider. The lunches are made by Compass Group NZ.
Teacher aide Shari Thoumine has taken on the task of delivering them to the classrooms where everyone sits down together to say a karakia kai before eating together.
There are more than 30 new entrants at Keith St this year and they share a big table with year 1 and 2 students who take on a 'senior role' of modelling lunchtime etiquette and assisting teachers with the distribution.
Thoumine said there were a few blips on the first two days and there were a few extra lunches available due to absences but no-one has missed out.
"The food stays at the right temperature in the containers for up to five hours," she said.
"We are looking at getting a big fridge to store extras so they can be eaten later or sent home."
Ireton said the school had been supplying lunches with support from a local church group and the demand had trebled since the start of Covid last year.
"This means all the children get lunch at school unless their parents wish to opt out of the programme. That takes a lot of pressure off us and our families."
Pupils at Keith St School in Whanganui thought the lunch packs delivered this week were quite tasty.
Photo / Bevan Conley
The Government announced the expansion of the school lunch programme as part of New Zealand's 2020 budget and it is part of the Labour Party's Covid-19 response.
During the budget announcements, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the Government realised that many families were struggling with the financial pressures of the pandemic. An expansion of the Government's existing school lunch programme aims to increase the number of children receiving lunches from 8,000 to around 200,000 by terms 2-3 this year.
The programme is also estimated to have created around 2,000 extra jobs for those providing the lunches.
$216.7 million in operating costs and $3.9 million in capital expenditure has been allocated over the next two years to fund the expansion.
Keith St, along with around 30 schools in the Whanganui, Rangitīkei and Ruapehu districts, met the eligibility criteria for the programme based on the equity index measure which will replace the soon-to-be-phased out decile system over the next year.
KidsCan Charitable Trust said the programme is not reaching all of the 800 schools they support. The charity is aiming to raise $350,000 to help support families with back-to-school costs.
"Children don't arrive ready to learn," KidsCan Chief executive Julie Chapman said. "Many are hungry, missing a uniform, shoes and stationery. They're upset that they don't fit in.
"Low decile schools are sourcing cheaper uniforms and stationery and ensuring parents know there is food support at school."
