While schools across New Zealand report challenges with recent changes to the Ka Ora, Ka Ako Healthy School Lunches Programme, Taupō district schools have a different story to tell. Local principals are sharing their experiences as Associate Minister of Education David Seymour's cost-cutting measures make headlines throughout the country.
Taupō schools have not been caught up in the current stew that sees bad news stories published almost daily on Associate Minister of Education David Seymour's move to reduce costs and suppliers in the Ka Ora, Ka Ako Healthy School Lunches Programme.
Tauhara Primary School principal Tracy Fraser says the lunches are still arriving and the school is very happy with the Libelle/Compass staff who prepare and deliver the food.
Mangakino School principal Cherie Hill says the students and teachers don’t engage in any sort of deficit-type thinking.
“Our lunches, nine times out of 10 are completely fine. But in saying that, you just make things work… Our kids have access to grated cheese, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, bread and butter, and tomato sauce… We try and make their lunches as close to what they would usually have at home.”
The external supplier based in Hamilton is providing a variety of meals, says Hill, such as meatballs, rice, lasagne, pizza buns, chow mein and rice.
The lunches arrive by about 11.30am, she says, already heated and are left in the boxes until lunch time.
Staff usually check one of the packages before distributing them so if they feel the need to add anything or make additional ingredients available, they can do it then.
“But honestly,” she says, “we've probably had one or two bad experiences and that's it.”
Hill felt after some experimentation with providers last year, the school had come up with brilliant meals that also gave the students freedom of choice.
They were provided deconstructed Subway Monday and Friday from Tokoroa which involved them making their own sandwiches with perhaps an additional yogurt, grain waves, or brownie and through the middle of the week Kāpai Kai in Rotorua provided frozen meals, such as roast chicken, veges, curries, pasta, which were heated up at the school.
Then things changed, she says, and the government decided it would provide the lunches.
Handily for students the school also has a good connection with the Mangakino Four Square, she says, which provides breakfast on a Monday morning but also tops the school up with bread, butter, brown sugar, Weetbix, a box of fruit and some jam to last the week.
“Those are the things that they eat at home. We try and make it as close to what they would eat at home as possible so that they eat. It's better that they eat than not eat at all, is our theory.” Down the track the school will be looking at providing more of the food itself for school lunches, says Hill, which is in keeping with its environmentally driven curriculum.
Lake Taupo Christian School was also approached for comment for this story but had not responded by deadline.
