Job losses likely in school lunch model
Thousands of jobs could be on the line under the Government’s new school lunch model. Associate Education Minister David Seymour announced a new model for the Ka Ora, Ka Ako programme, which will slash $107 million a year by ordering food in bulk for students in Year 7 and above.
In a press conference last Wednesday, Seymour said the bulk orders would be for 150,000 students — more than half of the 235,000 students receiving free lunches.
This could affect thousands of staff working for private suppliers and schools on making the lunches.
Seymour said $478m would be allocated in the Budget for the programme for 2025 and 2026, saving about $107m a year on the current model.
He said $3 per lunch for older students was budgeted for the alternative model, down from up to $8.62 under the current model. This compared with KidsCan spending $2 per students providing food in schools, Seymour said.
He sought advice from the charity as part of his review of the programme.
According to KidsCan’s 2022 annual report, it provides foods such as heat-and-eat meals, baked beans, packaged bread, tinned fruit and muesli bars to schools not eligible for the Ka Ora, Ka Ako programme.
The new interim model would start next year, with temporary funding for two years until a full revamp of the lunch programme.
Primary students already benefiting from free school lunches will continue to do so, while older students will receive food under an alternative model.
Seymour said the Government bulkbuying food and delivering it to schools for the older students would “significantly reduce the cost of the programme”.
A press release about the new model says “schools will manage the ordering, storage, preparation and distribution of food within their school, similar to the KidsCan, KickStart Breakfast, and Fruit in Schools programmes”.
It is unclear from the information provided whether schools will get money to hire or retain staff to do that work.
“The previous Government conditioned people to believe that the only way to show your love as a government is to spend more money and employ more people. We think getting improved outcomes for all New Zealanders is better and those things are not always connected,” Seymour said.
“Students will receive nutritious food that they want to eat. It will be made up of the sorts of food items thousands of mums and dads put into lunch boxes every day for their kids — forget quinoa, couscous and hummus, it will be more like sandwiches and fruit.”
Schools could still choose what food they ordered and decide how many lunches they needed. Parents could also opt out of the programme.
The Government will use $4m out of the savings to provide free morning tea and lunch for up to 10,000 preschoolers in lowequity, not-forprofit, communitybased early childhood centres.
The Ka Ora, Ka Ako programme has about 3000 staff providing lunches to 264 primary schools (Years 1-6), 395 full primary schools (Years 1-8) and 354 intermediate and secondary schools, according to Ministry of Education data.
Seymour did not answer questions on how many jobs would be affected under the new model. Ministry of Education operations and integration hautū (leader) Sean Teddy said the ministry could not estimate the number of staff affected. “The ministry will work with those involved, suppliers and schools to support them through transition once further design and implications are known.”
The programme is funded until the end of 2024, which means the ministry’s contracts and agreements with schools, suppliers and iwi/hapū partners will remain in place until the end of the school year.
The current scheme offers lunches to 230,000 students in about 1000 of the country’s least advantaged schools. It was allocated $323m in the 2023 budget. About 82 per cent of the funding goes to commercial contractors, with few schools able or willing to provide catering themselves, ministry data shows.
Teddy told BusinessDesk earlier that not all schools have the kitchen facilities to prepare, store and serve lunches.
Since the programme started in 2021, external suppliers have received about $564m, while schools providing the service internally have received about $128m.
The ministry has set a fixed price per lunch ranging from $5.56 to $8.62. Funding covers food, preparation and delivery and paying staff a living wage.
Currently, 156 external suppliers provide lunches to more than 700 schools, according to ministry data.
Libelle Group is the largest provider, receiving more than $86m, or 15 per cent of the total external funding since the programme started in 2021. The Auckland-based caterer delivers lunches to 106 schools around the country. In the 12 months to July 2023, it received $31.9m from the Government, roughly the same revenue as New Zealand stock exchange-listed (NZX) Savor Group generated across 20 Auckland hospitality venues in its last financial year to September 2023.