Tēnā koutou katoa
Winter has officially arrived, and we’re approaching the shortest day of the year on 21 June. From there, the days slowly begin to lengthen again, gaining around 1 to 2 minutes of daylight each day.
Looking ahead, I’m pleased to be able to progress negotiations with external suppliers for 2027 and the work underway to explore innovation for future years of the programme.
We are going to market with a Request for Information (RFI), inviting fresh innovations to help optimise the programme for the future, and reach students across all schools, who need the support most.
Thank you for your continued support of the Healthy School Lunches programme, making sure students receive a nutritious meal every school day to assist in learning.
Nāku noa, nā
Andrew Gibson
General Manager– Strategic Programmes
Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga | Ministry of Education
Innovation for the future of the programme#
There are students experiencing food insecurity who attend schools that are currently not eligible for the programme. Budget 2026 included funding to find students experiencing food insecurity, no matter what school they attend around New Zealand.
We will shortly be releasing a Request for Information (RFI) on the Government Electronic Tender Service (GETS) seeking market innovations on how best to reach and support students experiencing food insecurity. Selected approaches may be piloted to test them with students and in the school environment.
See more information about the RFI.
Information for meal providers
The GETS website has more information about how to submit an RFI.
GETS | Ministry of Education - RFI - Healthy School Lunches (HSL) Innovations
Online basic food safety modules#
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is developing a series of online food safety modules suitable for all meal providers, at no cost to participants.
The first module, an introduction to food safety, takes about 10 minutes to complete and is a useful refresher for your kitchen team as part of their ongoing food safety training.
To take part, go to the MPI website.
Programme performance update#
We receive data to monitor and report on the programme performance.
Key programme focus areas are:
- menu innovation to continuously improve meals, so students love them
- working with suppliers and schools to reduce high surplus
- continuing to invest funds in continuous improvement and innovation.
Read the reported results from the 2025 school year compared to progress in 2026.
Termly survey coming soon#
The Term 2, 2026 survey will be emailed to you on 15 June.
A reminder – surplus and redistribution of surplus#
Some schools continue to redistribute surplus lunches to their communities despite our advice not to share leftover food after the school day.
The Healthy School Lunches programme is funded to help address the impact of food insecurity of students in schools. The main reason we are concerned about redistribution in the community is food safety.
Once food leaves the school environment, we can no longer control how it is stored or handled, which creates a food safety risk.
Surplus food also increases programme costs and reduces the number of students we can support. We have found that one of the most effective ways to reduce surplus is for schools to align meal orders with actual uptake. If we can minimise surplus, taxpayer funding can be used efficiently, and the savings can be invested back into the provision of lunches for students.
Responsibilities for schools#
Responsibilities include:
- Make sure no student misses out on a meal and there are seconds available to those that want one.
- Work with suppliers on for guidance on safe distribution of meals at school and provide student feedback to improve uptake of lunches.
- Manage surplus and return all uneaten meals to the meal providers. Distribution outside of the school day risks someone becoming ill.
- Schools are required to minimise surplus through monitoring absenteeism and uptake rates.
We appreciate your continued commitment and support in keeping this programme safe, sustainable, and focused on student needs in schools.
External model update#
Keep lunch orders updated#
It is important you plan ahead and update your meal orders often to avoid unnecessary wastage and surplus.
If lunches are not required by your school on a specific day, such as teacher-only days or sports events, or you know your order will be different than usual, let your supplier know. Some suppliers have 5 to 10 working day notice periods, so make sure you modify orders within the supplier timeframe. If you are unsure, check with your supplier.
Supplier spotlight: BiteLAB (Montana Group)#
Another veteran of the Healthy School Lunches programme, BiteLAB has been providing kai | food to hungry students across the country since the programme launched in 2020. Currently, 17,248 students at 42 contributing primary schools across Tāmaki Makaurau | Auckland and Waikato eat a tasty BiteLab lunch every school day.
Montana Group is New Zealand’s largest privately owned catering company and Operations and Relationship Manager Danielle Engel says BiteLAB joined the programme because they knew they had the skills and scale to do it well.
"For many tamariki, a healthy lunch positively impacts their learning, concentration, and wellbeing, and that matters to us deeply. The programme aligned strongly with our values around supporting local communities, and we're proud to be part of something that benefits students, whānau, and the wider community."
Lunches are prepared onsite in the BiteLAB kitchen and packed into individual aluminium serving containers. Nutritious meals are heated fresh every morning and delivered hot in polystyrene boxes to schools before lunch time. A fleet of drivers dedicated to the Healthy School Lunches programme makes sure lunches are delivered in full and on time each day. Every school’s delivery schedule is tailored to their own lunch times.
Sustainability is a core value for BiteLAB and informs company decisions about waste management. Lunch aluminium trays are recycled, with over 1 full metric tonne of aluminium diverted from landfill in February alone. Surplus food goes to compost.
In Term 2, BiteLAB started trialling new ways to engage students in their menu design to support better lunch uptake in some of their schools. Listening and responding to student feedback is a key focus area for BiteLAB and they regularly adapt menus based on student-response, while still meeting nutrition standards. These pilots have included student-led focus groups for meal testing and classroom surveys. Continuous improvement is important to BiteLAB getting it right with their schools.
Danielle says that seeing students eat and enjoy lunch is the most satisfying part of being in the programme.
"We love receiving drawings and thank you notes from tamariki | children, but nothing beats the moment a student comes back for seconds. For some kids, this is the most reliable meal of their day, and knowing we can provide that for them is something our whole team is really proud of."
Favourite meals across BiteLAB schools consistently prove to be butter chicken, pasta bolognese, and beef lasagne.
Internal model update#
Cost-effective recipes#
There are now 18 new cost-efficient recipes available to support the design of your Term 3 menu.
Surplus lunch count and end-of-lunch measure#
A reminder to complete a surplus lunch count and an end of lunch waste measure this term. The data is to be submitted through the end of term survey, which will be sent out on 15 June. More information, along with a surplus and waste count template, is available from your senior advisor.
Your data helps to measure surplus from across internal school kitchens.
10-day surplus lunches Term 2 count
A surplus lunch is a complete and untouched meal that is left over at the end of the day.
How to participate in the 10-day surplus lunch count
Choose a 10-day period during the term. If committing to 10 days is not possible, even 1 week of data is still very helpful for us.
Count the total number of surplus lunches at your kura or school over this 10-day period.
Count the total number of lunches supplied to students during the same 10-day period.
Submit this data into the end of Term 2, 2026 survey.
10-day end-of-lunch waste Term 2 measure
End-of-lunch waste includes:
- food waste
- single use packaging and cutlery left at the end of lunch that will be thrown away
- surplus lunches that are not redistributed and are discarded.
End-of-lunch waste does not include waste generated during food preparation.
10-day end-of-lunch waste measure
This should be the total weight, in kilograms, of all end-of-lunch waste collected over a 10-day period. This includes:
- food waste
- single use packaging
- single use cutlery
- surplus lunches that are not redistributed and are thrown away.
Submit the total 10-day end-of-lunch weight in kilograms as well as the total number of lunches supplied to your school or kura over the 10 days to the end of Term 2 2026 survey. Remember to enter a number, not a percentage.
If you cannot commit to 10 days, you can estimate what your 10-day could be, based on the days you could commit.
Contact your Healthy School Lunches senior advisor for support.
Upcoming online workshops#
Introductory food safety workshop#
This online workshop is designed for school or kura leadership who are new to the internal model or want a refresher. It introduces key food safety requirements, including an overview of the Food Act 2014, the food control plan and the registration and verification process. It provides information on preventing and how to report food incidents.
Date: Thursday 18 June 2026, 3:30pm to 4pm.
To attend, email us with your name and the name of your school or kura and include your senior advisor.
Email: [email protected]
A calendar appointment with a link to the Teams meeting will be sent to you.
Healthy School Lunches nutrition standards#
This online workshop, presented by our programme nutritionists, is designed as a refresher for those already working in school kitchens, and as an overview of the Healthy School Lunches nutrition standards for new staff.
The workshop will introduce the nutrition standards and basic principles of nutrition, along with the requirements around meal weights and how foods are classified in the standards. There will be plenty of tips along the way, and time for questions, so come along if you’re new to the programme or need a refresher.
Date: Monday 6 July 2026, 12pm to 1pm.
To attend, register below.
Iwi and hapū update#
Meal assessments#
Healthy School Lunches senior advisors continue to work alongside lunch partners to complete assessments through a collaborative kōrero and hands-on process, collecting meal assessment data.
Contact your Healthy School Lunches senior advisor with any questions.
Ikura reminder#
The Ikura | Free period products in schools survey was sent to all schools and kura participating in the programme 2 weeks ago. Surveys close on Friday 19 June at 5pm.
The Ikura programme removes barriers to attending school by providing access to free period products, focusing on ‘full cycle with dignity’.
If your school or kura would like to join the initiative, email us or talk to your Healthy School Lunches senior advisor.
Email: [email protected]
