Tēnā koutou katoa
Welcome back to a new term and a fresh opportunity for learning and growth.
Over the past few weeks, parts of the country, particularly the lower North Island, experienced further severe weather events. Sadly, these events appear to be becoming more frequent. I, along with the team, extend our sincere best wishes to any of you, your whānau, and school communities who have been impacted.
At times like these, I’m reminded of the resilience shown across our education community. The commitment you, your staff, and your students demonstrate in the face of challenge is incredible. For those of you working alongside meal suppliers to keep students fed, please remember to keep your providers informed of any school closures or roads that have become problematic for delivery.
In this pānui, we share updates and guidance intended to support your day-to-day work, including clarifying how lunches can be received and distributed safely and effectively for students, alongside a range of programme updates and upcoming opportunities. I hope you find it useful and relevant as the term progresses.
Surplus reduction remains a focus for the programme this term. Your Healthy School Lunches senior advisor will be working hard to support you with this priority.
I look forward to working with you to make this a successful and healthy term for all our students across the country.
Andrew Gibson
General Manager– Strategic Programmes
Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga | Ministry of Education
Surplus and redistribution of surplus reminder#
We are aware that some schools are still redistributing surplus lunches to their communities.
The Healthy School Lunches programme was funded to help address the impact of food insecurity in schools by ensuring students receive a nutritious lunch to support learning. 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. Protecting our reputation for providing safe meals is essential to give students confidence in eating them.
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 better align their orders with actual uptake. If we 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#
- Make sure that no student misses out on a meal and there are seconds available to those that want one.
- Ask suppliers for guidelines around safe distribution of additional meals to students while they are at school.
- Manage surplus and return all uneaten meals to the meal providers. Distribution outside of the school day puts the school at risk of someone becoming ill.
- Schools are required to minimise surplus through monitoring absenteeism and uptake rates.
Best practice#
- The safest option is for students to eat their lunch during the school day.
- Return any uneaten or surplus lunches to the supplier.
- Do NOT share surplus meals outside of the school.
- Meal providers preparation methods differ, and schools follow their guidance.
We appreciate your continued commitment to ensuring students have access to safe and nutritious lunches, and for your support in keeping this programme safe, sustainable, and focused on student need in schools.
Partnership agreement reminder#
When you joined the Healthy School Lunches programme you signed a partnership agreement with us. The agreement outlines how we work together to best support positive outcomes for students.
In the agreements, you have committed to minimising surplus. Schools can best support this by accurately recording student dietary needs, updating the correct daily number of lunches required, and working to encourage student uptake.
External model update#
Weather events#
Following the recent extreme weather events around the country, we are reminding schools, suppliers, and iwi hapū partners to be in frequent communication with each other. If any suppliers are unable to deliver lunches due to unexpected weather conditions or resulting events, such as a road closure, they should be in contact with their schools in the first instance.
Keep lunch orders updated#
If lunches are not required by your school on a specific day (teacher-only days, sporting events, etc.) or you know your order will be different than usual – please let your supplier know. As some suppliers have 5-10 working day notice periods, don’t forget to modify orders within this time frame. If you are unsure what your notice period is, check with your supplier.
Colour coding delivery boxes#
Schools that receive lunch from the School Lunch Collective may have noticed that the Cambro delivery boxes now arrive with a small colourful sticker. A new system has recently been introduced using colour-coded stickers representing each day of the week to show when boxes are delivered to schools. This is expected to help streamline the collection process and support safe distribution to students.
Supplier spotlight: School Lunch Collective (SLC)#
School Lunch Collective (SLC) has been helping to feed students with the external school model since the beginning of 2025. Prior to then, Compass, one of SLC’s foundational partners, had been supplying meals to the programme since its inception in February 2020.
Last year, SLC delivered over 13 million nutritious lunches to over 100,000 students at 436 schools across the country.
This year, SLC is working closely with schools to listen effectively to the voice of the student and make improvements in the meal offer.
SLC has been focused on improving the appearance of their meals has added three new meals each term so far this year. Currently there is a total of 12 nutritious meals that are rotated across the days and weeks. Student-favourites like super cheesy pasta bake is now back by popular demand for Term 2. Weekly menu plans can be viewed on the SLC website.
SLC’s average lunch delivery in-full and on-time (DIFOT) rate across New Zealand for Term 1 was 99.23%, translating to almost all of their meals being delivered hot and punctually to hungry students.
You can read more about LC news and updates on the SLC website.
Internal model update#
90% funding approach#
From Term 2, schools with 126 and more students are paid 90% of the school roll, even when the number of lunches delivered is less.
- Most internal model schools have 90% or fewer students eating lunch under the programme each day.
- Where both the average number of students attending school and the average number of lunches delivered exceed 90% across a term, payment will be made on a per-student basis.
Schools with 125 or fewer students continue to be funded at 100% of the school roll.
Small and Isolated funding is still available for eligible schools and kura.
Teen parent units and specialist schools will continue to receive school lunch funding based on 100% of their roll each term.
Information about the 90% funding approach is available on the Ministry website.
Funding for the Healthy School Lunches programme
Cost-effective recipes#
New cost-effective recipes are available on the Ministry website, with more additions expected across Term 2.
Gilmours update#
Term 2, 2026 product price lists are available on the Ministry website.
Wholesaler ordering information
For further information about Gilmours, contact Gilmours:
Email: [email protected]
UpcomIng online workshops#
Introductory Business Continuity Planning (BCP) workshop
This workshop covers the basics to develop a BCP that will outline potential disruptions to providing lunches, and options to manage them to ensure lunch continuity.
Date: Tuesday 26 May 2026, 3:30-4:00 pm
Introductory waste management Planning workshop
This workshop goes through the basics on waste management planning including developing a simple waste management plan and where to access resources.
Date: Tuesday 2 June 2026, 3:30-4:00 pm
Internal model online end of term financial reporting
This workshop is for schools and kura who are receiving their funding automatically. It outlines the online end of term financial reporting process. It also runs through an Excel Cashbook tool that provides a workbook to input your expenditure throughout the term and auto populates this expenditure onto an end of term reporting workbook, saving time.
Date: Tuesday 9 June 2026, 3.30 – 4.00 pm
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, 3.30 – 4.00 pm
Attend the workshops
To attend any of the listed Term 2 workshops, send your name and the name of your school | kura to:
Email: [email protected] (cc. your senior advisor)
A calendar appointment with a link to the Teams meeting will be sent to you.
Iwi and hapū update#
Meal assessments#
Healthy School Lunches senior advisors will be working with lunch partners this term to complete assessments through a kōrero and hands-on process. Contact your senior advisor with any questions.
Ikura reminder#
The Ikura programme is designed to ensure students have equitable and dignified access to free menstrual products to support them for the full duration of their menstrual cycle. Brown paper bags are available for ordering and students needing product should be provided packs to cover their whole cycle. Schools on the Ikura programme can order a range of products at no cost, enabling local flexibility in how student needs are met.
In Term 2, the Ministry is distributing an Ikura survey to all schools in the programme. The survey seeks to strengthen programme delivery by gathering feedback on key operational areas, including ordering processes, storage and distribution practices, and suitability of the product range. The survey will explore how schools support growing awareness and understanding of the programme with whānau and the wider community.
Your participation in the survey helps to inform future improvements and ensure Ikura continues to effectively support student wellbeing.
The Ikura programme removes barriers to attending school by providing access to free period products. If your school or kura would like to join the initiative, email the team.
Email: [email protected]
