Sharpening programme objectives#

In October, Cabinet noted the progress and improvements made and announced the direction for the school lunch programme moving into the future to reflect the problem this Government is trying to solve, and its priorities. 
The new primary objective is to mitigate the impact of food insecurity in school.

The two sub-objectives are to mitigate the immediate, negative impact of hunger on a student’s ability to learn in schools; and to mitigate the long-term negative effects of food insecurity on a child’s physical, cognitive, and neurological development.

Work is underway to seek funding through Budget 2026 for the continuation of Healthy School Lunches in the 2027 school year and to identify the best approach to mitigating the impact of food insecurity beyond 2027.

We will keep you updated on progress and share updates in this programme pānui.

Price adjustment update#

You would have received information this term about the adjustment in per-meal costs for each delivery model due to significant price increases in key food categories essential for meeting nutrition standards —such as chicken, beef, vegetables, and dairy—alongside rising transport costs and higher staff wages.

Since the start of the school lunch programme, meal prices have been adjusted for inflation subject to the indexes relevant to the programme.  Below is some background on categories and weightings used by the programme, which may be of interest.

External model suppliers#

In 2025, contributing primary schools, specialist schools, and teen parent units received a 6% increase in the cost per meal, each term.  The School Lunch Collective received one 6% adjustment from Term 4.

The weightings used for the external model adjustment is as follows:

Internal model suppliers#

Head schools prepare meals in onsite kitchens and receive an annual adjustment of 6% for 2025, and then a 6% increase for 2026. Below is the internal price weighting by category, which excludes Transport, Communication and Education indices.

If you have questions about the price adjustments, reach out to your Healthy School Lunches senior advisor in the first instance or email the school lunch mailbox.

[email protected]

Final reminder: Please share your 2025 end date and 2026 start date, now!#

This is a reminder for schools and kura that have not already submitted their completed deliverables information to let your supplier / meal provider know your last day of 2025 school year and first day of term one in 2026.

If starting dates are staggered for year groups, please include this information in your deliverables.

Please share this information as soon as possible with your supplier, meal provider and/or the Healthy School Lunches senior advisor to prevent unnecessary meal deliveries and avoid surplus.

Thank you for your support to provide this important information before the end of the school year.

Term 4 survey out now#

The Term 4 surveys were sent out to all programme suppliers, partners, schools, and kura a few weeks ago. Please take the time to complete the survey as the information and data collected from it helps to inform future progression of the programme.

Food safety reminder#

Keep meals / foreign objects#

It is essential to remember that in the unlikely event of a food safety incident occurring at your school, remind students and staff of the importance of keeping the meal and any foreign object to help in the investigation.

• Call your Healthy School Lunches senior advisor and/or supplier immediately.
• Don’t throw the meal away. Retain the meal and packaging.
• Clearly label ‘do not use’ and refrigerate to preserve.
• If a foreign object has been found in the meal, retain it.

We will arrange for the meals and, if relevant, the foreign object to be picked up. The Ministry follows a robust process to investigate all food safety incidents and put corrective action in place. When necessary, New Zealand Food Safety (MPI) is involved and will lead the investigation.

In the event of a food safety incident, it is unhelpful for us to learn about the incident from secondhand sources or online. This can cause undue concern for students and school communities.

If your Healthy School Lunches senior advisor is away, email [email protected].

Nutrition reminder#

Nutrition has always been a cornerstone of the Healthy School Lunches programme.

Keeping nutrition at the fore of the programme supports students’ growth, learning, and long-term wellbeing.

Nutrition standards in our programme help to close the equity gap for students in the greatest need.

A development chef has joined Healthy School Lunches and will be adding to the existing library of cost-efficient recipes available to you ready for the 2026 year.

A special note of thanks to all the cooks and kitchen managers for working so hard to feed our students all year long. One of our skilled nutritionists will be reaching out to you in the new year.

For more information about nutrition in the programme, see our website.

Nutrition standards for Ka Ora, Ka Ako

External model update#

Distribution funding – schools on the School Lunch Collective (SLC ) model#

Eligible external model schools and kura already receiving distribution funding in Term 4, 2025 to support onsite lunch distribution will continue to receive funding in term 1, 2026.

For Term 1, 2026, funding will be automatically paid through Pourato to eligible external model schools. From Term 2 onward, schools and kura will need to reapply for distribution funding for the remainder of the year. We will provide details about the application process well in advance of Term 2.

More information on maximum termly funding and eligibility is available at Funding for the Healthy School Lunches programme.

Contributing primaries – Distribution funding for 2026#

External model contributing primary schools eligible for distribution funding will be notified this year and funding will automatically be provided for Term 1, 2026 in Pourato.

Schools receiving meals will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, which considers the supplier delivery method, style of food, size, and location of the school or kura.

From Term 2 onward, most schools will need to reapply for distribution funding for the remainder of the year. We will provide details about the application process well in advance of Term 2.

Distribution funding amounts for eligible contributing primaries will be updated in the coming weeks on the website.

Funding for the Healthy School Lunches programme
 

Internal model update#

End-of-term financial reports due#

Please remember to submit any outstanding end-of-term (EOT) financial reports to the Ministry by the end of Term 4, 2025.

EOT reports are an essential part of how funding is allocated to schools and kura in the Healthy School Lunches programme and a cornerstone of internal model schools and kura provisional agreements. Clauses 1.34 and 1.35 of the 2025–2026 Funding Agreement sets out the financial reporting obligations for each school. Clause 1.35 specifically outlines that funding payments can be withheld until past-due EOT reports have been received.

We are committed to supporting schools and kura meet their reporting obligations and view fund suspension as a last resort.

If you need help completing the reports or submitting an online expense report, contact your Healthy School Lunches senior advisor.

Instructions on how to submit online expense reports are available at Automated Funding for Internal Model Schools | Kura 2024/2025 - Ka Ora, Ka Ako - Healthy School Lunches Programme.

Small and isolated funding update#

Small and isolated funding is provided each term to schools with 80 or less students.

This is automatically paid to schools eligible for this funding based on their 2026 provisional roll. If student roll changes in the March confirmed (actual) roll, this funding may be impacted. The Ministry is currently reviewing the extent of this funding for 2026 and ensuring that the schools who need it receive it.

For more information about this funding, see the website.

Funding for the Healthy School Lunches programme

Menu submissions reminder#

Remember to submit your menus and recipes for Term 1, 2026 before the end of Term 4 to [email protected]

Iwi/hapū providers model update#

Small and isolated school funding#

Iwi hapū partners will receive small and isolated funding in Term 1, 2026 for all eligible schools and kura. This is based on the school or kura 2026 provisional roll.  Funding for Terms 2, 3, and 4, 2026 will be based on the March confirmed (actual) roll.

This may mean some partners are paid small and isolated funding for schools in Term 1 but are no longer eligible for Terms 2, 3, and/or 4 (for example, provisional roll is 75 but actual roll turns out to be 90).

We will contact the partners where eligibility may no longer exist.

Iwi hapū contributing primary schools#

This includes contributing primary schools, whose iwi hapū partner will receive a lump sum each term of small and isolated funding. For more information about this funding, see the website.

Funding for the Healthy School Lunches programme

Snackable stories: St Joseph’s School in Wairoa#

St Joseph’s School in Wairoa, with a current roll of 95 students, is an iwi hapū lunch provider and has worked hard to craft a seamless lunchtime routine for their students.

To start, Year 0-3 children line up with their meal trays and are given the opportunity to choose how much kai they would like. Depending on the day’s menu, for example, children can decide between how many sandwiches they would like, how many pieces of fruit, and how many punnets of yoghurt. After finishing their meal, students are offered the option of taking seconds.

Students carry their lunch trays outside and sit in groups to eat together.

Any extra food is offered to the groups of children while they are still sitting together.

St Joseph’s uses a roster to schedule older students into day slots to take turns collecting used trays at the end of lunchtime.

Scraps and leftovers are collected to feed to community livestock – this comprises mainly fruit skins and bread crusts.

All untouched leftover food is made available for children throughout the rest of the day to snack on if they get hungry to help them focus and thrive.

Ikura reminder#

Seventy-nine schools have joined the Ikura free period products in schools programme over the past three weeks bringing the number of member primary, intermediate, kura, and secondary schools to 2461.

All schools can access Ikura period products by emailing [email protected]

If your school is already with the Ikura programme, to order more period products to make sure students have enough over the holidays, contact your OfficeMax representative or email [email protected].