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We’re committed to making sure every student who needs a lunch gets one, while keeping the programme sustainable and cost-effective.
By working closely with our meal providers, we’ve improved efficiency so we can serve good value and nutritious lunches to more than 240,000 students every school day.
Learn more about the programme and the number of schools, students and suppliers in it:
Healthy School Lunches: About the programme
Healthy School Lunches is currently funded for 2025, 2026 and 2027.
Prices exclude GST.
Funding by delivery model #
External model suppliers #
2026 – Terms 3 to 4
Weighted average of $4.14 per meal.
Meal costs include inflation adjustments in 2026 across food, transport, and minimum wage costs. All variations are included in the per meal rate.
Internal model#
2026 – Terms 1 to 4
$4.51 per meal.
- Schools with 126 and more students are paid 90% of the school roll.
- Schools with 125 or fewer students are funded at 100% of the school roll.
- Small and Isolated funding will continue to be available for eligible schools and kura.
Specialist schools and teen parent units#
2026 – Term 4
External model:
- Years 0 to 3 – $6.64 per meal.
- Years 4 to 8 – $7.77 per meal.
- Years 9 and over – $9.90 per meal.
Iwi hapū model:
- Years 0 to 3 – $6.64 per meal.
- Years 4 to 8 – $7.77 per meal.
- Years 9 and over – $9.90 per meal.
Internal model:
- Years 0 to 3 – $5.85 per meal.
- Years 4 to 8 – $6.85 per meal.
- Years 9 and over – $8.71 per meal.
Small and isolated school funding#
Small and isolated funding supports schools and kura using the internal or iwi hapū model, who because of their location or size, require additional financial support in the provision of school lunches.
The termly funding allocation for small and isolated funding from Term 4 2026 is:
- school roll 0 to 15 – $5,980
- school roll 16 to 35 – $4,485
- school roll 36 to 80 – $3,588.
This funding is adjusted annually to reflect changes in the living wage. If student roll changes in the March confirmed (actual) roll, this funding may be impacted. We would advise those receiving funding of any changes.
Internal model
Small and isolated funding will be automatically paid for Term 1 2026 directly to eligible schools (student roll of 80 or less), based on their 2026 provisional roll. Funding for Terms 2, 3 and 4 2026 will be based on the March confirmed (actual) roll.
Iwi hapū model
Small and isolated funding for eligible iwi/hapū schools and kura will be paid directly to your iwi/hapū provider for Term 1 2026. Eligible schools (student roll of 80 or less) is based on the 2026 provisional roll. Funding for Terms 2, 3 and 4 2026 will be based on the March confirmed (actual) roll.
Complex special dietary funding#
Complex special diets (CSD) are where a student requires a meal that is made just for them, rather than a standard menu or common dietary option.
This could be due to the complex nature or the severity of their condition.
Meal providers receive CSD funding above the meal cost, based on the meal type required. This is available for any students with complex special dietary needs.
Distribution funding for external model schools#
Eligible schools that received funding in Term 2 2026 will receive the same amount of funding in Terms 3 and 4 2026. You do not need to reapply for the funding until 2027. Funding will be paid through Pourato before the start of each term.
Distribution funding will be adjusted from 1 September 2026 to take into account the increase to the living wage. Schools that received distribution funding for Term 3 will receive an additional payment later in the term for the increase from 1 to 25 September.
Distribution funding for some contributing primaries has been negotiated as part of the supplier agreements.
Distribution funding – maximum termly pricing#
Effective 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2027.
Lunch distribution case studies#
Case studies for efficient lunch distribution at composite schools, full primary schools, intermediate schools, and secondary schools look at how the funding is used across the different school types and size.
Case study: Efficient lunch distribution for composite schools [PDF, 696KB]
Inflation adjustments#
Since the Healthy School Lunches programme began, the average meal price has been adjusted annually to account for inflation.
Meal provider agreements include provisions for inflation adjustments – upward or downward. This change is subject to negotiation and applied if needed.
The average inflation adjustment for meal prices in the programme is:
- 7% increase in 2022
- 7.3% increase in 2023
- 3.3% increase in 2024
- 6.15% increase in 2025.
2027 funding#
On 15 May 2026, the Government announced the continuation of the Healthy School Lunches programme in 2027.
Healthy School Lunch Programme saves more money – Beehive.govt.nz
