About the programme#

We provide lunch to students in the greatest need to allow them to engage in learning and thrive at school.

Ka Ora, Ka Ako is about being healthy and well to be in a good place to learn.

‘Ka Ora’ means to be satisfied with food, be well, healthy, and safe. ‘Ka Ako’ means to learn.

Eligibility#

The Equity Index is calculated annually. New eligible schools and kura are invited to join the programme.

Schools retain their entitlement even if their equity index changes. Any change is subject to the programme’s annual budget provision.

Delivery models for the Ka Ora, Ka Ako programme#

Three delivery models meet the unique needs of schools and kura:

• The 'external model' is where lunches are provided by an external supplier.
• The 'internal model' is where a school prepares and delivers lunches to students onsite and other schools in their region. Head internal model schools have the facilities and capability to develop menus, prepare meals and manage all aspect of a commercial kitchen, including food control plan, nutrition, financial reporting, staff and waste management.
• The 'iwi and hapū model' is where a school receives lunch from an endorsed local meal provider.

Specialist schools and Teen Parent Units have meals provided by the models above, based off what is most suitable for their school. There is no change to the model for these schools in 2025 and 2026.

Schools and students for each delivery model#

There are more than 1,015 schools in the programme with over 242,000 students as of 7 November 2025.

The number of students and schools in each delivery model are:

• external contributing primary school model – 199 schools with 52,137 students
• external School Lunch Collective model – 435 schools with 129,045 students
• internal model (head school, receiving school and mixed) – 278 schools with 50,583 students
• iwi and hapū model – 59 schools with 9,144 students
• teen parent units and specialist schools – 44 schools with 3,537 students.

The 'alternative provision' model#

The Government 2024 Budget announced a change to funding for the school lunches programme to deliver healthy lunches for less cost.

Secondary, intermediate, full primary (Years 0 to 8) and composite schools (Years 0 to 15) moved to the cost-effective model from Term 1, 2025. Schools retained their existing model to receive lunches from a meal provider or from kitchens on site.

External model schools are delivered meals from the School Lunch Collective:

• The cost of the meal is $3 per 240g meal, per student.
• Two supplementary food items are also provided for 0.84 cents per for Year 9 and older students. This supplement is to meet the nutrition standards for older students.

Internal model schools or those receiving from a school kitchen receive $4 per meal, per student to deliver lunch.

Iwi and hapū model schools receive lunch from a meal provider, who receive $4 per meal, per student.

Contributing primary schools with Year 1 to 6 students are expected to move to the alternative provision model from 2026.

Food safety for the programme#

Food safety is important to us and all our suppliers. We take food safety incidents seriously. All incidents are investigated, and we work closely with New Zealand Food Safety at the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI).

Ministry for Primary Industries

Once the outcome of an incident is known, findings are sent to the school principal.

What to do if there is a food safety incident#

In the unlikely event your school has a food safety incident, it's important you follow the guidance below. You should:

• retain the meal and packaging – it’s important you don’t throw the meal away
• refrigerate the meal to prevent deterioration or bacteria growth – clearly label it “do not use” in the fridge
• if a foreign object has been found in the meal, keep it
• call your school lunch programme senior advisor within 2 hours of the incident taking place.

We will arrange for the meals and any foreign object to be picked up.

If your senior advisor is away, email our team.

Email: [email protected]

Waste and surplus management for the Ka Ora, Ka Ako programme#

All meal providers for Ka Ora, Ka Ako | Healthy School Lunches must have plans to reduce waste and manage surplus food, including setting minimisation targets. Our targets for sustainability did not change when the alternative provision model was introduced in 2025.

Where possible, our school lunch suppliers are expected to:

• use reusable, recyclable or certified compostable packaging
• minimise non-recyclable and single-use items
• use collection systems and sustainable choices such as composting food waste and feeding scraps to animals.

Surplus meals are lunches left over at the end of lunch service. The number of meals required each day changes according to attendance. We expect suppliers to respond to feedback and adjust menus accordingly.

We allow a reasonable surplus margin to make sure all students can receive a meal every school day.

The School Lunch Collective publishes the total daily surplus meal count.

Our impact – School Lunch Collective

Other suppliers and meal providers report waste through a static survey in Terms 2 and 3.

How your school can reduce surplus meals#

We monitor surplus meals and check meal counts. If we there is a high level of waste or surplus, we can work with your school to reduce this, such as adjusting the number of meals provided based on attendance data.

Guidance for suppliers to reduce surplus through their ordering approach is on the Ka Ora, Ka Ako web portal.

Suppliers for the Ka Ora, Ka Ako | Healthy School Lunches programme#

Download the list of suppliers for the Ka Ora, Ka Ako | Healthy School Lunches programme.

Schools in the Ka Ora, Ka Ako | Healthy School Lunches programme#

Download the list of schools and kura included in the Ka Ora, Ka Ako | Healthy School Lunches programme.