About the programme#

Healthy School Lunches is one of the biggest food programmes in New Zealand. Around a million nutritious lunches are provided each week to approximately 240,000 students in over 1,000 schools and kura across the country.

Meal providers for the programme work within the following delivery models:

• external model where meals are delivered to schools and kura by an agreed supplier
• internal model where meals are prepared on site in school kitchens
• iwi and hapū model where meal providers prepare and deliver meals to kura.

Learn more about the delivery models and the overall programme:.

Healthy School Lunches: about the programme

Read more about the funding for the programme:

Funding for the Healthy School Lunches programme

Resources#

We have designed printable posters to support suppliers and internal model schools preparing lunches.

2027 programme#

Budget 2026 provided $212.4 million (plus capital costs) to continue the Healthy School Lunch programme in 2027.

Offers will be made to extend agreements with current suppliers and meal providers. This includes external suppliers, iwi and hapū partners, internal model schools and providers to specialist schools.

This will include strengthening service levels and aligning requirements in agreements to recent updates across the programme.

Timeline for extending agreements#

Schools will remain under their current delivery model to support sustainability and avoid disruption across the programme. 

Innovation for future programme#

In 2026 and 2027, the Healthy School Lunches programme wants to find the best way to help students who are affected by food insecurity.

The 4 overarching innovation areas being explored are:

1. find which children and young people need a daily lunch, no matter what school they attend
2. explore innovative delivery approaches not currently used in the programme to reach the students in need
3. understand the benefits and risks of combining the 3 Government-funded food programmes into a single programme
4. determine whether reducing food insecurity is best achieved by providing food in schools only, or also in other contexts that reach children during the time they are not at school.

Read the Cabinet paper to learn more.

Innovative delivery approaches#

Suppliers and meal providers can submit a proposal for information (RFI) on the Government Tender Service (GETS).

RFI Healthy School Lunches Innovations – GETS

Selected approaches may be piloted as part of assessing their viability.