Cost-effective recipes#

Explore our collection of recipes that students will enjoy. 

They are designed to use the programme's wholesaler (Gilmours) pricing and meet the nutrition standards.

Cost-effective recipes

Menu guidance#

A sample menu, along with templates and guidance to submit your termly menu and recipes.

Menu design

Cost-effective recipes quantity calculator#

This calculator helps to calculate the order amounts required to make each recipe based on the school roll numbers.

The quantity calculator is to complement the cost-effective recipes provided. They are not intended for recipes in general and ingredients cannot be added, altered, or removed.

The quantity calculator is downloadable as an Excel spreadsheet. There are a set of instructions on the first tab.

If you have any questions, please contact your Healthy School Lunches senior advisor.

Pre-negotiated wholesale ingredients#

Suppliers and meal providers can source ingredients of your choice.

You’ll have access to our pre-negotiated wholesale pricing for the programme.

You can read about this on the website.

Wholesaler ordering information

Waste and surplus – waste management plan#

Internal model schools and kura manage their own waste and surplus. 

The Internal Model and Head School or Kura Funding Agreement requires schools and kura in the internal model to have a waste management plan for their lunches programme.

A waste management plan is a written document that outlines how a kura or school manages waste in their lunch programme. Schools may already have an overall waste management plan, and the lunch programme can be included with that existing plan.

It explains how a kura or school minimises waste by limiting what is created, reusing or repurposing materials where possible, recycling what can’t be reused, and clearly identifying what waste is disposed of and where it goes. It can also show what is going well, highlights areas that need improvement as well as short and long-term goals.  

A simple waste management plan template is available for kura and schools to use. 

You can read more about waste and surplus for the Healthy School Lunches programme.

Healthy School Lunches: About the programme

Online workshops#

If you would like to attend any of the workshops below, email us (cc your Healthy School Lunches senior advisor) with your name, the name of your school or kura, and the workshop/s you would like to attend. 

Email: [email protected]

A calendar appointment with a link to the Teams meeting will be sent to you once you have registered.

Introductory food safety workshop#

This online workshop is designed for school or kura leadership who are new to the internal model. It introduces key food safety requirements, including an overview of the Food Act 2014, the food control plan and the registration and verification process.

Date: Thursday 26 March 2026, from 3.30pm to 4.00pm 

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 a time-saving Excel Cashbook tool that provides a workbook to input your expenditure throughout the term and auto-populate this expenditure onto an end-of-term reporting workbook.

Date: Tuesday 10 March 2026, from 10am to 10.30am.

Gilmours online update workshop#

This workshop provides updates on the Gilmours website and cost-effective recipe development that support schools and kura to provide nutritious, cost-effective lunches.

Date: Tuesday 24 February 2026 from 3:30pm to 4pm.

Introductory business continuity planning workshop#

This workshop covers the basics of developing a business continuity plan (BCP). It outlines potential disruptions to providing lunches and options for managing those disruptions to ensure lunch continuity.

Date: Tuesday 17 March 2026 from 3:30pm to 4pm.

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 24 March 2026 from 3:30pm to 4pm.

Employment guidance for internal model schools#

Meal providers within the Healthy School Lunches programme need to continue paying staff at least the living wage.

Guide to paying a living wage in contracts [PDF, 25MB]

If staffing changes are needed for internal model schools, contact the New Zealand School Boards Association (NZSBA) for employment advice.

Support#

For ordering and budgeting help, contact your Healthy School Lunches senior advisor for support. You can also email our team.

Email: [email protected]