Jacinda Ardern shares a child's free school lunch at the Flaxmere Primary School in Hawke's Bay for the launch of daily lunch programme in school.
Jacinda Ardern shares a child's free school lunch at the Flaxmere Primary School in Hawke's Bay for the launch of daily lunch programme in school.
Every student in Waihi College will receive a free Government-funded lunch from the first day of term two - which is welcome news to staff as well as the school's estimated 50 students who normally arrive and leave school hungry.
Aggressive behaviour, crankiness and lack of motivation are among the impacts teachers have witnessed in hungry students.
"We've run a breakfast club for four or five years now and teachers have become increasingly aware of those families whose children don't have anything to eat at lunchtime," says Waihi College principal Alistair Cochrane.
He said Covid-19 lockdown had exacerbated the problem.
"We've seen an increasing number of students with no lunch, out of 680 students you could have as many as 50 who don't have anything to eat.
"They come to school with nothing. Unless they have a friend who will share with them, some students go through the whole day.
"Think about yourself when you miss a meal, if it's me I get cranky because I'm a bit out of kilter and we're seeing that with some of our students. Their behaviour is more aggressive."
Paeroa College has been receiving free lunches since the start of the year. Principal Amy Hacker says the school had worked hard to get the initiative going for the beginning of the term, and it was working well.
Also receiving free lunches in the Hauraki District will be Central School in Waihi, Kerepehi, Kopuarahi and Karangahake schools.
The expanded rollout of free lunches was announced in last year's Budget, which tagged $220m over two years from Covid-19 funding to reach 25 per cent of students - about 200,000 children - who are the most disadvantage, as measured by a new "equity index".
The index is based on 26 facts about every child, including the parents' incomes, education levels, benefit histories, criminal records and ages when the child was born, plus how often the child has changed homes and schools and been reported to Oranga Tamariki.
Waihi College joins schools that will receive free lunches under a Government initiative.
The Waihi College lunches are being provided for one year, at a cost that its principal says will be some $700,000.
Mr Cochrane says while people's views might differ on whether or not it was the school's job to feed students, his view was purely based on education.
"If the students are feeling good about themselves and are not hungry, they're more likely to focus on their learning."
Indicators of change as a result of the programme will be measured, including attendance rates and how students engage.
He says he's thankful the Government has invested in feeding all students rather than singling out those in dire need.
"I think it's going to have a really nice impact on our families in New Zealand and the way kids feel about coming to school and learning.
"We would have families that would really struggle to put food on the table - breakfast, lunch or dinner. And we also have families that wouldn't notice the clothing and food needs. We've got the full gambit, and I really like the philosophy that to not cause any stigma for anybody is to address for all."
Kopuarahi School principal Chris Patel knows how tough it is for many rural families to buy food for their children after rent is paid.
"It's a massive problem, it's trauma, before they even walk through the gate."
It's a massive problem, it's trauma, before they even walk through the gate.
She said rents in Ngatea and surrounds were hitting $550 to $600 per week. "On minimum wage there's just nothing left," she says.
"Putting food in their pukus is very difficult for many of the families, not just those on the lowest incomes. For a teacher on a single income, it's almost impossible to afford anything after that amount of rent."
Chris has been paying for food herself to keep some of her school's pupils fed, bringing in bread to supplement the Weet-Bix they get in the breakfast in school's initiative.
When she went on national television earlier this year to highlight examples of the poverty in New Zealand, people not even connected to the school brought in donations of food.
She said as a school of just 22 pupils, the community responded well to the need for donations but schools with bigger rolls struggled more.
"One person brought in armfuls and bread, milk and jam. I think people think the poverty issues that effect children going into school only affect kids in Auckland. I was in a decile 1 school in Rotorua and I can tell you some of those kids were deeply affected."
She believed charities were a last resort.
"It shouldn't be like that. We're a country that does have plenty to go around, if we look out for each other. Do you know parents who don't want took after their kids? No.
"The Ministry [of Education] providing lunches in schools - I wish it didn't have to happen, but the reality is at the moment it does."
Chris Patel and Karma Vitasovich from Kopuarahi School on the Hauraki Plains. Photo / HC Post
In the Ka Ora, Ka Ako healthy school lunches programme, schools can decide whether to deliver lunches themselves or outsource to an external supplier.
In Waihi, where 680 students must be fed, no local supplier could cater for them, said Alistair.
The initiative will mean the closure of the school's canteen. However, the school has guaranteed canteen staff employment, along with three other local people.
Paeroa College Principal Amy Hacker said all 283 of its students are served meals prepared by three chefs daily.
Students receive a main - wrap, sandwich, bap or hot entre depending on the day - whole piece of fresh fruit, a low-sugar yogurt and a side of popcorn, low-sugar muffin or vegetable crisps. Lunches are provided to all students regardless of economic circumstances.
"The school lunches have been excitedly received by the community with many families reporting that a weight has been lifted off of their shoulders in terms of providing for their children in challenging economic times. Student attendance has increased 15 per cent from term 1 2020.
"We have also initiated a breakfast club every morning which provides hot drinks, toast and cereal to any students who so desire. There are about 30-35 students each morning and this is supported by Paeroa Rotary, Kids Can and Kickstart Breakfast."
