Bette Christie serves 10,000th KidsCan meal

Bette Christie's head teacher, Stacey Trotter enjoying a meal with tamariki.

A Napier kindergarten has just served its 10,000th free meal to tamariki, thanks to a fruitful partnership with KidsCan.

Bette Christie's head teacher Stacey Trotter says having wholesome food freely available has made a tangible difference to its tamariki and whānau, many of whom continue to be impacted by the lingering effects of the pandemic, coupled with the rising cost of living.

Having meals supplied also takes a weight off the mind of any busy family accessing the Maraenui based kindergarten.

"We recognise that our tamariki come to us with diverse learning needs, so we have created an environment where these needs can be met in an holistic manner, providing a calm and safe space that supports learning and development."

Stacey says since implementing free meals and a peaceful environment, the teaching team is seeing significant change in the children's learning outcomes.

"The environment is safe, supportive and engaging. It is beautiful to see," Stacey says.

The KidsCan's early childhood programme – the first of its kind in the country – has been running since 2018 and supports more than 6000 children in 157 low equity centres nationwide.

The universal programme gives all children in each centre their own fleece-lined jacket, shoes and socks, nit treatment products, daily fruit and yoghurt and cooked lunch. The meals are freshly prepared by centres using healthy ingredients delivered every week.

The menus are approved by the Heart Foundation and centres choose from a range of recipes provided such as chicken stir-fry, vege curry and lasagne. There are more than 100 centres on the waitlist.