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The Red Cross plans to offer free breakfasts to all low-income primary schools, even though a trial at two Manukau schools collapsed in one because of a lack of volunteers.
The international charity has teamed up with Countdown and Woolworths supermarkets to supply Weet-Bix, bread, spreads and a hot drink to children in the country's 270 poorest (decile 1) primary schools.
But the offer depends on schools opting to take part and the Red Cross finding volunteers to run the scheme.
At East Tamaki Primary School in Manukau, where the national scheme was launched yesterday, a trial has been run for a year with a team of volunteers led by Lito Tapatuetoa, the mother of deputy principal Maryann Tapatuetoa.
But the other trial at Mangere's Koru School folded late last year.
"When the programme was running it was absolutely brilliant," said principal Stan Whata. On most days, 40 to 100 of the school's 700 students turned up for breakfast.
"But the biggest hurdle for us was being able to get a consistent group of volunteers ... At one stage we had a group of teachers who volunteered to run the programme.
"They saw the benefits from what it was doing for the children, but unfortunately we haven't been able to get it going this year."
The scheme's national manager, Patrick Cummings, said the Red Cross studied the need for a breakfast scheme in Northland in 2005, a year after the Australian Red Cross introduced a similar scheme which now feeds children in 170 schools.
It then talked to Manukau City Council, which confirmed a need, and started the trials at East Tamaki and Koru.
An evaluation of the trials by Auckland University found that 5 to 15 per cent of pupils at both schools took part, and the children involved were "better behaved, more alert and settled". But recruiting and keeping volunteers was "the main challenge".
Red Cross is offering to train volunteers for the breakfast scheme in food handling skills.
"The problem is finding volunteers. There are lots of families where both parents work and it's a struggle," Mr Cummings said.
At East Tamaki, where the scheme attracts 20 to 40 of the 260 pupils on three mornings a week, principal Sarah Mirams said all the volunteers were grandmothers because most parents worked.
"Often dad works nights and mum works days or vice versa. One boy's mum starts at 6.30am," Ms Mirams said. "I'm sure they have food in the house but he would have to get it himself and being primary-school aged, he may not be capable."
"So at least three mornings a week she [mum] knows he's here getting a nutritious breakfast. It's only three mornings a week because that's all we can get volunteers for."
She said the breakfasts not only helped the children's concentration in class, but also taught them social skills and manners through eating together with adults and teachers.
Bilingual unit teacher Andrea Kani said it took a couple of months for children to overcome a sense of shame about going to school for breakfast.
"It's a challenge for them to sit down, which some of them are not used to, and have a chat with adults and teachers," she said.
Countdown general manager Leon van Rensburg said his 60 stores would provide food for the schemes where the stores exist, and Woolworths stores would take over in other areas.
