Govt Partners with KidsCan to Expand Healthy Food Access for 16,000 Early Learners

KidsCan, recognized as New Zealand’s only large-scale national non-profit food provider for ECE services, will expand its reach with the programme.

Associate Education Minister David Seymour announced today that KidsCan Charitable Trust will lead the new Early Childhood Education (ECE) Food Programme, set to launch in February 2025. The programme will expand food support to early learners, providing healthy meals to 16,000 children.

"I want to acknowledge KidsCan for their incredible work supporting children’s learning since 2005. Their early childhood programme already provides healthy lunches to over 6,000 early learners with the highest needs, and with an additional $4 million in funding from this government, that number will grow to 16,000 in 2025," said Minister Seymour.

KidsCan, recognized as New Zealand’s only large-scale national non-profit food provider for ECE services, will expand its reach with the programme. Minister Seymour highlighted that KidsCan has established effective systems and relationships, allowing them to supply food cost-effectively to ECE centres in need.

Minister Seymour also referenced research from Sir Peter Gluckman, emphasizing the critical role of good nutrition in early brain development. "The more we can do to support good nutrition from a young age, the more likely children are to reach their potential," he said.

The additional funding for this initiative was made possible through cost savings from the new healthy school lunch programme, announced earlier this week.

Eligibility for the ECE Food Programme will be based on factors from the newly updated Early Childhood Education Equity Index, which measures how many children come from low socio-economic communities. KidsCan will reach out to eligible ECE services in the coming months, ensuring all 2-5-year-olds attending participating services will have access to the programme.

Minister Seymour praised the government’s financial prudence, noting that, "The first 1,000 days are crucial to a child's development. I’m proud we can innovate to support even more children who need it."