David Seymour Launches Cost-Efficient School Lunch Programme for 2025
New Model Ensures Nutritious Meals for 242,000 Students While Saving $130M Annually.
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- Country:
- New Zealand
Associate Education Minister David Seymour today visited Otahuhu College to witness firsthand the rollout of the government’s reformed school lunch programme, which is set to provide nutritious meals to around 242,000 students every school day throughout 2025.
“As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On today’s menu from the School Lunch Collective is beef pasta bolognaise in classic tomato sauce,” said Mr Seymour.
The revamped programme, implemented to enhance cost-efficiency without compromising quality, has successfully integrated commercial expertise, leveraged government buying power, and optimized supply chains. These strategic improvements have resulted in over $130 million in annual savings, exceeding the cost-cutting goals set in Budget 2024.
“Last year, the programme was reformed to deliver the same outcomes while costing taxpayers less. This was achieved by embracing commercial expertise, using government buying power, and generating supply chain efficiencies to realize over $130 million of annual cost savings, even more than anticipated in Budget 2024,” Mr Seymour stated.
The government has ensured that every student previously receiving a school lunch will continue to do so. By collaborating with private sector entities like Compass Group, Libelle, Gilmours, and over 17 food manufacturers and suppliers, the programme has set a new benchmark for government-business partnerships in service delivery.
“If the previous government had set up the programme with the new, more efficient model, around $800 million of taxpayer funds could have been saved over the past five years while maintaining the same benefits for students. It was impossible to justify keeping the old model when it is possible to deliver at half the cost,” Mr Seymour added.
In addition to school lunches, the government has extended its food support initiative to include early childhood education. Up to 10,000 children aged two to five who attend low-equity, community-based early learning services will now receive free nutritious meals. The rollout will commence on March 31, with around 4,000 children initially benefiting. Additional early learning centres will join the programme every six weeks until the target of 10,000 is reached.
“I’m pleased to see the new programme underway. Since its announcement in October last year, the priority has been to support student learning by providing a free nutritious meal to students, every school day,” Mr Seymour stated.
With this initiative, the government aims to continue refining and expanding the programme, ensuring that children receive the nourishment they need for better learning outcomes while maximizing taxpayer value.
“I expect the programme will continue to evolve over time. But first and foremost, we’re proud to deliver the new programme to schools for the start of Term 1 2025,” concluded Mr Seymour.
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