Government KidsCan funding will see 10,000 more school lunches to ECE

Thursday, 24 October 2024

A new Early Childhood Education food programme, made possible through cuts to school lunches, will be delivered by KidsCan starting from next February, the Government has announced.

Associate Education Minister David Seymour said an additional $4 million in funding would see 16,000 lunches delivered to early learners with the highest needs, up from 6000 when a programme was initially launched in 2019.

The additional funding was from cost savings in the new school lunch programme, announced earlier this week, Seymour said.

The new school lunch menus were revealed on Tuesday with Seymour announcing the new programme would cost $3 a lunch and save $130m.

It included chicken katsu, meatball pasta and chickpea curry.

“KidsCan are experienced at effectively helping Kiwi children affected by poverty,” Seymour said.

It was the only large scale, national, not-for-profit and non-governmental provider of food to ECE centres.

“They already have the systems and relationships in place to supply food to ECE centres who need it, in a way that is cost effective.”

KidsCan’s chief executive Julie Chapman said the organisation was thrilled by the announcement.

'Teachers at the centres we support say children are happier, healthier, and more engaged in learning and playing,“ Chapman said.

“We’re happy that this funding will mean more children in poverty get the nutrition they desperately need.”

However, not every centre on KidsCan’s waitlist would qualify for support under the Government’s criteria and it was expected that dozens of centres who applied for the chartity’s help would still be waiting, Chapman said.

Eligibility for the programme was based on factors including information from the new Early Childhood Education Equity Index, measuring the extent to which an ECE service draws its children from low socio-economic communities.

“The fact that we will still have a waiting list highlights just how tough times are – we are facing record demand as more and more families just can’t make ends meet,” Chapman said.

“The continued generosity of our amazing donors and business partners is crucial – we’re committed to ensuring that every child receives the support they deserve.”

KidsCan would contact eligible services over the next couple of months so programmes could begin early next year. All 2 to 5-year-olds attending eligible ECE centres part of the programme would be able to access the lunches.

Good nutrition was a key factor affecting early brain development in the first 1000 days of a child’s life, Seymour said.

“The more we can do to support good nutrition from a young age, the more likely children are to reach their potential … I am proud this government can innovate to provide help for even more children who need it.”

The lunches were chosen by staff from a range of recipes designed in collaboration with the Heart Foundation, including macaroni cheese with hidden vegetables, shepherd's pie, spaghetti bolognese and chop suey along with fresh fruit and yoghurt.

The announcement was welcomed by the Early Childhood Council.

“We support making nutrition a core focus in the ECE outcomes framework, alongside a child’s health, safety, development and care, as outlined in our ECE Regulation Review submission,” chief executive Simon Laube said.

A targeted approach was important to ensure the children who needed it most had access to food, he said.

“Many ECE centres provide food now and it works really well, so Government support to extend nutrition to children and families who really need it is very welcome.”