School lunch petition

Health Coalition Aotearoa (HCA) has launched a petition calling on the government to protect free school lunches and not make cuts to the programme.

The programme offers 230,000 students in about 1000 of the least advantaged schools’ healthy lunches, ensuring they receive at least one nutritious meal each day.

HCA co-chair Professor Lisa Te Morenga says this ensures that children have the fuel they need to grow and learn.

“Without this vital service, kids will go hungry, and their education will suffer,” she says.

Associate Education Minister and ACT leader David Seymour is reviewing the free school lunches programme ahead of the budget in May and has stated he wants to cut funding for the programme by up to 50 percent.

“In the context of increasing child poverty, food insecurity and poor nutrition, this proposal is incomprehensible and morally wrong,” Te Morenga says.

The petition can be found here: https://our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/save-healthy-free-school-lunches