- Hon David Seymour
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that from Term 1 2026 the new school lunch programme will deliver affordable, nutritious lunches, on time to contributing primary schools every day.
"As schools open in 2026, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day," Mr Seymour says.
"From term 1 2026 all contributing primary schools (years 0 - 6) will transition to the same cost-efficient model as other schools in the programme. This two-stage approach was agreed to by Cabinet in 2024.
"Suppliers were invited to apply for the Healthy School Lunches Request for Proposals in July. Today we have announced, ten suppliers (listed at the end of this release) were contracted to deliver lunches to 188 contributing primary schools."
Suppliers are contracted to deliver school lunches which cater to standard special diet lunches. They will use sustainable packaging and user-friendly ordering systems. Suppliers will distribute meals to their schools and manage surplus meals and waste.
"The regional approach was found to best meet the needs of contributing primary schools in New Zealand. For example, many small primary schools serve remote communities. Having multiple suppliers means the programme can deliver to these schools, while saving the taxpayer an expected $145 million in 2026," Mr Seymour says.
"The ten suppliers have been part of the programme for several years. They bring the experience, systems, and track records to deliver nutritious lunches that students enjoy every school day.
"For example, when floods close the roads Café Mahia still finds a way to deliver lunches to two isolated schools in Wairoa. They have the know how to deal will the unique asks of the region.
"The weighted average meal cost across all suppliers is $3.46, which is based on the per meal cost of suppliers between $3 and $5 per lunch. Suppliers require different price points based on the unique parameters of their region as well as remote location and size of the schools included.
"No increase to funding is required for this, it is funded by efficiencies made in the wider programme through more flexible ordering. This Government gave schools the ability to order to demand, so if parents can provide their children with lunch the school doesn't need to order a taxpayer-funded one.
"Under the Labour-led government, lunches cost up to $8.68 per student. Through innovation and embracing commercial expertise, we're delivering a better programme, saving taxpayers approximately $145 million per annum compared to how Labour funded it.
"Since the beginning of Term 1 2025, the Programme has delivered over 30 million nutritious meals, to 242,000 students, in over 1,000 schools.
"The government is also providing food for up to 10,000 two-to-five-year-olds attending low-equity, community-based early learning services. This is funded by savings found in the lunch programme.
"Some suppliers in the existing programme will be affected, and I appreciate this will be tough. However, the emphasis of the programme is to ensure students get healthy meals at an affordable cost to the taxpayer."
The new suppliers for contributing primary schools are listed below. More information on individual suppliers is available in the attached information sheet.
- Appresso Pro Foods
- Montana Group
- Ka Pai Kai
- KDJ Catering
- Cafe Mahia
- Star Fresh
- University of Canterbury Student Association (UCSA)
- Knuckles (The Food Company)
- The Y Gisborne
- Pita Pit and Subway
