Tens of thousands of people are demanding the Government commits to fully funding free and healthy school lunches.  

“Our Labour Save School Lunches petition continues to grow and has now received more than 46,000 signatures,” Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said.

“Today at Parliament I have also been presented with a petition by Health Coalition Aotearoa, a group also calling for the cuts to stop and to protect lunches for kids because of the long-term benefits to their health.

“This sends an incredibly clear message to the Government and to Associate Education Minister David Seymour - the free and healthy school lunches programme must continue to be funded.

“The people who are signing these petitions are teachers, parents and principals who see the benefit of food in schools on kids’ learning, attention and engagement in the classroom.

“With all of David Seymour’s talk about attendance this week he’s still looking at cutting back a programme that is a reason some kids go to school. He mustn’t underestimate the difference a full tummy can make for a child.

“Parents and caregivers are also saving $33 per week per child, or up to $1,250 per year per child on average at schools where lunches are provided. It is exactly the kind of programme that should continue to be funded, especially right now when families are struggling with the cost of living.

“It gets more difficult by the day to understand how this Government can give a $2.9 billion tax break to landlords rather than feeding more than 200,000 kids every day.

“That sum is the equivalent of 439 million school lunches and would continue the programme for years to come.

“We continue to call on Christopher Luxon, Nicola Willis and David Seymour to act now, keep the programme and give schools and parents certainty,” Jan Tinetti said.

Sign the petition to save free and healthy school lunches here.