Ka Ora, Ka Ako school lunch programme issues

The story so far

The government's revamped Ka Ora, Ka Ako school lunch programme, restructured to save taxpayer money, began in early 2025 with late deliveries, poor quality and schools having to pay for food, which Associate Education Minister David Seymour called teething problems. Complaints grew to include repetitive meals, uneaten food, reports of ham in meals for Muslim students, and a lack of halal options. The Principals' Federation asked for a return to the previous system, and Labour called for Seymour to be sacked. Serious safety incidents followed, including melted plastic found in food at a Tasman school and a Gisborne student suffering second-degree burns from a meal that was not designed for commercial reheating. In March, main provider Libelle Group went into liquidation owing more than $14 million, and Compass Group agreed to buy its relevant assets. Ministers Erica Stanford and Seymour had struggled to meet over the problems, and reports say Seymour knew of the liquidation risk before Stanford did.^{30 Jan 2025; 2, 20, 21, 25, 27 Feb 2025; 1, 3, 4, 5, 11, 14, 17, 18, 21 Mar 2025} Late deliveries have continued, with 9.96 per cent of meals reaching 450 schools late on one Wednesday, and some schools have received frozen food or meals that were inedible. Dozens of school canteens have closed following the liquidation, and some schools have asked to leave the programme, although one request was refused.^{13, 14, 17, 18 Mar 2025}

Latest

A Rotorua school co-principal has criticised the programme after students were served only a single barbecue bun on one day. Schools across the country continue to report problems with meals, and the Compass Group takeover of Libelle's assets is subject to approvals.^{14, 21 Mar 2025}

What's next

Seymour aims to resolve the programme's quality and delivery issues by term two.^{4 Mar 2025}

Key moments

1. 30 Jan 2025Seymour calls early late deliveries and quality concerns 'teething problems'.
2. 27 Feb 2025Principals' Federation calls for government to revert to the previous lunch system.
3. 3 Mar 2025Melted plastic found in meals at a Tasman rural school.
4. 7 Mar 2025Ministry stops packaged meals after Gisborne student is burnt.
5. 11 Mar 2025Libelle Group, supplying about 125,000 daily meals, enters liquidation.
6. 13 Mar 20259.96 per cent of meals delivered late to 450 schools on one day.
7. 14 Mar 2025Compass Group agrees to buy Libelle's relevant assets.
8. 21 Mar 2025Reports say Seymour knew of liquidation risk before Stanford.

Written from the stories below; each sentence links to its sources.