Listen
Confirmation that the government-funded lunch programme is under review has sparked serious concern from health charities and school principals.
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says 10,000 'free' school lunches are wasted each day, amounting to $25 million of wasted surplus lunches.
A coalition of health charities are alarmed that Seymour has been given ministerial responsibility for the programme which he campaigned to abolish, and are seeking an urgent meeting with him.
The programme, Ka Ora, Ka Ako, introduced by the Labour government in 2019, now provides free healthy lunches to more than 220,000 students - about a quarter of all school students.
Westport South School principal Craig Adams spoke to Charlotte Cook.