New school lunches waste appears to exceed 70% as David Seymour’s incompetence and PR reliance rises to the fore

Written By: - Date published: 12:31 pm, February 24th, 2025 - 13 comments
Categories: act, david seymour, education, erica stanford, national/act government, schools - Tags:

Note: MickeySavage has a great, related post – Seymour is wrecking the school lunch program

Last month, David Seymour’s press release on school lunches said:

“The [school lunch] programme was reformed to deliver the same outcomes while costing taxpayers less. This was achieved by embracing commercial expertise, using government buying power, and generating supply chain efficiencies…”

And while that all sounded fair, the end result is – from this, last year:

To now – the new “improved” programme under the government’s flagship corporate partnership –

And despite Seymour telling Newsroom last week that he’s had compliments from principals about the program, it turns out the government isn’t tracking feedback at all.

Makes sense.

Consistently poor quality, “late, burnt and leaking”, non-nutritious, prison food, with non-Halal ham described as “Halal friendly” delivered to Muslim students – all while looking like slop.

In some cases, schools are being delivered the same already unappetising meal for 12 days in a row.

And this new “better” school lunch program – which is frozen and defrosted in Hamilton before being transported all around the country, is seeing cases of 70%+ food wastage.

And while the government touts “cost savings”, the reality is the waste is adding up

Social media post – early February

On top of that, it turns out that the administrative burden of the new program is adding thousands of dollars directly onto schools.

Let alone the added costs of emissions, thousands of Kiwi jobs gone, more Kiwis on beneficiaries, disruptions for school staff which are having to spend hours dealing with the problems, many schools are having to fork out to buy food when the food doesn’t arrive or arrives burnt or not compliant with the label, more potential health problems and poor role modelling for kids.

One Murchison Area school principle has called it all a “bloody disaster”.

Last year, National’s then Education spokesperson, Erica Stanford, described Labour’s School Lunch Program as a “shocking” and “extraordinary level of waste”.

“National wants to see a more targeted approach to school lunches that reduces waste, and delivers good value for money, but ensures the students most in need receive the benefit of a healthy lunch so they can get the education they deserve.”

What was that then? 5% or so?

And now it’s 70%, has Stanford forgetten her values and objectives now she’s in government? That is when the Education Minister is not personally spreading misinformation herself.

But David Seymour told Newsroom his goal on school lunches was really about matching “nutritional requirements at a lower cost.”

The reality, as Andrew Riddell points out, is Seymour is lying to Kiwis.

Again.

Ministry of Education:

I can advise that the government’s decision to change the Ka Ora, Ka Ako | Healthy School Lunches programme preceded the receipt of any nutritional assessment or proposals.

i.e. There are zero nutritional requirements for the school lunches and it shows – every single day.

Seymour’s penchant for deceit appears pathological – last year telling Newsroom:

“I simply want to see sound outcomes…nutrition for children”.

That must be why there are zero nutritional requirements on the listeria, scandal ridden multinational he hired for the job.

And why Seymour’s press releases and words need to be taken with a huge tank of salt.

When this government tells you foreign investment decisions are being made for the good of the country and for “economic benefits,” you need to help each other understand what it truly means.

Repost from Mountain Tui Substack

13 comments on “New school lunches waste appears to exceed 70% as David Seymour’s incompetence and PR reliance rises to the fore ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. mickysavage 1
    24 February 2025 at 12:49 pm

    Thanks Mountain Tui.

    I have always been amazed at their nerve in criticising Labour for too much waste and not good enough quality but then delivering a huge amount of waste and terrible quality. Two third of the orginal budget is still being sent but the overall benefit is a tiny fraction of the previous scheme.

    • Mountain Tui 1.1
      24 February 2025 at 1:07 pm

      Kia ora mickysavage

      By my back of the envelop calculations, if this continues –

      • 5% waste on $300mn = $15m excess – mainly taken home and with happier, healthier, well fed kids
      • 70% waste on $170mn = $119m WASTED – mainly dumped with hungry, unhappy kids & schools having to pay from their pocket

      Then they are not collecting any official records.

      I wonder why.

  2. PsyclingLeft.Always 2
    24 February 2025 at 1:05 pm

    Mountain Tui, the pictures tell the story. Re the Nu Lunches…seems you could paraphrase Oliver Twist "Please sir, can I not have some more !"

    And that one of Seymour/Stanford ? Lying through their teeth personified !.

    A form of child mistreatment ?

  3. thinker 3
    24 February 2025 at 5:48 pm

    Be prepared for the "if they turn it down they can't be that hungry, so let's scrap the scheme" biteback…

    • Mountain Tui 3.1
      24 February 2025 at 6:31 pm

      I'd wager that was the plan in the first place – although the bad publicity will make it look bad now. Surely they are going to try to redeem their image?!

  4. Patricia Bremner 4
    24 February 2025 at 8:06 pm

    Has anyone else noticed a less bouyant Seymour. Keep up the critiques.

    • Jilly Bee 4.1
      24 February 2025 at 8:11 pm

      Yes, Patricia B, his absence is fairly obvious, but welcome.

    • thinker 4.2
      25 February 2025 at 6:59 am

      Maybe he's eating his own school lunches.

      That picture of the four lunches made me wonder if the source ingredients come from hospital operating theatres.

      • Drowsy M. Kram 4.2.1
        25 February 2025 at 10:03 am

        Maybe he's eating his own school lunches.

        David Eatmore and his four school lunches – that takes me back.

        Jennings and the Furtive Feaster [YouTube audio]

      • Incognito 4.2.2
        25 February 2025 at 10:17 am

        Warning: the following might put you off food for the rest of the day!

        The sauces and flavouring in the school lunches are made from locally produced and sourced fatbergs provided by Soylent GreeNZ.