7309 (2025). Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan to the Associate Minister of Education

7309 (2025). Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan to the Associate Minister of Education: How, if at all, will the Ministry of Education include nutrition of Ka Ora, Ka Ako meals in their evaluation of the programme?

Hon David Seymour: I am advised that all meals are to meet the nutritional standards and additional food items are to be added to lunches when extra vegetable, protein, or carbohydrates is required to meet the standards. To monitor and assess the quality of meals, the Ministry conduct regular visits to schools to observe and report on service delivery and student satisfaction. These visits allow for direct assessment of the quality of meals, and whether visual appeal, portion size and quality of the meals meet expected standards. Feedback is incorporated into improving future meal plans, delivery schedules, and service standards to continuously enhance programme effectiveness. Termly surveys are sent to schools to collect information about how the programme is running and ask questions against the key metrics above and gather student feedback.