7311 (2025). Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan to the Associate Minister of Education

7311 (2025). Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan to the Associate Minister of Education: How, if at all, will the Ministry of Education include student enjoyment of Ka Ora, Ka Ako meals in their evaluation of the programme?

Hon David Seymour: The Government, on behalf of the taxpayer, is providing a lunch for children that need it, and doing so on a sustainable basis so the programme can continue. It was not sustainable under the previous government, as evident by the Labour government not funding it beyond the end of last year. That would have meant no state provided food for the students. The meals are required to be palatable and nutritious.] I am advised by the Ministry of Education that they 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 to continuously enhance the enjoyment of meals and programme effectiveness. Termly surveys are also sent to schools to collect information about how the programme is running and ask questions against the key metrics above and gather student feedback.