15119 (2025). Hon Willow-Jean Prime to the Associate Minister of Education

15119 (2025). Hon Willow-Jean Prime to the Associate Minister of Education: How, if at all, is the nutritional value of meals delivered by the school lunch collective measured, and by whom?

Hon David Seymour: I am advised that menus are reviewed by the Ministry of Education at the beginning of each term to make sure they meet the programme nutritional standards. The School Lunch Collective has a team of food experts involved in menu preparation, including chefs, dietitians and nutritionists. Meeting nutritional standards is a core service level in the Services Agreement. The School Lunch Collective is required to deliver a monthly performance review on nutritional compliance, satisfaction scores, allergen and cultural and special dietary management. To measure the nutritional performance, the Ministry will monitor standards through: • individual meal details and spot checks at production kitchens • survey feedback received from schools each term • feedback and assessments from the Ministry staff onsite at schools • quality and nutrition spot checks at schools by independent food experts.