School lunches: Leftover offerings appear at community food pantry
A person who appears to be behind the free food has not responded to approaches from the Herald for comment.
Cotswold Mātāhae School told the Herald it is not part of the school lunch programme, and did not know which school the meals are coming from.
The boxes, which are not refrigerated, have provoked mixed reactions, with some people voicing food safety concerns on a community Facebook page.
“Please, if you need one by all means take but I would hate for anyone to get sick,” one poster wrote online.
“Wow, very generous and kind helping out people,” another said.
Others have referred to the meals as “yuck”, explaining how their children can’t eat them.
“Doesn’t surprise me they are in there, my kids came home saying the lunches were yuck today,” said one parent.
Food service company Compass Group has partnered with the Ministry of Education in the School Lunch Collective.
A ministry spokesperson said managing waste and food surplus is a key focus of the school lunch programme.
“From the beginning of term one, 2025, external model schools receiving meals from the School Lunch Collective, were asked to include their total roll, specialty meal details per student and delivery information into an online ordering portal.”
The online ordering portal means that schools can plan based on attendance and dietary requirements for students each day. This also allows for the number and type of meals delivered to be adjusted based on various activities, such as school trips, teacher-only days, or off-site classes.
“We would expect schools to adjust their information in the portal throughout the school year to help with minimising food surplus and waste,” the spokesperson said.
Compass Group has also been approached for comment.
The ministry spokesperson discouraged surplus hot meals from being distributed “as there are food safety risks associated with reheating meals twice”.
“If there are too many meals, we suggest schools check details on the … portal to make sure they have ordered the right number for students at school each day.”
It comes after significant criticism of minister David Seymour’s new lunch scheme, with many schools citing issues with portion size, food quality, delivery timeliness, and unsealed containers.
Katie Oliver is a Christchurch-based Multimedia Journalist and breaking news reporter.