Assessing The Potential for School Lunch Programme Ka Ora, Ka Ako to Enhance Education, Sustainability and Health Goals

Authors

  • Pippa McKelvie-Sebileau https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4337-7321
  • Boyd Swinburn University of Auckland
  • David Rees
  • Rachael Glassey Te Pūkenga
  • David Tipene-Leach Te Pūkenga
  • Kelly Garton University of Auckland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26686/pq.v20i3.9562

Keywords:

school meal programmes, food systems, sustainability, policy outcomes, public health, wellbeing, children

Abstract

The Ka Ora, Ka Ako school lunch programme introduced in 2020 provides nutritious lunches to around 220,000 students in low-advantage schools. While the food security impacts of this programme have been well documented, its potential to enhance outcomes in other areas of public policy is underappreciated. We conducted a policy analysis to map the programme’s intersection with current public policy agendas in education, sustainability and health in Aotearoa New Zealand. We conclude that Ka Ora, Ka Ako can be a powerful platform to effect broad societal outcomes through alignment with school curricula, concerted effort to reduce
carbon emissions, and commitment to delivering highly nutritious foods to all students in qualifying schools.

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Author Biographies

Pippa McKelvie-Sebileau

Pippa McKelvie-Sebileau was project manager and founding member of Nourishing Hawke’s Bay. She is now a research fellow with the FEAST project (food systems that support transitions to healthy and sustainable diets).

Boyd Swinburn, University of Auckland

Boyd Swinburn is a professor of population nutrition and global health at the University of Auckland, and a member of the research unit at Te Kura i Awarua Rangahau Māori Centre, EIT.

David Rees

David Rees is the founding partner of Synergia, a research and consulting firm established in the late 1990s providing systems solutions to complex problems.

Rachael Glassey, Te Pūkenga

Rachael Glassey is a senior research fellow at Te Pūkenga, Hawke’s Bay campus and manages the Nourishing Hawke’s Bay project.

David Tipene-Leach, Te Pūkenga

David Tipene-Leach is a public health physician and Professor of Māori and Indigenous Research at Te Pūkenga, Hawke’s Bay campus and co-director of the Te Kura i Awarua Rangahau Mäori Centre, EIT.

Kelly Garton, University of Auckland

Kelly Garton is a research fellow in the School of Population Health at the University of Auckland, studying food environments and transitions to healthy and sustainable food systems.

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Published

2024-08-19

Issue

Vol. 20 No. 3 (2024): Policy Quarterly

Section

Articles

License

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