Some students have compared the meals to prison food. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
The government's new school lunch programme has encountered yet another obstacle today.
A spokesperson for Compass, which heads the programme, says staff were delayed preparing meals this morning due to problems with the ovens.
In a later statement, the School Lunch Collective admitted Auckland schools were unlikely to get their lunches on time after a technical problem with the ovens early Friday morning.
"We have been in touch with affected schools directly to apologise and we're working together with them to make sure tamariki receive their lunches today," a spokesperson said.
"In some cases, Compass NZ has delivered additional food items to schools and where it is easier for schools to go out and purchase meals for students, schools will be reimbursed."
The issue was not affecting schools outside of Auckland, it said.
It comes amid heavy criticism of the new programme this week due to delays at a number of schools.
Educators and students have also questioned the food's quality, which some have called disgusting.
Whilst visiting Auckland's Ōtāhuhu College to see the results of his reworked lunch programme on Thursday, David Seymour was forced to apologise for the late deliveries that had left kids hungry.
But the Associate Education Minister was defending the lunches, which some students were comparing to prison food.
The revised programme brought the cost of each meal down to $3 and would, on paper, save taxpayers over $130 million a year without sacrifices to quality and nutrition.
It sounds too good to be true, and according to Ōtāhuhu College student Heremoko, it is.
"I've asked other students around the school, they have been describing it as bland, they've been describing the looks as like prison food," she said.
"We're hoping that they can improve this for all our students."
She said it was a step down from last year's meals under the old programme.
"Last year we actually knew what we were eating, we could see it. This year we're questioning what we're eating."
Seymour was aware of the complaints, which he downplayed to media during a stand up on the school field.
"With any food, it doesn't matter if you're at a fast food joint, a Michelin-style restaurant or your nan's home cooking, there will always be a variety of opinions about the quality of the food," he said.
Just around the corner, at Ōtāhuhu Intermediate School, Principal Tanya Brook said the meals had been late for three days in a row.
"The first day of school for us this year was Tuesday and our lunches were 45 minutes late. Yesterday, fingers crossed, we were hoping for the best, but they were actually an hour and a half late," she exclaimed.
Brook said that on Wednesday the school had ordered pizzas to keep the students energised, an expense she planned to ask the Ministry of Education to reimburse.
Associate Education Minister David Seymour on Thursday said the scheme was "rolling out pretty well" and that he had received mixed feedback.
He said that 230,000 meals were being delivered and that no menu would get rave reviews from everyone.
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