David Shearer has announced Labour policy”to get free food into all decile 1 to 3 schools”. The charity KidsCan supports this but favours business, the community and government working together and targeting the most needy children.

A children’s charity supports Labour leader David Shearer’s policy to give free daily meals to all children in low decile schools, but believes a targeted approach to supporting the most needy children should be the key focus.

KidsCan Charitable Trust said it supported business, the community and government working together to address the issue of children going to school hungry.

KidsCan chief executive Julie Chapman said there was a responsibility to ensure the most vulnerable children were receiving the basics they needed to get to and through the school gates in a position to learn.

“Schools and teachers have enough to do without worrying about where they will get the funding to continue to provide food on an ongoing basis for children who are going hungry.”

But she said a targeted, discrete approach which supported the most needy children in a school with food that could be given at any time of the day was the most effective and financially prudent approach.

“As the Prime Minister said today, not all children in low decile schools need a food programme. What is needed, however, is a national food strategy and we believe we have, over the past seven years, developed a sustainable model which has proven positive educational outcomes.”

According to Kidscan, one in 11 kids in the four lowest deciles are hungry at school.

http://www.odt.co.nz/news/politics/225200/support-labours-food-schools-plan

Targeting hungry kids in all schools makes more sense rather than taking over feeding responsibilities from all parents in some schools.