Child poverty: Kids bring dry noodles to school for lunch – or no food at all

More children came to class without lunch than with it when Robyn Driver started as the principal of Te Kohanga School in 2017.

Teachers at the Port Waikato school would see students lose concentration through the morning as their blood sugar dropped. 

They knew there was nothing in their lunchboxes for them to eat come lunchtime. 

Some children came to school every day without anything to eat. Some brought only dry noodles. 

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The teachers would stock their classrooms with fruit, dipping into their own pockets to try to stave off their students' hunger. 

But it's only since KidsCan got involved that they've seen a real difference. There's a breakfast club each day, and at lunchtime a meal cooked with food from KidsCan supplemented with vegetables from the school gardens.

They're busier on some days than others. Weekends can be tough for the children, Driver said: Late nights and not enough food at home means the breakfast club is always busy on Monday morning. 

By Friday, often the food has run out at home. They'll cook up double servings to make sure everyone is fed. 

For struggling families, stocking the pantry is about more than rustling up the money for a loaf of bread. It's a 40-minute round trip to the nearest supermarket, Driver said, meaning the cost of petrol is a real barrier to accessing fresh food. 

When new families join the school, Driver explains that it doesn't matter if the cupboards are bare; there's always breakfast and lunch available at the school to anyone who wants to eat. 

Since the breakfast and lunch programmes were introduced, attendance has gone from about 65-70 per cent to 89 per cent. 

Having food readily available also means kids aren't thinking about it all day, Driver said. The children are also involved in growing the vegetables, preparing and serving the food, setting them up with skills and confidence.

Teachers have a complex role, Driver said – they're not just teaching kids how to read and write, they're teaching them how to be "lifelong members of society". 

"That job is made even harder by the fact that we're having to clothe and feed and help them deal with some difficult challenges in their lives at home."

However, she said teachers were better able to do the work of teaching children with the support of charities such as KidsCan, which now feeds 34,000 children across New Zealand. 

People can donate at www.kidscan.org.nz.