Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Samantha Mortimer: Greymouth High School on the Government's ambitious school lunch budget

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Samantha Mortimer: Greymouth High School on the Government's ambitious school lunch budget · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The government's teaming up with private companies to deliver the
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: new school lunches at just three bucks a pop. They
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: reckon seventeen Kiwi supplies and manufacturers are involved. Savings for
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: the taxpayer one hundred and thirty million dollars a year.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Will it works. Samantha Mortimer is the Graymouth High School
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: principal and she's with me this morning. Samantha, good morning, Well, Dona,
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: good morning, Thanks for being with me. Does this sounds
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: like a win win to me? What do you reckon?
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: Well, we're obviously happy that we still have something to
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: provide for our students, but you know, we have a
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: lot of concerns as well around what the food's going
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: to look like. Originally we were told it's only going
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: to be cold, but now it's going to be hot
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: as well. We have we're going to our local supplier
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: who's been providing our meals have not obviously been contracted
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: and so the money that they've already put into our
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: external providers has all that money, I don't know where
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: that's going to go to. The people are going to
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: lose about seven jobs as well, so it's not just
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: the basics of the food, it's actually everything else that
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: goes behind it as well.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: What does it cost you at the moment per meal?
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: I think it depends on the age of the student,
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: but it's definitely more than three dollars double plus a
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: little bit. But that includes everything, and it's not just
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: about the food as well. It's actually the production, it's
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: the wages, it's the transport. So yeah, I'd be really
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: interested to see how they're going to do everything for
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: three dollars. Well, that can be true.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: It does sound ambitious, it does sound ambitious, But if
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: they can do it, it's got to be a good thing,
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: right because that money, the savings that they're making, they're
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: going to use to feed kids who are two to five,
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: you're years old, who are low income as well. I mean,
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: you know, if you can do it for cheaper and
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: you can do more with less, then that's a good thing. Surely.
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I have to agree that is a good thing
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: if you can, but I just do question what is
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: actually included in that three dollars and also the benefits
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: to you know that currently about seven other people at
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: least are employed in the local community who now won't
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: have a job, so that is also something to say
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: it is sad.
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: It is a shame you mentioned the hot cold thing.
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: Do kids care? I mean, if you're hungry, like the
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: idea is feeding hungry kids. If you're hungry, you'llat cold one,
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: won't you.
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: Well, you know, if you're hungry, you eat anything. But
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: every kid deserves to have, you know, high quality food,
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: and every kid deserves to have a high quality education.
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: Just because you're poor doesn't mean that you should just
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: be given you know whatever.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: Samantha, thank you very much for your time. Great to
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: have you on the show. Samantha mortem at Graymouth High
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: School principal A little skeptical. I think it's fair to
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: say of the three dollars school lunch program seventeen after five,
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: I'd love to hear your views on this this morning.
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: Do you think it can be done for three bucks
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: a pop? What is the cheapest meal you can get
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: to put in front of your child? Nine ninety two
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: is the number to text. And I mean when I
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: grew up, never had a hot meal lunch unless I
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: made two minute noodles. You know, Mom used to say
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: b yo or g yo, get your own on a
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: Friday night, and you know you did noodles or something
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: like that. But I mean I never had a hot lunch.
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: I'm still standing for more.
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: From Early Edition with Ryan Bridge.
• 3:18
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• 3:20
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• 3:23
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