Community cooks free lunch for school children

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Community cooks free lunch for school children

3News NZ

A school girl enjoys her free lunch

A school girl enjoys her free lunch

Imagine cooking lunch for 240 children for free. Not easy.

But yesterday, in a low income community on the edge of Whangarei, we witnessed exactly that.

Not a miracle, exactly, but a community response to poverty that acknowledges three crucial things:

  • Poverty is never the child's fault.
  • If it's difficult and inefficient to get to children in their homes, it's easier and more efficient to get to many more children in their schools.
  • Children who are happy, healthy and well fed, will do better - full stop.

But what makes the Food for Life lunch project at Manaia View School so special, and so unique, is that the lunch they're serving is hot, nutritious, and backed by everyone from the kids themselves, to their parents, to school staff, to local volunteers, to local businesses, to Fonterra.

Everyone coming together to feed 240 kids, with all that follows from that.

To donate to the Food For Life Trust, you can deposit into the following bank account:
 
06 0493 0486861 

Watch the video for the full story.

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Comments

26/10/2012 10:26:45 p.m.

Lee wrote:

Unfortunately for some families, after rent and utility expenses are taken out the only disposable income is food..forget the gas. People are struggling and not because they are lazy. It is wonderful to see that people recognize this and are willing to pull together as a community to help out. I know that this school has a garden and the children are planning a COMMUNITY orchard. They have eight consecutive Heart Beat Awards so are doing all they can to educate the community about healthy eating and living.

24/10/2012 6:56:58 p.m.

Annie O wrote:

More fools those people, encouraging selfish and lazy parents to do even less.

23/10/2012 4:45:08 p.m.

S wrote:

What great community spirit...would be good also to help teach parents about how to go about budgeting and preparing a lunch for their children. Also planting fruit trees at schools + vege gardens would be a good thing and children learn practical skills also.

23/10/2012 11:52:40 a.m.

Devan wrote:

Great to see such kind hearted volunters helping out. However, what happened to the old saying 'give a man a fish, he can feed his family for a day, but teach a man how to fish and he can feed his family for a lifetime'. The story from a while ago about the lady teaching school children how to grow vegetables is a more practical longterm solution to the hunger problem. These children can then teach their parents the skills which they have learned.

21/10/2012 10:21:23 p.m.

kim wrote:

wish more communitys were like this,great to read something where people come together and help others

20/10/2012 7:46:05 a.m.

Buddhi wrote:

Thank you for your kind donation H Ngatai. It costs us about $2 per meal so your donation will help 5 young kiwi kids get a hot meal for lunch : )

19/10/2012 11:16:32 p.m.

Tilli wrote:

I come from a community with a lot of poverty and a few of us came up with an idea to help school called lunch sponsorship where lunches could be dropped off by the community and given out to needed children by the teachers. We emailed all the local schools. Half didnt respond and the ones that did said as they already do a fruit in school scheme under contract they arent allowed to do anything else. So even with a WILLING community our efforts were refused. Children are still missing out on lunches because of a ridiculous contract......

19/10/2012 1:21:40 p.m.

Peter wrote:

Memories of that very school hall, 35 years ago: From dodgy discos to performing Bad Jelly the Witch, to boring assemblies. The colour of the roof beams have changed but now we have real progress. Today Whangarei,tomorrow the world. Well done Raumanga x

19/10/2012 1:04:03 p.m.

H Ngatai wrote:

I am not the ritchest person in the world,this story really moved me so a $10 donation has been transfered well done to all involed.

19/10/2012 11:02:06 a.m.

jan.. wrote:

The National Government way of showing how he cares for our children' its all a scam to destroy our youngsters our followers ability to learn that they reminds you of the act of terrorist but thanks to Campbell Live to see and hear our childrens cries' out for help. Just look at the mentally ill for an example'living in government housing are paying $200 rent per room per person and each house has 3-4 bedrooms that pays for the morgages, they also need help to maintain the healthy livings, and the last time I looked its was so dirty with an unhealthy outlook that the grass was growing so high that you can't hardly see the rooftop. Again thanks to Campbell Live for caring and for doing a brilliant job corncerning our children in needs.