PRESS RELEASE

MANA President Annette Sykes

Fuel Our Futures

Sunday 14th April 2014

“MANA is working with communities to eradicate child poverty” says MANA President Annette Sykes following a “Feed the Kids” Symposium in Tokoroa this weekend.

Three speakers, Alan Johnston from Child Poverty Action Group, Rhodes Street School Principal Shane Ngatai and Moko Morris from Te Waka Kai Ora, came and presented to the symposium.

“What they impressed upon MANA was that in providing food in school programmes, there is a wider set of skills kids learn as a result that go a long way towards eradicating poverty. They learn about horticulture, they learn about diet and they learn about budgeting. While the “Feed the Kids” Bill is directly focussing on giving every decile one and two school kid free breakfasts and lunches, it will also provide kids with other skills that will prove valuable in their lives”.

“The other key message that came from the symposium is how existing food in school programmes adopt the mantra, “It takes a village to raise a child”. Communities throughout Aotearoa have rallied around existing food in school programmes and the schools involved have become the hubs of the communities they serve”.

“MANA members are going to take those key lessons and apply them in the communities they live in. I am particularly excited to share those ideas at “The Big Breakfast” at Ngati Otara Park, Auckland, on Wednesday when we spread the message of how feeding the kids can lead to bigger and brighter things like eradicating poverty once and for all”.

ENDS