Time Has Come For a National School Food Programme
1 May 2013
Time Has Come For a National
School Food Programme
The Green Party is
urging all political parties to commit to feeding hungry
school children as mounting public support shows the time
has come for a national school food programme.
The
Community Campaign for Food in Schools was launched today
and calls on MPs to support the Feed the Kids Bill which
comes before Parliament in June.
“It is not right
that in this beautiful country we have children going to
school too hungry to learn,” Green Party Co-leader and
education spokesperson Metiria Turei
said.
“Regardless of the cause of this hunger, it
is there and it is real and MPs have an opportunity to do
something about it.
“The Green Party is committed
to a school food programme and is working on ways to best
achieve that.
“The Feed the Kids Bill is an
opportunity for MPs to discuss the best way of providing
food in schools. By agreeing that providing something as
basic as food to children who need it Parliament would send
a powerful message about the value that we as a country
place on our children.
“Research shows that about
80,000 kiwi children are hungry at school. These kids are
caught in a poverty trap. Education is a way out of poverty,
but research shows hunger gets in the way of education.
“If MPs are serious about lifting achievement of
lower income kids, then we need to remove a major block
that’s preventing so many of them learning,” Mrs Turei
said.
ENDS