Govt dishes out surprise new school lunch tender

A spokesperson for Associate Education Minister David Seymour says there is no change in direction. (Image: NZME)

Wed, 23 Jul 2025

The Government denies it has changed tack on its revamped school lunch programme. But a surprise new tender issued on Tuesday, which opens the door to more pricing flexibility than its predecessor, appears to tell a different story. On Tuesday, the Ministry of Education (MoE) released a request for proposals (RFP) seeking suppliers to deliver lunches to around 196 contributing primary schools (Years 0-6) in 2026. While the ministry stated that this is standard procurement practice, the move appears to reverse an earlier directi...

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