Lunchbox donations highlight inequities in education

Monday, 23 February 2026

A Palmerston North principal who sees pupils turning up to school with no food or school bag says gifting them something as simple as a lunchbox can provide them with a sense of belonging.

Sistema has donated 1000 lunchboxes and drink bottles to tamariki at remote and rural higher-equity index schools as part of its School Starter Programme helping to combat food insecurity.

Fifteen children from Te Kura o Takaro were chosen as recipients of the project. Principal Josie Woon said who they were would remain confidential and she had left their selection to the teachers’ discretion.

As a decile 1 school, they were acutely aware of the needs their students faced with some going without the basics, and there were some who came to school without even a school bag.

But giving them a lunchbox of their own meant they could sit and eat with their peers, a simple act that allowed them to feel accepted and included, she said.

“It also gives them that sense of ownership ‒ it’s really important.”

The children were gifted the lunchboxes with a couple of food items inside, and Woon said their faces lit up when they realised the items were theirs to keep.

Food insecurity was a huge issue at the school but not something they made a big deal of.

The first signs a child was going without food was when lunches went missing from other students. Instead of shaming the child, the school worked to find out why they had no food and what they could do about it.

“I’ve been here 22 years and when I first came in it was really difficult ‒ I wanted to wrap everyone up ‒ but over time you realise what you can and can’t do, and it’s about empowering them and giving them the support they need as they grow up.

“We aim to give our kids life skills ‒ like making a simple meal or sandwich.”

The school was also part of the school lunches programme, and Woon said this had been a big incentive for attendance as students turned up each day knowing they would get a hot meal.

For some that was the only hot meal they would have that day.

The school also had regulars at its breakfast club and Woon said they had worked hard to remove the stigma around that.

“We know that if you don’t have a good kai in the morning you can’t learn.”

Another way they upskilled students was to show them how to build a māra kai, or Māori food garden, and it was hoped they would take those skills home to their whānau.

Woon had also noticed the increasing costs associated with going back to school and said she often wondered how families could afford to feed their children.

“When a trolley load of groceries costs $500, you’ve got to wonder how they can afford to do that.”

Sistema director Tim Burnie said the company’s vision had always been to give back and invest in the next generation and the school starter programme was a part of that.

“For many families facing back-to-school costs, a quality lunchbox and drink bottle might seem small, but they're part of setting kids up for success from day one.”