The Government’s free school lunch programme Ka Ora, Ka Ako has high potential to benefit students, their whānau, and communities, but needs continued investment, a review article by EIT | Te Pūkenga and University of Auckland (UoA) researchers has found.

Researchers are calling for the government to increase its support for free school lunches.

EIT Te Pukenga Māori and indigenous research Professor David Tipene Leach says a full stomach is crucial to a child’s learning.

“I’ll put it like this, things get a little easier for them. Worries don’t weigh down on them, because their stomach is full and so too is their soul,” Tipene Leach says.

Professor Boyd Swinburn, a nutrition and global health expert, has joined Te Kura i Awarua, the EIT | Te Pūkenga Rangahau Māori Centre, to continue significant research into food security for children in Hawke’s Bay.

Dr Rachael Glassey (Te Atihaunui-a-Papārangi) spent 10 years studying and researching in Australia, but it has been a privilege for her to return to Hawke’s Bay to work on an important study focused on children’s wellbeing.

Moving from food security to food sovereignty requires mātauranga Māori and a renewal of relationships with indigenous food systems, EIT | Te Pūkenga Māori and Indigenous Research Professor David Tipene-Leach says.

In this new feature we interview staff members who are active researchers. In the spotlight Kirsten Harrild, an Assistant Research Fellow in the newly created Te Kura i Awarua Rangahau Māori Centre at EIT | Te Pūkenga.