Support mounting for MANA’s Feed the Kids Bill

Tuesday 22nd February

Public support is mounting for MANA’s Feed the Kids Bill which aims to set up breakfast and lunch programmes in all decile 1 and 2 schools.

“It’s a pretty simple bill really” says MANA Leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau Hone Harawira, “Invest in making sure the 80,000 kids going to school hungry each week are fed and ready to learn and realise the benefits in better educated and healthier school leavers down the track”.

Alongside the recommendation of the Children’s Commissioner’s Expert Advisory Group on Solutions to Child Poverty to introduce government-funded food programme in low decile schools, organisations from across the board are calling for the bill to be supported when it comes before Parliament on Wednesday 13 February. These include the Child Poverty Action Group, Every Child Counts, Unicef NZ, Save the Children, IHC, Poverty Action Waikato, the Methodist and Anglican Churches (Methodist Public Issues and Anglican Action), Te Rōpū Wāhine Māori Toko i te Ora (Māori Women’s Welfare League), PPTA, NZ Principals’ Federation, CTU Rūnanga, the NZ Nurses’ Organisation, and Te Ora – the Māori Medical Practitioners’ Association.

“It’s great to have the support of such respected organisations and it’s great for our kids and school communities to know that their call for food in schools is being heard and taken seriously”.

“I again urge my parliamentary colleagues in the National, NZ First, United Future and ACT parties who haven’t yet confirmed their support of the bill to listen to the experts and our kids and back the bill at its first reading so that more consideration can be given to the issue”.

ENDS

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