Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister of Education): The start of the school year can be an expensive time for families, with a lot of additional costs. Providing a daily nutritious lunch is one way we can help ease the pressure on the household budget and ensure that our kids don't miss out on learning because they are hungry. I can report that an additional 88,000 students and 322 schools and kura across the country have started the school year with a regular lunch on the menu thanks to the Government's Ka Ora, Ka Ako healthy school lunches programme. They joined 42,000 students already receiving weekday lunches under the scheme, which was launched last year to help tackle child poverty, improve youth wellbeing and learning, and boost local economies.