In 2021, the Government announced that some schools would be receiving a healthy lunch for each and every child at the school. Epuni School met the criteria for receiving the Ka Ora, Ka Aka programme.
Our school lunch provider is Lower Hutt Pita Pit. They make each lunch fresh and deliver the meals to the school each day. These meals consist of a healthy main food item along with a snack. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Epuni School receives heated meals, and standard meals are delivered on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
The menu below is an indication of what meals are provided by Pita Pit. We realise that some children may not like or have tried the food before, but we will encourage every child to at least give the food a try. However, if your child is likely to not eat the provided lunches, then we ask families send children to school with a suitable, healthy lunch. Check below for ideas on this.
Further Information: https://www.pitapit.co.nz/healthyschoollunches
Fruit in Schools
As part of the 5+ A Day initiative, Epuni School receives fruit each week for students. Senior students are responsible for distributing these among the classrooms each day and food scraps from this are composted in our garden. Sometimes we have left over fruit at the end of the week which we distribute among the students, and/or take any extras to The Remakery for them to use in their kitchen.
Healthy Lunch Ideas
If you do provide a lunch for your child, we encourage you to find healthy options wherever possible. Be aware of the rubbish at school message below when making your child’s lunch.
Mains with Sustenance
- Sandwiches – Luncheon, Spreads, Cheese etc..
- Wraps – lettuce, chicken, mayo
- Left overs from last night’s dinner
- Sushi Rolls – made fresh is fun!
- Pinwheels – savouries
- Mini Pizzas
Great Snacks
- Home baking – cookies, muffins, brownie
- Popcorn – salted (but not flavoured)
- Cheese and Crackers
- Chippies (depacketed)
- Fruit – apple, banana, mandarins, grapes
- Yoghurt
- Hard boiled eggs
Try to Avoid
Plastic packeted snacks
Oreos & Wheelies
Hot Pies & Cream Doughnuts
Lunch packs from the dairy
Lollies & Chocolates – these are not allowed at school (unless teacher discretion allows) and will be confiscated and returned at the end of the day.
Rubbish at School
Epuni School is trying to reduce the amount of rubbish we are putting into the landfill. With seven classrooms and the staffroom, we can end up creating quite a lot of rubbish over the course of a year. We are doing several things to address this:
- Paper recycling throughout the school
- Compostable food waste is taken to our three worm farms.
One way that families can help out is by ensuring that lunches coming to school have no packets or wrappings. Use reusable containers where possible. Any packets and wrappers that do come to school will be sent home in your child’s lunchbox so that you can dispose of the rubbish yourselves.
Water Only School
Epuni School is a water only school. Sugary drinks can adversely affect student’s focus and behaviour. We encourage children to have a drink bottle in the classroom that can be filled and refilled with water throughout the day. Please label drink bottles clearly with your child’s name.