School lunch trial commences in Tasmania with plans to expand the program statewide

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A sit-down meal for every Tasmanian school student at lunchtime, that's what those behind a school lunch trial hope to achieve within five years. They released their business case, offering food for thought to the Tasmanian government.

Transcript

00:00These kids eat lunch together every day.

00:05You just get to sit down and have nice food with nice people.

00:09Like two good things at once.

00:12It's part of the school lunch program,

00:14which runs in 30 schools here in Tasmania.

00:17It's really positive.

00:19I'll go into the classrooms and they'll say,

00:21Mr Scott, the lunch was amazing today.

00:23You're a really good cook.

00:25And then they'll ask what's on the next day and the next day.

00:28Many countries have long offered lunch programs to students

00:31and studies have shown they help increase attendance and focus.

00:35Does it help you focus at all at school or anything like that?

00:39Yeah, when I have a full tummy then.

00:42The Tasmanian government has pledged

00:44to double the number of schools on the program in the next two years.

00:48But that's still just a fraction of the state's nearly 250 primary schools.

00:54Sitting down and sharing a meal

00:56has become a main part of the day for the kids here at Warain Primary School.

01:00And while cost has been a bit of a hurdle in the past,

01:03now there's a plan to make that the case for all Tasmanian schools.

01:07And today they presented their business case.

01:10Within five years, our vision is to have every Tasmanian school

01:15given the option to engage in this school lunch program.

01:20Next, they'll pitch to schools and governments.

01:26For more UN videos visit www.un.org

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