Will’s Word: Seymour’s school lunch spin isn’t cutting it

David Seymour's response to the school lunch programme's rocky start isn't doing him any favours, frankly.

And I will also be clear about this. I was one of the few people that advocated and thought this was a good idea about making our school lunches programme more cost-efficient.

Now, he acknowledged yesterday, if you missed it, there are some teething issues and tried to put perhaps a positive spin on things.

But critics would argue his explanation raises more questions than it does answers, and it doesn't really look great at the moment for him or the programme.

Seymour was quick to point out that delivering 230,000 meals across the country is no small task.

Therein lies the problem, doesn't it?

And sure, that's true, but it also means the expectations should be higher.

If you're going to run such a massive programme, the planning and execution need to be on point.

So when meals are showing up late or cold, I think it's kind of hard to brush it off as teething problems.

Seymour was quick to point out that delivering 230,000 meals across the country is no small task. Photo: Ka Ora Ka Ako website

He also compared the lunches to food from a fast-food joint or a home-cooked meal, saying there will always be differing opinions on food quality, but that kind of feels a bit off.

Children aren't choosing these meals. They need to be reliable, nutritious and timely.

There's no room for excuses when kids are depending on these meals to stay healthy and focus at school, right?

Then there are the photos. Oh, the photos that are circulating online, showing some of the meals looking pretty, pretty trash, honestly.

Watch Professor Lisa Te Morenga, co-chair of the Health Coalition Aotearoa, discuss the need for school lunches.

The Education Ministry wouldn't confirm whether the photos were real, but the fact that they're out there at all actually makes things look worse.

Whether those meals are accurate representations or not, they feed into the public's growing doubts about the program's effectiveness.

Now, I'm not saying the look of a meal is important, although there are those that say you eat with your eyes first, I mean, especially our children.

Personally, the food I make every day doesn't look that appealing, but, hey, that's just me.

William Terite says let's give Associate Education Minister David Seymour some grace. Photo/RNZ/REECE BAKER

In the end, Seymourl's comments, I think, perhaps come off as more about explaining away the problems than actually solving them.

But, like I said, let's give this man a bit of grace. Let's give this programme a bit of grace.

Two more weeks, I say. And if the issues persist, then perhaps we need to reassess and look at the situation.

But at the start, it's not looking that good.

That’s Will’s Word.