Brockville Kindergarten head teacher Julie Baird said her staff spent a lot of time applying for grants and sourcing food and clothing for many pupils at the kindergarten, because many of their families were unable to make ends meet.
And the number of pupils needing help was increasing.
"Families are struggling to survive on a benefit — it’s not enough — and so they feel like they’re failing their kids.
"Some haven’t even been to the beach because it takes two buses to get there and there isn’t the money."
Ms Baird said the time spent sourcing food, clothing and shoes for the children would be better spent on teaching, but they did it because they wanted to do all they could to put children on a level playing field.
"In primary and secondary schools, we see a lot of support from different organisations providing breakfasts in schools and milk in schools, but early childhood centres are still missing out.
"The Dunedin Longitudinal Study shows that the first three years of a child’s life is the most important and we’re catering for that age-group.
"Why are we missing out? It’s frustrating."
She said her centre was having to use more and more of its education funding to feed its children.
"If they can’t eat, they can’t learn, and if they can’t learn, they can’t break that poverty cycle.
"We have our morning tea first thing in the morning, so that we know all of our children have some kai in their belly before we start the day, which is really important for children to be able to successfully learn."
She said she wanted early childhood pupils to have the same support that primary schools do, and has called on organisations that support primary schools to include preschools.
Brockville Kindergarten had already applied to the KidsCan Charitable Trust for support, but has been put on a waiting list because demand is so high.
The trust helps more than 46,000 New Zealand children living in poverty, by providing a warm nutritious lunch, snacks, a jacket, shoes, socks and head lice treatment.
The trust now has an under 5s programme which it recently expanded to include another 48 preschools around New Zealand.
However, 108 centres (3600 preschoolers) are still waiting for help.
KidsCan’s chief executive officer Julie Chapman said Ms Baird was among many early childhood teachers calling for help as the Covid-19 fallout continued to hit vulnerable families hard.
"We are doing all we can to keep up with demand, but the waiting list just keeps growing.
"Our youngest Kiwis are waking up in overcrowded homes, getting dressed in ill-fitting hand-me-downs, and finding there’s not enough food to sustain their little bodies.
"Early childhood centres are doing all they can to fill the gaps, but it’s becoming too much for them to cope with on their own."
She said the trust started the under-5s programme because teachers in early childhood centres were desperate for the same support that school children receive from a range of organisations.
"Under 5s have been overlooked, and we now know this is the most crucial time for their developing minds."
Ms Baird said if KidsCan could help with the basics, it would be "amazing".
"It would mean the money saved on food could be put back into teaching resources."
