The Libelle Group — one of the three nationwide providers of the new school lunch programme — is being liquidated by Deloitte.
It was contracted to deliver about 125,000 lunches daily by Compass Group New Zealand, including about 25 schools in Otago and Southland and about 5000 students.
East Otago High School principal Helen Newcombe said although her school was part of the programme she was unsure if the Libelle Group provided lunches to her high school.
She had received no communication from the overarching School Lunches Collective.
But she said she was not surprised by the collapse of the company as she did not have a lot of faith in the whole system.
The lunches programme has been beset with a host of problems since it was re-launched this year.
Mrs Newcombe was not sure how the government expected Libelle to make "any sort of a profit" from just $3 per meal.
"I feel for the people who are working there.
"We’re making do with the rubbish we’re sent."
She was not holding her breath the situation would improve in the future.
If the programme was discontinued she said it would be good if the ministry provided some funds so the school could supply lunch to the students who really needed it.
He did not have much trust in the collective to be able to deliver lunches in future.
He too said the problem with the programme was underfunding.
"You can't feed people for $3 a lunch, and anyone that said otherwise isn't being sincere."
He was worried the programme would go into the "too-hard basket" and the whole programme would be removed.
"Our children deserve better."
School Lunches Collective spokesman Paul Harvey said its priority remained ensuring all students in the programme continued to receive nutritious meals every day.
Mr Harvey said Deloitte had asked Compass to help manage the transition to ensure stability while exploring Libelle’s future.
To minimise disruption, Compass had taken immediate steps to support Libelle including ensuring staff wages were paid and keeping kitchen facilities running.
"We recognise the vital role that Libelle’s staff and partners play in delivering school lunches, and we are committed to ensuring the future of Libelle as part of the programme and supporting its people through this process."
RNZ reported the liquidation affected 500 jobs.
