This comes as a record number of schools are on the waiting list for support from KidsCan.
More than 10,000 children in 260 schools and early childhood centres are now on its waiting list — the largest in the charity’s 19-year history.
Hampden School teaching principal Matt Hannagan said his school’s community could use some of the help KidsCan provided.
He said a lot of pupils were going without breakfast and living in cold and damp houses and this could have a downward spiral effect at school.
"It’s hard to set a child up for success when they’ve got those external factors influencing their ability to cognitively process ... because they are possibly thinking about the next meal."
On Monday, the school would be having a cross-country event but he knew some pupils would not come to school because they did not have running shoes, Mr Hannagan said.
"Often they’re too proud or their parents are too proud to bring it up until the day," Mr Hannagan said.
"I do feel for some of our whanau who are going through this cost-of-living crisis scenario we’ve got going on."
Mr Hannagan said teaching had changed from focusing on academics to considering more social factors.
It was about being discreet and sensitive to different families’ needs.
He said his school could use support from an organisation such as KidsCan to help give children an equitable change by providing things such as shoes and breakfasts.
It would help to diminish the gap between the haves and the have-nots.
At this stage staff at the school were stretched because they were acting as social workers for its community, he said.
