Local suppliers were told last week their Ka Ora, Ka Ako, healthy school lunch contracts would not be renewed.
From 2025, lunches will instead be supplied nationwide by the School Lunch Collective, which is led by the international company Compass Group.
Ministry of Education operations and integration hautū (leader) Sean Teddy said all meals would be made in Hamilton and shipped to regional kitchens nationwide, where they would be stored, heated if needed, and delivered to schools.
The locations of the 29 kitchens were still being finalised, he said.
On Friday, local principals expressed dismay about the change. They were unsure how it would work or what extra work it would mean for staff.
Teddy said schools would use a school portal to tell School Lunch Collective how many meals they need each day and meals would be delivered in containers that kept them warm and safe.
The new lunches will be made to a new budget of $3 per meal, about $5 cheaper than the current model.
For the last four years, FreshChoice Westport held the contract for local schools in Buller and Grey, making and delivering about 1700 meals a day.
Karamea's Vinnie's Café also partially supplied Karamea Area School.
The change means between 15 and 17 FreshChoice staff will lose their jobs.
