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Speaker 1: The government's teaming up with private companies to deliver the

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Speaker 1: new school lunches at just three bucks a pop. They

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Speaker 1: reckon seventeen Kiwi supplies and manufacturers are involved. Savings for

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Speaker 1: the taxpayer one hundred and thirty million dollars a year.

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Speaker 1: Will it works. Samantha Mortimer is the Graymouth High School

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Speaker 1: principal and she's with me this morning. Samantha, good morning, Well, Dona,

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Speaker 1: good morning, Thanks for being with me. Does this sounds

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Speaker 1: like a win win to me? What do you reckon?

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Speaker 2: Well, we're obviously happy that we still have something to

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Speaker 2: provide for our students, but you know, we have a

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Speaker 2: lot of concerns as well around what the food's going

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Speaker 2: to look like. Originally we were told it's only going

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Speaker 2: to be cold, but now it's going to be hot

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Speaker 2: as well. We have we're going to our local supplier

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Speaker 2: who's been providing our meals have not obviously been contracted

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Speaker 2: and so the money that they've already put into our

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Speaker 2: external providers has all that money, I don't know where

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Speaker 2: that's going to go to. The people are going to

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Speaker 2: lose about seven jobs as well, so it's not just

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Speaker 2: the basics of the food, it's actually everything else that

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Speaker 2: goes behind it as well.

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Speaker 1: What does it cost you at the moment per meal?

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Speaker 2: I think it depends on the age of the student,

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Speaker 2: but it's definitely more than three dollars double plus a

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Speaker 2: little bit. But that includes everything, and it's not just

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Speaker 2: about the food as well. It's actually the production, it's

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Speaker 2: the wages, it's the transport. So yeah, I'd be really

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Speaker 2: interested to see how they're going to do everything for

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Speaker 2: three dollars. Well, that can be true.

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Speaker 1: It does sound ambitious, it does sound ambitious, But if

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Speaker 1: they can do it, it's got to be a good thing,

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Speaker 1: right because that money, the savings that they're making, they're

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Speaker 1: going to use to feed kids who are two to five,

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Speaker 1: you're years old, who are low income as well. I mean,

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Speaker 1: you know, if you can do it for cheaper and

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Speaker 1: you can do more with less, then that's a good thing. Surely.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I have to agree that is a good thing

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Speaker 2: if you can, but I just do question what is

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Speaker 2: actually included in that three dollars and also the benefits

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Speaker 2: to you know that currently about seven other people at

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Speaker 2: least are employed in the local community who now won't

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Speaker 2: have a job, so that is also something to say

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Speaker 2: it is sad.

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Speaker 1: It is a shame you mentioned the hot cold thing.

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Speaker 1: Do kids care? I mean, if you're hungry, like the

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Speaker 1: idea is feeding hungry kids. If you're hungry, you'llat cold one,

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Speaker 1: won't you.

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Speaker 2: Well, you know, if you're hungry, you eat anything. But

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Speaker 2: every kid deserves to have, you know, high quality food,

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Speaker 2: and every kid deserves to have a high quality education.

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Speaker 2: Just because you're poor doesn't mean that you should just

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Speaker 2: be given you know whatever.

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Speaker 1: Samantha, thank you very much for your time. Great to

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Speaker 1: have you on the show. Samantha mortem at Graymouth High

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Speaker 1: School principal A little skeptical. I think it's fair to

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Speaker 1: say of the three dollars school lunch program seventeen after five,

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Speaker 1: I'd love to hear your views on this this morning.

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Speaker 1: Do you think it can be done for three bucks

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Speaker 1: a pop? What is the cheapest meal you can get

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Speaker 1: to put in front of your child? Nine ninety two

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Speaker 1: is the number to text. And I mean when I

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Speaker 1: grew up, never had a hot meal lunch unless I

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Speaker 1: made two minute noodles. You know, Mom used to say

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Speaker 1: b yo or g yo, get your own on a

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Speaker 1: Friday night, and you know you did noodles or something

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Speaker 1: like that. But I mean I never had a hot lunch.

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Speaker 1: I'm still standing for more.

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Speaker 2: From Early Edition with Ryan Bridge.

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Speaker 1: Listen live to news talks.

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Speaker 2: It'd be from five am weekdays, or follow the podcast

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