David Seymour has criticised "woke food" as he announced a revamp of the school lunches programme today.
The ACT Party leader posted on X, saying: "We just saved you $107 million on school lunches. And, despite the shrieking from the left, we’re not cancelling the programme.
"The reality is Labour did not budget for free school lunches past this year. By making tough choices, we’re able to keep funding the programme and do more with less money.
The ACT leader singled out sushi, couscous and quinoa as off the menu. (Source: 1News)
"We’ll be feeding kids in schools the fruit and sandwiches their parents would give them, not woke food like quinoa and sushi.
"We’re going to be saving $107 million on the programme, and more kids will be eligible for lunches. That’s the kind of problem solving we need to stop Government waste and treat your tax dollars with respect.
"Bon appétit."
The ACT leader said the new approach would also mean an end to "couscous and hummus" in lunches.
Seymour's comments have some in the food world questioning whether sushi and quinoa are actually "woke".
Speaking to 1News, Dish Magazine Editor Sarah Tuck said she disagreed. She said the foods could be quite nutritious, especially hummus.
"Sushi is also one of those foods that's been around a long time, probably centuries.
"From my perspective I don’t really consider it to be woke."
Tuck said there were definitely cheaper options than quinoa and sushi, but that's not to say they weren’t a good, healthy option.
"There’s also nothing wrong with sandwiches and fruit, as long as it's using bread that's got a good fibre content and all the rest of it.
"If you're looking at nutritional value, you still want to have something that's not just a filler."
She said the most important thing was that students were getting adequate protein, good carbohydrates and enough energy.
Speaking to 1News, Sophie Gray, who ran the Good Works Trust food bank, labelled sushi as "mainstream".
"I think they’re healthy and nourishing foods, and sushi is incredibly mainstream — so hardly 'woke' but whether they are the best and most cost effective choice for free school lunches is another matter."
Gray said she grew up eating sandwiches, fruit and crackers for lunch so she didn’t disagree with Seymour’s comments.
"I think that, if the priority is not being hungry so that kids can concentrate and learn, we just deal with that.
"I don't disagree with him, I think if it's a question of being hungry, and not being hungry, we need to make it so kids aren’t hungry so they can learn, and are less stressed.
“We don’t want families keeping kids away from school because they've got no lunch to give them and they feel ashamed."
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