Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says parents who are dissatisfied with the new school lunch programme should "make a marmite sandwich and put an apple in a bag".
It comes after numerous problems were reported with the school lunches including most recently, plastic melted into the food.
Luxon made the comments during an interview with Newstalk ZB on Tuesday, saying parents who were unhappy with the lunches should pack them themselves.
"If you are unhappy with it, for God's sake, go make a Marmite sandwich and put an apple in a bag just like you and I had."
He said he'd rather have parents take responsibility for feeding their children rather than the government.
Luxon had previously said he expected Associate Education Minister David Seymour to give the school lunch programme his "full attention" after Checkpoint revealed concerns from west Auckland schools about the lunches being late, inedible, repetitive, or failing to meet dietary restrictions.
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