This month saw the retail launch in New World Victoria Park of Eat My Lunch. This means that customers looking for a delicious lunch or dinner can purchase a Michael Meredith designed meal as part of their everyday shop, knowing that a New Zealand child will in turn be gifted a free school lunch.
Chris Quin, CEO Foodstuffs North Island says, “Our partnership with Eat My Lunch makes so much sense. Like them we believe that good food is not a privilege, it’s a right. To date they have provided more than 550,000 free lunches to children in need and by offering Eat My Lunch meals in our stores we can extend the reach of this innovative social enterprise even further. Our first day in New World Victoria Park, saw 90 extra lunches being made available to children – and it will only get bigger.”
The same meals available online through the Eat My Lunch ordering system are available in store. Fresh, wholesome, delicious and generous – they cater to customers looking for a lunch, standard dinner, a ‘hungry’ dinner and a kid’s dinner. Each meal is made and delivered daily into store from Monday to Friday.
The customer response has been fantastic, with many commending the store on being the first to offer the range. Next up is Fresh Collective Alberton with others to follow when supply gets up to speed in Auckland and Wellington metro areas.
“We are delighted to be part of the next phase in Eat My Lunch’s drive to move from feeding 1,500 tamariki to 25,000,” says Jason Witehira, Owner-Operator of New World Victoria Park. “It’s a pretty big goal and they need a partner like Foodstuffs to help them get there. Already we’ve been able to help them streamline their processes to ensure a consistent, high quality supply of delicious, healthful meals to store – which in turn will support the growth of the ‘give’ part of their programme.”
Lisa King, founder and CEO of Eat My Lunch says she never wants Eat My Lunch to become a company that loses sight of the fact that “we were built on a social purpose and values. If financial objectives ever overtake our social ones, then we won’t be Eat My Lunch anymore. That said, as we grow we need more operational processes all while maintaining agility, and that’s one of the key areas we’re working on with the Foodies team.”
Looking ahead, Eat My Lunch and Foodstuffs are aiming to make the products available in all Foodstuffs North Island stores.
