by Lisa Johnson

Kai Kitchen Breakfasts

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It was the collision of two goals that led to the creation of Kai Kitchen this year. The first being the wish to do something with an ongoing impact in the head student role, the second being an understanding that many students missed out on kai to start their day, and wanting to respond to that.

The pathway to Kai Kitchen started with simple conversations with friends and whānau, but it soon became creating a clear plan of what we wanted to do and how we wanted to do it. Kai Kitchen then opened across from Hillcrest High School, serving free breakfast from 8:00am to 9:00am four days a week. The initiative is entirely run by us and our team of 50+ volunteers that are rostered on. We have a teacher in the facility each morning to supervise.
We have kept pace with what we set out in our strategy. We secured long-term funding that will ensure the stability of the programme for years to come. We have built an image of the kitchen within the school also. Kai Kitchen’s future is looking bright, with a strong leadership team for next year, led by Antonia Wu.


We’ve regularly considered how to judge success for the Kai Kitchen. We have measured output, a particular milestone being reaching 1000 customers within two months. However, the extent of the initiative’s positive impact can be understood through
conversations with customers. We kept records of a few in particular.


“My mum will be so happy I’m eating breakfast.”
“I hadn’t had breakfast all week.”
“I usually get up at 8:40, I get up at 6:30 for pancake day.”


It has been especially heartwarming hearing these things from people, and developing a rapport with customers through being there every morning. We have also been delighted to see students connecting with each other while having breakfast. It was our goal to not only offer food, but a space in between home and school that is respectful and enjoyable, something particularly important to those with distressing home environments. We believe we have been achieving this.

We would like to offer our thanks to the following, you have been invaluable on our journey this year:


- The customers, for their willingness to try out Kai Kitchen.
- The 50+ volunteers, for commitment throughout the year, and for support while we worked out exactly how things should run.
- Antonia Wu for stepping into the leadership role. Gabby Jackson and Amira Stephenson for being there more mornings than not, and always being willing to pitch in.
- Mr Maclean, Mrs Langman, Whaea Miria, Whaea Raima, and Whaea Niki, for being there each morning to support.
- The HHS accounts team for their kindness and willingness to help us with all our questions.
- Harvey Brookes from the Waikato Wellbeing Project and Mrs Kennedy from HHS for support in Kai Kitchen’s early phase.
- Anita Parkinson and the rest of the Hillcrest Chapel team, for willingness to support us from the start, and for all the ongoing help.
- D.V Bryant Trust for their funding, particularly Raewyn Kirkman who came and visited the Kai Kitchen in action.
- Rotary for funding Hillcrest’s Interact group, which offered us funding for Kai Kitchen.
- Hillcrest’s Senior Leadership Team for giving us the kickstarter funding to get Kai Kitchen off the ground.

We are immensely grateful for your support.