In the 2022 PISA results, New Zealand ranked second worst in the OECD for student food poverty, with 14.1% of teens reporting they went hungry at least once a week due to lack of money—well above the OECD average of 8.2%. Students experiencing food poverty were up to four years behind their food-secure peers in achievement, highlighting a critical link between hunger and declining maths, reading, and science performance.

To help make a difference in this space, RRT’s Smarrt Cookie Bar is designed to reduce hunger and increase concentration in primary school-aged children, ensuring hunger is not a barrier to their education. Engineered to deliver all the goodness children need, the bar is a nutritional balance of energy, protein, carbohydrates, fats and fibre. It’s nutrition you can count on!