25,000 Sandwiches and Zero Excuses: How Port Kennedy Students are Fighting Local Classroom Hunger
West Coast Montessori students team up with Eat Up Australia and the Rockingham CWA to deliver more than 25,000 fresh lunches to vulnerable school children across the region.
Wade McColl (01/08/2026)
A West Coast Montessori student carefully prepares the milestone 25,000th sandwich in the school's kitchen. Photo: Supplied by West Coast Montessori 2026.
In a quiet kitchen tucked away in Port Kennedy, an extraordinary community milestone was reached this week.
Standing over a counter lined with freshly baked bread and lunch preparations, students from West Coast Montessori’s Adolescent Program officially packed their 25,000th sandwich for local children in need.
In fact, to be precise, the tally reached 25,190. Because for these teenagers, every single sandwich represents a child who won't have to sit through a school day on an empty stomach.
Since April last year, the students have dedicated time every three weeks during the school term to address a growing, often hidden issue in local classrooms: childhood food insecurity.
How the Kitchen-to-Classroom Operation Works
Students working on the assembly line in hairnets and aprons during a sandwich preparation session. Photo: Supplied by West Coast Montessori 2026.
What makes this initiative stand out is the sheer precision and care behind every delivery. This is not a generic food drop: it is a structured, custom operation designed to meet real-time needs.
Every three weeks, the school kitchen transforms into a bustling assembly line. Rather than making bulk random batches, the students work directly off specific order sheets submitted by nearby schools. They craft exact quantities to match what local teachers report is needed for their students.
Once the lunches are prepared, packed, and organized, the next link in the community chain steps in: volunteers from the Rockingham Country Women's Association (CWA).
CWA members arrive at the Port Kennedy campus, load up insulated carry bags, and deliver the fresh meals directly to participating schools across the district.
The Hidden Reality of Classroom Hunger
A Rockingham CWA volunteer collects bags of freshly packed lunches ready for immediate delivery to local schools. Photo: Supplied by West Coast Montessori 2026.
The effort comes at a crucial time for Western Australian schools. According to data from national charity Eat Up Australia, as many as 1 in 3 students at supported schools across the country arrive without the food they need to fuel their growing bodies and brains.
When children miss out on lunch, the ripple effects in the classroom are immediate:
Extreme fatigue and loss of concentration
Increased risk of behavioral challenges and emotional distress
Long-term learning difficulties that cause disadvantaged children to fall further behind their peers
Many affected children come from households facing sudden financial hardship, rising cost-of-living pressures, or complex family circumstances. Eat Up Australia operates as the nation's only organization delivering free lunches at a national scale, supporting over 1,100 schools and distributing more than 40,000 lunches weekly.
By hosting an active production hub in Port Kennedy, West Coast Montessori has created a vital local lifeline that feeds directly into this broader national mission.
A True Reflection of Community Spirit
A student carries packed lunch bags out to the transport vehicles for distribution. Photo: Supplied by West Coast Montessori 2026.
For the educators at West Coast Montessori, watching the adolescent students take ownership of the project has been one of the most rewarding aspects of the program.
The work gives students direct, hands-on experience in community leadership, empathy, and practical logistics. Instead of simply learning about social issues in a textbook, they are actively solving them in their own backyard.
Hitting 25,190 sandwiches is far more than an impressive stat on a spreadsheet: it is 25,190 individual acts of kindness from local teenagers who decided to care.
To every student who rolled up their sleeves, every teacher who facilitated the kitchen sessions, and every Rockingham CWA volunteer who made the delivery runs: thank you. You represent the absolute best of our community.