National Party Leader John Key says he is shocked and appalled that senior Labour Minister Steve Maharey has described a plan to feed children in our poorest schools as 'Tory charity'.

"Labour's more interested in petty patch protection and name calling than it is in getting food into the stomachs of hungry children.

"Labour has already clearly demonstrated how out of touch it is with this issue. Experts have been quoting a range of numbers that show thousands upon thousands of kids are turning up to school hungry.

"So, in the face of the overwhelming evidence, Mr Maharey has finally said he would welcome business contact with schools keen to adopt National's Food In Schools programme.

"Yet this is a Minister, who less than 24 hours earlier, insultingly accused businesses behind the programme as being part of 'Tory charity'. Both he and Helen Clark had earlier claimed there was no need and no demand.

"National understands the severity of the problem, and I'm not pretending this is the magic bullet to our social problems, but it is a positive first step.

"Labour should at least acknowledge that there is goodwill within the business community to make this work, and Helen Clark should apologise for her Government's hysterical outbursts."

Mr Key says Labour has done a grave disservice to kids in our poorest schools with its 'blind ideological' opposition to the programme.

"If this had been a Labour idea would we still be quibbling over the size of the problem? I doubt it."

Mr Key is vowing to press ahead with National's Food In Schools programme, but he says he will no longer identify the schools which are opting in.