Management of a Healthy School Canteen

MODULE 3
Management of a Healthy School Canteen

OVERVIEW

Like any business, a canteen requires a good

management to be efficient and successful. How to form a
healthy eating lifestyle and many more.

So in this module we will discuss how to manage A

healthy School Canteen

Questions for Discussions:

1. In your home, how do you manage your daily routine?

2. Did you experience managing a business, family, etc? How?

3. What is your role in your house? Explain briefly

OBJECTIVE

AT THE END OF THIS MODULE THE STUDENT SHOULD BE ABLE TO:

a. Discuss management of a healthy school canteen

b. Give some importance of managing the canteen
c. Perform how management of a healthy school canteen
 Management of a Healthy School Canteen

Management of a Healthy School  Participate in the development or the

evaluation of the healthy eating policy
Canteen
 Have input into student health and
Effective canteen management requires that: wellbeing.
 Be an integral member of the canteen’s
 The schools goals and objectives are success through volountering time each
reflected in the role of the school ter.
canteen
 An agreed arrangement to manage the
A Guide to Running an Effective Healthy
canteen is clearly documented
School Canteen
 Staff are adequately trained and comply
The following flow chart provides a step
with relevant legal requirements
by step guide on how to run an effective school
regarding Food Safety and preparations,
canteen or review your current school canteen
and occupational health and safety
by involving the most appropriate people in the
 Staff carry out efficient stock
school community.
management, accounting and financial
procedures and are supported in these
process. How to establish or Review your School
Canteen:
Evidence shows that, with good management
and sound marketing practices, a canteen can be Getting Started
financially viable and provide healthy food.
1. Form a healthy Eating Committee
2. Gather information
The Role of a Healthy School 3. Talk to School Community
4. Promote your canteen
As part of the school environment, a canteen is 5. Check Existing Policy
in a unique position to make a positive Planning the changes
contribution to students’ health and welfare. 6. Develop a draft policy
The functions of school canteen are to: 7. Plan for Change
Making the Changes
 Provide a service to the school 8. Introduce healthier choice
community 9. Make lasting changes
 Provide a variety of nutritious and 10. Link the canteen with the School
attractively presented food and drinks at Community
a reasonable cost Evaluating the changes
 Reinforce classroom learning 11. Get feedback
12. Review the canteen
Parents who got involved in the work of a 13. Communicate success
canteen can:

 Contribute to goal setting and to policies

that incorporate healthy eating
 Management of a Healthy School Canteen

Getting Started  Making decision on what foods to sell at

what price
 Establishing a profit margin and budget
1. Form a healthy Eating Committee
control settlement
 Developing new food ideas and
The school community could establish a healthy activities to link with classroom
eating committee or use an existing food focused activities
committee, e.g. Move well, Eat well, to work  Presenting regular financial statements
towards a draft policy. This group include
representatives from:
2. Gather Information
This is a great opportunity to collect
 School teaching/administration staff
information on your school. Finding out what
 Canteen staff and volunteers your School Community has and/or wants is
 The parents association very important.
 Student council / representatives
3. Talk to the School Community
A carefully selected committee can: There are numerous ways of collecting
information and engaging support. Below are
 Ensure efficiencies in the way the some examples:
canteen operates  Run a school canteen survey. Students
 Provide an opportunity to hear about the can help design the survey and collect
needs of the school community results
 Share the work load involved in  Arrange discussion for parents,
organizing the canteen and planning teachers and students in a variety of
menus settings.
 Assist the canteen with other programs  Use regular newsletters to invite
such as Move Well Eat Well program. comments
 Try to build agreement about canteen
Duties management and menus
The committee should aim to develop  Canvas views about what the canteen
good communication with teachers, the Principal is, or should be selling
and the canteen manager.
4. Promote your Canteen
Duties may include: Members of the school community
 Developing a healthy eating or canteen should be aware of the role of the canteen in
policy encouraging healthy food choices. Increasing
 Training and supporting paid and awareness of this can be done in variety of ways
voluntary workers by using appropriate resources and people from
 Promoting the canteen – by keeping the wider school community.
people up-to-date with the latest
developments of the canteen 5. Check Existing Policies
 Management of a Healthy School Canteen

Find out what school polices exist to  Not drawing attention to the removal of
cover health and healthy eating education. certain foods
 Remaining positive about the need for
 How are these policies implemented in healthy changes
the classroom?
 Do canteen operations complement
classroom teaching and learning?
Making the Changes
Planning the Changes
8. Introducing Healthier Choices
6. Develop a Draft Policy
A healthy Eating/Canteen Policy Healthier choice are easier to introduce:
statement will provide direction for the  After school holiday breaks, reopen the
development of the canteen and for the work of canteen with a new menu. This approach
canteen staff. works best if it has the support of the
wider school community, and if the
A healthy Eating /Canteen Policy canteen strongly communicates,
ensures long term commitment to healthy promotes and markets the links between
easting at the school. what the canteen sells and classroom
learning.
7. Plan for Change  By trialling new, healthy foods using
The draft policy statement could be theme days or food specials.
widely circulated for further comment and  By removing RED items from the menu
widely circulated for further comment and  When planning a new menu, consider
discussion. The types of changes would depend the amount, variety and range of foods.
on how many days per week the canteen is open,
the canteen’s food preparation facilities, and the Children need a variety of different foods
school’s policy on a whole school approach to across all food groups.
health and wellbeing.
Limit the menu to a small range of foods,
Changes that canteens may take include: but provide variety by having a daily or weekly
 Making healthy changes gradually special such as a hot canteen prepared dish.
 Gaining input from the students, staff This Can:
and wider school community and  Reduce the cost of goods by reducing
communicating to them about why the the range of products required
changes are necessary  Save time on preparation and the help
 Marketing and promoting the positive needed
aspects of the menu changes  Allow more time to prepare fresh food,
 Advertising and promoting these trial new healthy options and run
changes well in advance promotions
When planning a menu:
 Management of a Healthy School Canteen

 Choose low fat and wholegrain options plan for continuous improvement. Below are
 Limit the use of high fat ingredients some examples of what can be done:
 Use low fat, sugar, sodium (salt) and
fibre content and check that recipes are Students can assist by:
healthy and suitable  Developing, implementing and collating
 Choose meals that are easy and safe to surveys aimed at fellow students and
prepare, using inexpensive ingredients parents viewpoints
that need little packaging  Interviewing other students or writing
 Be aware of food allergies that can feedback letters to the canteen staff (as
trigger anaphylaxis in children – your part of English classes)
school will have a list of children who  Preparing graphs of the sales of different
are allergic to foods and they will have a foods over time, for example pre and
policy on food allergy post healthy changes (as part of
mathematics classes)
9. Make Lasting Changes
A healthy Eating/Canteen Policy is the 12. Review Healthy Eating Policy
key to maintaining the success of healthy food The canteen committee should review
provision in schools. The policy will support the the information gathered throughout the 12
changes being made in the school canteen, and month period of accreditation and decide
will make it clear that the healthy school canteen whether changes to the policy are needed.
program is a long term commitment.
The committee may need to change
statements, set new goals or address particular
10. Link the canteen with the School issues in the updated policy or the policy may
Community still be adequately representing the school
values.
Link healthy eating with other parts of
the school’s business such as: the curriculum 13. Communicating Success
and its teaching and learning programs; the Communicating the success of the changes and
school organization, its ethos, its environment, achievements of the school canteen is a very
and its community links and partnerships. This important part of the change process. Being
will not only ensure that the changes to the positive about the outcomes will help build
canteen are successful and sustainable, but they continuing interest and commitment from the
will be more effective in promoting a whole school community and ensure ongoing success.
school approach to healthy eating.

Effective Management
Evaluating the changes

In addition to providing the school community

11. Get Feedback with nutritious and affordable foods, the canteen
Once changes have been made to the should be based on good management practices
canteen, it is important to assess their success. and be financially self-sustaining.
The canteen committee should evaluate and
review the Healthy Eating/Canteen Policy and
 Management of a Healthy School Canteen

The school canteen is a small business. Like any There are a number of options that should be
business, it requires good management practices considered:
to be efficient and successful. Effective canteen  The school council pays profits to the
management requires that: school for inclusion in the annual school
budget and expenditure is in accordance
with school priorities established by the
 Everyone involved knows its goals and school community in the school charter
objectives and is familiar with its and plan.
policies  The school council pays profits to the
 Canteen staff and committee develop an school but they are not included in the
implementation plan to achieve policy annual school budget.
goals  External catering contractors pay a set
 Day-to-day operational procedures are annual payment per head of student
structured and enforced population or pay an agreed percentage
 Staff are adequately trained and of profits.
supervised
 Staff carry out efficient stock Reference/s:
management, accounting and financial * School Canteen Handbook (2014):
procedures and “Management of a Healthy School Canteen”
 Staff are familiar with and comply with
relevant legal requirements regarding
food safety and occupational health and
safety standards.

General business structure of canteens

School canteens may operate under a variety of

management structures, depending on the
individual characteristics and needs of the
school.

Formal management agreement

A formal management agreement
detailing the terms and conditions of the
management structure should be drawn up and
signed by the relevant management parties.

Management agreements
The management agreement between
that parties should state clearly how any profits
made from the canteen are to be distributed.
 Management of a Healthy School Canteen

MODULE TEST!
I. Enumeration
a. Give atleast 10 Guide to Running an Effective Healthy School Canteen.
b. What are the role of a healthy school canteen?
c. Give what are the requirements for Effective canteen management.

II. Multiples Choice

Find the best answer.
1. Once changes have been made to the canteen, it is important to assess their success.
a. Link the canteen with the school community c. Feedback
b. Plan for Change d. Gather Information
2. The committee may need to change statements, set new goals or address particular issues in the
updated policy or the policy may still be adequately representing the school values.
a. Review healthy eating Policy c. Feedback
b. Develop a draft Policy d. Communicate Success
3. This is a great opportunity to collect information on your school.
a. Make Lasting Changes c. Gather Information
b. Get Feedback d. Check Existing Policy
4. Increasing awareness of this can be done in variety of ways by using appropriate resources and
people from the wider school community.
a. Develop a draft policy c. Check Existing Policy
b. Talk to school community d. Promote your canteen
5. A healthy Eating/Canteen Policy statement will provide direction for the development of the
canteen and for the work of canteen staff.
a. Develop a draft policy c. Check Existing Policy
b. Talk to school community d. Promote your canteen

III. Essay
a. Why do we need to know how to manage school canteens?
b. Do school canteen open for all who wants to have a position especially in organization