Encouraging your "kids" to support the THS Canteen provides you with a number of benefits:
- the canteen patrons have healthy choices - whenever they are customers: there are a range of healthy foods for the "breakfast run", the Canteen Manager follows the healthy canteen rulings, and restricts sales of the "red foods" that are not recommended, and the new healthy meal deal options are both affordable and nutritious
- AND you are supporting the ONLY fundraising action that the P&C conducts. All profits from the Canteen are available to support THS based initiatives. Over the years the P&C has actively used funds across a range of projects - refurbishment of the hall, contributing to the running costs of the School Bus, supporting students that are representing the school at various events, and so on.
One of the most overlooked issues facing school canteens (ie maintaining profitability) is the competition from local businesses. A study by Dr Clarie Drummond (senior Lecturer and Course Coorinator, Faculty of Health Sciences, Flinders University) reported that students frequent local takeaways and shops not only because they prefer the range of food on offer, but because it provides an opportunity for SOCIAL INTERACTION outside the school community.
Student's interviewed in the study held a perception that school canteen's were not an important place in the school service.
The article points out that allowing students to exit the school grounds may be a problem with duty of care responsibilities.
The study reported some approaches used by participating schools in the study who acknowledged that students had the "munchies" due to not eating/skipping breakfast.
THS P&C and Canteen Manager are looking into ideas that will extend the supportive environment available to students attending THS, including extra access to senior students to the canteen, inclusion of pasta/noodles on the regular menu, student menu "tastings" to involve student decision making in menu choices and providing privilege access to Y12 students during study periods
Your ideas are most welcome