Canteen

 
Our Canteen is managed by Pierina, assisted by parent helpers and Year 6 volunteers. Lunches are provided for our school every Tuesday and Friday. Our Canteen offers healthy and nutritious options for school lunches, which can be ordered through the classroom each morning and are delivered to the child’s classroom at lunchtime.

The Canteen offers a range of healthy drinks, snacks and icy poles for sale at recess and lunch time. A number of “Special Lunch” days are held through the year – notices/order forms are sent home with students.

 

Frequently asked questions:

Is any of the food in the canteen homemade?
YES indeed!

There is plenty of food that is made fresh on the premises and available for snack or a lunch order;

Anzacs, muffins, honey joys,

Pizza muffins (snack or lunch)

Fried rice, sandwiches, wraps (hot or cold), salads

Fruit salad, carrot sticks, frozen pineapple rings (from a can)

Fresh fruit – although this is not made by us!!

How do I know what food is freshly made?
Very easily

At the top of the canteen list is a statement that tells you any product with a star next to it is an item made fresh in our canteen.

Or you are most welcome to ask the Canteen Manager.

Can we have special days for different type of foods?
We often have special food days.

Special food days throughout the year include:

Pancake Day.

Hot Cross buns – for the week preceding Easter.

Soups, of various flavours, were available for order on Tuesday lunch throughout Term 2.

Hot Chocolate and raisin toast were available at snack time (recess) during Term 3.

Wedges Day  (notifications will be in the newsletter for the three weeks preceding and on the board at the front of the school

If you have any suggestions for a special lunch option, please feel free to send your written idea through to the canteen via the office, via your child or by speaking to the Canteen Manager personally. Any cost- effective idea will definitely be considered.

PLEASE NOTE: Hot Dog days are strictly left for the Fundraising Committee.

How do I find out about special food days?
Easily

All canteen news is made available for you through the newsletter, (a digital copy of which appears on this website), and on the board in front of the canteen. The soup flavours were announced at the assembly as well as being on the board.

In this space you will find the special foods and snacks available throughout the rest of Term 4.

In 2016, a special canteen page will be available.

How often does the canteen menu change so my child has different choices of food?
At the beginning, middle and near the start of Term 4 of every year, the menu is reviewed and altered accordingly. There are several reasons the menu is changed, some are listed below.

  • If a menu item is not selling very well, then it is removed from the menu and a replacement is found. For instance the mini potato pies were not selling very well, so the bigger size was tried. These do sell well. Mac’n’Cheese didn’t sell; the homemade pizza muffins were introduced in their place. These sell really well!!
  • Some items are tried but if not selling, become too costly and are therefore removed.
  • Foods that are more suitable for winter weather are offered in Term 2 & 3 only.

 

The menu is always reviewed with the idea of introducing new items to keep the choices interesting, but the excellent selling items will always remain.

How do I find out what the ingredients are for the homemade foods?
Thank you for this question.

We will be adding an ingredients listing of all foods made on the premises on this website ready for the 2016 school year.

In the meantime, there is always the opportunity to speak to the Canteen Manager about the ingredients in the food at school or a message can be left for the Canteen Manager who will get back to you as soon as possible.

So watch this space!!

Does the canteen practice sustainability?
Yes, we do. All cardboard, paper and soft and hard plastics are collected as part of the school’s recycling program. All food scraps (those that can be) are sent to the school’s compost. We endeavour to use materials that are recyclable where possible or create the minimum of waste. For instance, we use paper bags instead of plastic, so they can go into the recycling or compost and recyclable hard plastic for cups and containers.

In addition, to reduce the amount of paper bags used for lunch orders, you can purchase one of our lunch wallets, that have a zipped space for the order and money and open up to fit in a generous lunch order! Contact the school for availability and colours.

What standards or guidelines does the canteen follow?
The canteen adheres to the guidelines provided by the following:

  • The Education Department and government guidelines surrounding Occupational Health and Safety
  • Safe Food Handling accreditation
  • ‘Go for Your Life’ Healthy Canteen Kit (provided by the government)

 

Within the ‘Go for Your Life’ Healthy Food program, a traffic light system is used to make sure the canteen offers the right balance of healthy everyday food (green), ‘sometime’ food (amber) and ‘occasional’ food (red). It is up to parents to monitor their own child’s intake of these foods.

The following website https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving gives information about healthy eating, which incorporates the ‘Go for Your Life’ information.

Does the school canteen cater for students with allergies?
Yes we do.

The canteen is a nut-free zone and offers a small range of gluten free foods, with more choices on offer next year. The 2016 menu will have a gluten-free section.

Also the canteen makes an effort to purchase food and drink that are the low sugar and low fat options.

If I want to make some suggestions for the canteen menu, how do I go about it?
Easily. You can leave a written message at the office…or you can approach the canteen manager directly, although please be aware that her time when working is very limited as she is cooking, preparing lunch orders or ordering new stock.

All suggestions will be considered carefully and respectfully to ensure they meet all guidelines, but also are cost effective.

Where can I get updates about the canteen?
The menu is already available on the school website and new menus are sent home in the newsletter.

In 2016 there will be a Canteen News spot on our website, which will include the ingredients of our homemade foods and upcoming ‘special food’ days for the term.

Announcements at assemblies will be made to let your children know what is coming up and you can also look on Tiqbiz.

What happens if the food on my child’s lunch order is temporarily unavailable?
If any hot food ordered in a lunch order is temporarily unavailable, the canteen staff will go to your child’s classroom in the morning and your child will then choose another hot lunch item to replace it. If an ingredient has run out for lunch items such as salads and sandwiches, the canteen staff will visit the classroom for your child to choose an alternative ingredient.

If the lunch order item temporarily unavailable is a snack food or ice-cream, a small red ‘sorry this item is unavailable’ card is placed in the lunch bag. When the bell goes your child takes this card and their money to the canteen and decides on a replacement.

Year Six volunteers helping Pierina

Click on the link to view our current Canteen Menu 2021Canteen Menu 2021. A full list of ingredients details what goes into our yummy food!

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