eCanteens
WASCA is pleased to bring you a range of online tools and resources, and other strategies to support schools to operate viable canteens and implement the Department of Education’s Healthy Food and Drink (HFD) policy.
Needs assessment
In 2016 WASCA conducted a comprehensive needs assessment to investigate the application, acceptability and use of online tools and other strategies to support schools in implementing the Healthy Food and Drink policy. In short, we reviewed existing resources and we chatted to canteen staff and parent body representatives about the tools and resources they needed to help them operate healthy and viable school canteens. The eCanteens section of the WASCA website is a direct result of this work. A summary of the Needs Assessment report is now available for viewing.
Infographic – Healthy Food and Drink compliance
The Department of Education’s Healthy Food and Drink policy promotes healthy eating in schools. The policy is mandatory for all public schools (including Independent Public Schools). This infographic can be printed to A3, ideal for displaying in the canteen.
We have also developed a range of compliance checklists:
Newsletter templates
To ensure compliance with the Department of Education’s Healthy Food and Drink Policy, canteens are required to link with the school community. An effective strategy to do this is publishing information via the school newsletter and/or website. Putting a small article together is not a task that everybody feels comfortable with, so we have developed relevant, interesting snippets that schools can easily print/copy/submit for their school newsletter. This is a great way to keep the school community informed about what is going on in the school canteen and provide information to parents, students and staff about health and nutrition.
The Department of Education also has a newsletter fact sheet for your use.
Theme days
Holding theme days or events in the canteen can be lots of fun and a great way to boost sales. Linking with other initiatives within the school or in the wider community is a great way to engage with students and can help to promote specific messages.
A Theme Day or special promotion can be as simple as having ‘Fruit Fridays’ or as involved as promoting a week-long celebration of our multicultural society. The key is to be super organised and plan ahead, see the theme day checklist for some guidance. If you are seeking inspiration, check out the ideas below that have bees separated into 5 categories:
Theme days: Cultural events
Theme days: Health & wellbeing events
Theme days: Health events
Theme days: Other events
Theme days: Sports events
Don’t forget to send WASCA photos from the day so that we can share your promotional success with other schools via the WASCA website and Facebook page.
CanteenTV
CanteenTV showcases a variety of videos. This includes recipe demonstrations, ‘how-to’ guides, nutrition information, school canteen showcases and cooking skills.
Click here to subscribe to WASCA’s YouTube channel
WACSSO Conference 2020: WASCA webinar ‘running a canteen – easy to digest’
Kindy orientations
Facts about the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating (AGHE) – Refresh.ED:
Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Canteens in the news
When canteen stories make the news we will keep you up to date by providing a direct link to the story. Check them out below:
- Food truck business staffed by asylum seekers breathes new life into school canteen – Warwick Senior High School – published 13 January 2022
- WASCA presented at the Public Health Association of Australia Conference Perth, 10-12 May 2021. The title of the presentation was, Canteens: from crisis to opportunity, the abstract sumbitted and subsequent video covers the way Canteens and P&C’s managed during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. Watch the pre-recorded PHAA video
- Small grants making a positive impact in sport clubs across the State – Media Statement published 17 June 2020, WA Government
- School canteen celebrates 200,000th cheesie – published 17 October 2019, Canning Times
- Local Schools Community Fund – Australian Government to provide funding for local schools for small scale projects
- Naomi Putland, Canteen Supervisor at Highgate Primary makes the front page with ‘Vollie Drought Hits Tuckshops’ – published 13 June, The Perth Voice
- Carmel School in Dianella to grow kitchen garden – published 23 April 2019, Eastern Reporter, Community News
- Woodvale Secondary College canteen turns corner with chefs – published 22 November 2018, Joondalup Times
- Stakeholder perceptions of a school food policy ten years on – Public Health Nutrition, 27 November 2017
- Winterfold Primary School has the healthiest school canteen in WA – published 4
- See the feature on school kitchen gardens in the Australian Education Reporter – published 15 February 2018
- Packing a healthy lunchbox is good for your health and good for your budget!
- ‘Making healthy eating cool for school in Orange‘ – Canobolas Rural Technology High School – published 14 April 2016, source ABC News
- How the humble school canteen became a model of healthy living – published 21 April 2017, The Canberra Times
- Lean, green meals prove right recipe for school – Samson Primary School – published 20 April 2017, The West Australian
- Results from the 2009 Healthy Food and Drink Survey, conducted by UWA and Curtin University
