Case Studies from the 2014 Tuckshop and Canteen Makeover
Grants Program – funding of up to $1,000
Assisi Catholic College
Assisi Catholic College is a large catholic metropolitan school located 30kms north of the
Gold Coast. The tuckshop services a population of 1357 students and operates five days per
week.
The tuckshop set the goal of eliminating all pre-packaged foods and concentrating on
improving the nutritional quality of foods provided to students by preparing more meals and
snacks on site.
To meet their goal, the college used the Smart Choices grant to purchase a range of kitchen
equipment, including a food processor, a popcorn machine, cooking pans and a multipurpose kitchen appliance that can steam, chop, cook, mix, stew, knead, blend and crush
ice, all in the one machine.
By improving equipment, the tuckshop now quickly prepares healthy meals, snacks and
drinks with a minimal workload. Changes have been made to how meals and snacks are
prepared on site and new options have been added to the menu including:
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Chicken breast poached onsite and used to make fresh chicken and salad
sandwiches.
Pizza dough made from scratch for thin based pizzas served with reduced fat cheese,
vegetables and lean meat toppings.
Reduced fat apple and cinnamon muffins baked using wholemeal flour.
Fresh vegetable soups.
Salad vegetables sliced and chopped quickly using the food processor.
Freshly popped popcorn using the new popcorn machine.
To make way for the new healthy menu options, a range of pre-packaged foods have been
removed including choc chip cookies, commercial pizza products and a range of corn chip
and crisp varieties.
Boulia State School
Boulia State School is a small rural school located 300kms south of Mt Isa. The tuckshop
services a population of 29 students and operates every Friday.
Whilst the school tuckshop does not stock or sell soft drinks, the P&C Association (P&C)
became aware that many students still consume soft drink (either brought from home or
purchased on their way to school) and have a very low intake of milk products and fruit. Very
few students reach the minimum recommendations for the dairy and fruit groups of the
Australian Dietary Guidelines.
The P&C saw an opportunity for the tuckshop to supply milkshakes and smoothies – to
boost milk and fruit intake – whilst educating students about the risks of consuming too many
kilojoules through sugary drinks.
The school used their Smart Choices grant to purchase a milk shake machine, blender and a
slushie machine. Students were excited about the new drink options which include milk
shakes, fruit smoothies and 100% fruit juice frozen slushies. Students now consume more
GREEN and AMBER drinks whilst at school.
The P&C and tuckshop plan to continue to encourage milk based drinks and hope that it will
become a habit of the students of Boulia State School.
Forest Hill State School
Forest Hill State School is a small rural school located 80kms west of Brisbane. The school
offers a breakfast club program for 158 students two mornings each week.
The breakfast club was established due to the number of students either arriving at school
without eating breakfast or eating a meal with limited nutritional value before school. The
breakfast club began with basic equipment – two domestic toasters. Due the popularity of
the club, there was not enough staff and equipment to keep up with student demand.
The breakfast club applied for a Smart Choices grant to upgrade the club’s catering
equipment, including a commercial conveyer style toaster, serving trays, a trolley and apple
slinky machines. The equipment has allowed the breakfast club to cater for more students
and expand the days of operation to three days a week with a desire to eventually offer it five
days a week. The apple slinky machines were assigned to classrooms where each class
holds a healthy mid-morning fruit snack every day called ‘munch and crunch – brain break’.
The new equipment has improved the efficiency of the breakfast club. Previously students
were limited to one piece of toast each – often undercooked due to time limitations – now
students can access two well-toasted slices, if desired. Staff members on duty have more
time to engage with students and identify those who not only arrive at school without having
breakfast but also have no food for the day. The breakfast club provides lunch for these
students. Staff also engage more in conversations with students about healthy eating and
healthy breakfasts.
Apple slinky days have been a success. Many parents have informed the school that their
child or children have been eating their fruit at school rather than bringing it home each day.
More classes have adopted the ‘munch and crunch – brain break’ into their daily routines.
The Prep class in particular has had an increase in the number of students bringing fruit to
school and eating it in the classroom. Teachers have commented on the improvement in
their students’ ability to concentrate for the entire morning session.
Kelvin Grove State College
Kelvin Grove State College is a large metropolitan state school located in the inner-northern
suburbs of Brisbane. The tuckshop services a population of 2373 students and operates five
days per week.
The tuckshop has served fresh salads for several years; salads have always been quite
popular with the tuckshop selling out of stock on most days. Before receiving the Smart
Choices grant salads were stored in a large fridge at the back of the tuckshop. Just before
the lunch break the salads were moved to an open cold food shelf for service. On warm days
food safety was a concern.
The tuckshop used the Smart Choices grant, and a co-contribution from the P&C, to
purchase a cold food cabinet to store fresh salads in an enclosed glass cabinet – allowing
salads to be on display to customers and also improve food safety standards.
Student and teacher demand for salad continues to grow with the tuckshop receiving many
requests for different varieties of salads in larger quantities. Currently the tuckshop offers the
following varieties: Greek, roast vegetable, couscous, pasta, risoni, lentil, chicken pasta,
caesar, potato, coleslaw, Asian, pear and avocado, Mediterranean, and roast tomato and
eggplant.
Due to overwhelming feedback from staff and students, the tuckshop continues to provide up
to eight salads each day throughout the whole school year without any break during the
cooler months.
Establishing standard tuckshop procedures for preparing salads has made it quick and easy
to make, store and serve salads to students and staff for a nutritious GREEN lunch.
The tuckshop convenor reports that profits have increased since the installation of the new
salad bar display cabinet. More students are purchasing salads and other items for sale in
the tuckshop, many who have never purchased items from the tuckshop before.
Halifax State School
Halifax State School is small rural school located 130km north of Townsville. The tuckshop
services a population of 26 students and operates one day per week.
The tuckshop applied for a Smart Choices grant to upgrade equipment, undertake training
and make some changes to the way students place orders, the way the tuckshop operates
and the menu itself focusing on making more GREEN options available.
Prior to the grant, students pre-ordered using a paper form rather than choosing food and
drinks in the tuckshop. To promote healthy food and drink choices, the tuckshop purchased
posters showcasing nutritious food and a large menu board to advertise specials. The
tuckshop also purchased hot and cold food display cabinets to ensure that students and staff
could see the heathy, fresh food choices before making their selection.
The school also gathered information to find out what day of the week students are most
likely to bring unhealthy food and drink items to school. As a result, tuckshop day was
moved from Wednesday to Monday. Feedback received from parents has been positive
with many thankful for the healthy tuckshop options being available at the beginning of the
week.
The tuckshop also provided free samples of GREEN snacks and meals prior to adding them
to the menu, allowing students to try the new options and provide any feedback directly to
the tuckshop. The tuckshop added items such as salad boxes, new varieties of wraps and
sandwiches, ravioli with garden fresh sauce, homemade reduced fat sausage rolls, apple
slinkies, fruit smoothies, chicken skewers and mini burgers with lean mince. Many AMBER
items were removed from the menu including; potato and corn crisps, commercial chicken
nuggets, meat pies, sausage rolls and a variety of ice creams and jelly cups.
Home Hill State High School
Home Hill State School is small rural school located 100km south of Townsville. The
tuckshop services a population of 277 students and operates five days a week.
The tuckshop applied for a Smart Choices grant to upgrade equipment and improve the food
preparation processes within the tuckshop. New equipment purchased included a popcorn
maker, rice cooker, food processor, a small chest freezer, slow cooker, chopping boards,
bowls knives and utensils. More meals are now prepared onsite including fried rice using
brown rice for extra fibre and a chicken and vegetable noodle stir fry.
The new appliances and equipment have enabled the tuckshop staff and volunteers to
prepare large quantities of food, freezing portions for later use.
Students are now happier with the variety of food and are spending more money at the
tuckshop. In addition profits have increased. In July 2013, the tuckshop was running at a
loss. After swapping to a new healthy menu, the tuckshop reported a profit for 2014.
Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School
Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School is a medium sized metropolitan catholic school located
13kms south of Brisbane. The tuckshop services a population of 512 students and operates
three days a week.
Prior to the Smart Choices grant, the tuckshop relied heavily upon commercially prepared
products including chicken nuggets, pizzas, and pies. The tuckshop surveyed parents to
seek feedback on the types of food and drinks available for sale in the tuckshop. Over 80%
of those who completed the online survey wanted more variety and more healthy GREEN
options.
The tuckshop applied for a Smart Choices grant to purchase new equipment which would
reduce their reliance on commercially manufactured food. The tuckshop was operating with
limited equipment consisting of two 18 year old food warmers, a domestic oven, a sandwich
press and a microwave. The tuckshop purchased the following equipment with the grant: a
pressure cooker, rice cooker, food processor, popcorn machine, yoghurt maker, electric
frypan, food storage containers, and kitchen utensils including knives and bowls.
The tuckshop established a Smart Choices Tuckshop Committee with members including
the tuckshop convenor, school principal and two tuckshop staff/volunteers. Members worked
together to develop small tuckshop nutrition goals. Each Term the tuckshop plans to add one
new GREEN lunch item to the menu and remove one unhealthy item.
The tuckshop achieved their goal in the first Term by adding a new GREEN item – the
chicken tender wrap – which is served with lettuce, tomato and carrot. In addition, the
tuckshop removed two unhealthy items from their menu – a chocolate iced doughnut and
jelly.