The School Canteen

Canteen management
Effective management
Role of the school council
General business structure of canteens
Stock management
Financial management
Staff and volunteers
Promotion and marketing
Healthy Canteen Kit – Canteen Manual I 29
Effective management
In addition to providing the school
community with nutritious and affordable
foods, the canteen should be based on good
management practices and be financially
self-sustaining.
Experience shows that, with good management
and marketing practices, a canteen can provide
healthy foods and also be financially viable.
The school canteen is a small business. Like any
business, it requires good management practices
to be efficient and successful. Effective canteen
management requires that:
everyone involved knows its goals and
objectives and is familiar with its policies
canteen staff and committee develop an
implementation plan to achieve policy goals
day-to-day operational procedures are
structured and enforced
staff are adequately trained and supervised
staff carry out efficient stock management,
accounting and financial procedures
staff are familiar with and comply with relevant
legal requirements regarding food safety and
occupational health and safety standards.
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Role of the
school council
The school council has, through the
Education Act 1958, the authority to
operate a school canteen.
This authority can also be delegated to a club
or association that is not a subcommittee of the
school council, or it can be sub-leased to a private
contractor under a licence. This licence is obtained
from the Department of Education & Training.
The school council oversees the operation of the
school canteen, including its policies, employment
of staff, the disbursement of any profits and the
recoupment of losses. The day-to-day operations
of the canteen are managed either by a paid
worker or a volunteer. School councils usually form
a canteen committee to manage...