The St Mary’s School Canteen is operated by the school and employs two part time canteen co-ordinators and is staffed by parent volunteers.
It is open three days per week to provide recess and lunch to our students and staff. St Mary’s canteen provides a variety of healthy food and drinks and follows the guidelines set out by the Fresh Tastes @ School NSW Healthy School Canteen Strategy which came into effect in 2005. Our school canteen is a member of the Healthy Kids Association (formerly the NSW Healthy Kids Canteen Association).
Canteen Opening Hours
Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Canteen Closed Tuesday and Thursday
- Recess 11.00am – 11.20am
- Lunch 1.00pm – 1.50pm
Canteen Volunteers
The canteen relies on the support of parent volunteers to provide a reliable service to our students. As a canteen volunteer you will be rostered on only one day per month and you can help out either for a full day (9.00am to 2.00pm) or part day (9.00am-11.20am or the lunch period, 12.00pm – 2.00pm).
Canteen Volunteer Duties
- assisting with preparation of foods
- serving children over the counter at recess and lunch
- general canteen tidy up after lunch
The children really LOVE to see a familiar face on the other side of the counter. You can choose to be rostered on with parents you are friends with or it is a great way to get to know other parents within the school.
Canteen Food
Food sold in the canteen is approved by the Healthy Kids Association under their food nutrition guidelines as set out in their Healthy Canteen Strategy (2005).
The Association operate a Traffic Light System where food is categorised as either Green, Amber or Red depending upon the levels of saturated fat, sugar, salt and the serving sizes of each product. Green foods include fresh fruit and vegetables, homemade soups, sandwiches/ wraps or rolls with salad ingredients, etc and are the most nutritious choices. Amber food products are generally pre-packaged food and contain some nutritional value but are more of a “treat” food than an everyday choice. Red products are those that don’t fall within the nutritional guidelines and are either banned completely (ie. soft drinks) or may only be sold up to twice a term, for example on a special lunch
order day.
At St Mary’s the students are offered a wide range of choice in their canteen food with lots of “Green” products available every day. In fact our daily lunch specials are generally foods which consist of fresh salad ingredients and are coupled with a drink at a discounted price to encourage students to purchase those.
Children with Food Allergies or Intolerances
St Mary’s Canteen does not stock peanut butter or nut based products such as Nutella, however some of the pre-packaged food may have been manufactured in premises or on equipment that may contain traces of nuts. If your child does have a food allergy or intolerance please feel free to contact the canteen to enquire as to what products are suitable for your child to consume. It is also vital that any allergy information regarding your child is made known to the school.
Further information regarding St Mary’s Canteen, such as pricelists, lunch order procedures and canteen newsletters can be accessed on the school website.