Australian schools ditch canteen meat pies for a healthy take on US cafeteria meals

This teen movie staple is trending in school yards across the nation with unexpected health and social consequences.

Africola head chef Duncan Welgemoed and Annesley Junior School principal Jo Rossiter serve up lunch for Year 3 students Mico and Charlotte. Picture: Brenton Edwards

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Cafeteria-style sit-down lunches are emerging as an alternative to the traditional tuck shop as school canteens struggle with growing costs – with unexpected health and social benefits.

Compared to US cafeterias, Australian students are more likely to be served wholefoods with organic ingredients, in a move away from the traditional beef pie and soft drink meal.

The trend comes amid skyrocketing canteen prices, with Victoria where the average cost of lunch – including a main, snack and drink – hits $20.20 topping the nation, according to price lists analysed by News Corp.

It is followed by New South Wales at $19.95, South Australia at $18.65 and Queensland at $18.60.

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE CANTEEN PRICE LISTS

Eight year olds Mico and Charlotte from Annesley Junior School in Adelaide enjoy a cafferteria style lunch as part of the Budding Lunch program. Picture: Brenton Edwards

Flinders University researchers said there were “positive associations” between serving school meals and higher academic performance, compared to children who eat home-packed lunches, as well as “improved school attendance and classroom attention”, according to the 2022 paper titled ‘Do we need school meals in Australia?

Inspired by France’s long lunch culture, students at the International French School of Sydney can purchase a sit-down three course meal, with a menu featuring devilled eggs, ravioli and panna cotta.

In Victoria, Melbourne Montessori College operates a student-run cafe, complete with barista machine and Trinity Grammar School Kew transformed its tuck shop into a cafe in 2020.

While government-funded programs also provided free healthy breakfasts and lunches to 180,000 Queensland students from mainly low socio-economic areas at more than 500 schools and in Tasmania the School Lunch Project served 190,000 free meals last year.

Victoria’s Trinity Grammar School Kew transformed its tuck shop into a sit-down cafeteria in 2020. Picture: Instagram

Annesley Junior School students in Adelaide have been treated once a week to a freshly-cooked lunch by chefs from Africola – one of South Australia’s most acclaimed restaurants.

For $13.50, students are served platters, salad and dessert, with more than 80 per cent of the school population signing up, according to principal Jo Rossiter.

Ms Rossiter said parents had noticed better table manners from their children and a greater interest in different types of food since program’s launch in 2022.

Chef to the stars Duncan Welgemoed is behind the Annesley school lunch program. Picture: Brenton Edwards

Meals served at the once a week lunch service. Picture: Brenton Edwards

“Anecdotally, we’re getting lots of feedback from families about children eating foods they wouldn’t ordinary eat – they’re seeing eating habits change at home as well,” Ms Rossiter said.

Federation of Canteens in Schools chair Leanne Elliston said many canteens were pivoting to more cafe-style fare to reflect changing attitudes towards healthy eating.

Federation of Canteens in Schools chair Leanne Elliston said canteens were being confronted by rising overhead costs. Picture: Supplied

However, she said a volunteer shortage had led to the privatisation of many canteens over the last decade, with operators typically working on a for-profit model, and that it was proving more difficult for children to purchase an affordable meal at school.

“More parents are working these days and so they don’t have that spare time to volunteer … It’s not like the eighties where that was that sense of community around the school canteen,” Ms Elliston said.

“There are still parents and grandparents who have been doing it for a long time, but they’re few and far between.”

Ms Elliston said for canteens and lunch programs to survive and grow, some form of subsidisation was necessary.

“It’s up to the government to ask, ‘Is this money well-spent?’, which I think it is,” Ms Elliston said.

“It leads to better learning outcomes, it helps the food industry because it guarantees supply, so there’s an economic value … it’s ultimately an investment.”

Originally published as Australian schools ditch canteen meat pies for a healthy take on US cafeteria meals