Chantel is the manager of Ngunnawal Primary School’s P&C run canteen. Eight years ago, she traded the long nights and three week rotating rosters of the hospitality industry for her role as canteen manager. Now, she balances priorities in a full service canteen, catering to over 650 students and staff. There’s never a boring moment in Chantel’s day as she and her team work to provide exciting, nutritious food for the whole school community.

What does it take to run a healthy canteen?

It takes dedication and a lot of hard work! There needs to be a variety food available. We sell a lot of sandwiches, salad boxes and roasted chicken breasts, which are all green food items. We also offer a few amber items such as pies, sausage rolls and chicken nuggets - all the low fat, low salt variety. We don’t have any red food items, and last year's menu assessment was just over 60% green. I think there’s a misconception of what canteens provide, which probably stems from back when I was a child and school canteens would sell lollies and frogs. Now we're offering a lot more fresh fruits, veggies and salads and other healthy options. Nutrition Australia has put guidelines in place to ensure canteens are making better choices for our kids, which I think is really important.

What’s the favourite food item on your canteen’s menu?

We've just started offering fruit smoothies, made up of milk, frozen fruit and pineapple juice, which we sell over the counter at lunch and recess. They’ve been so popular that we always try to keep the ingredients stocked up, so no one misses out!

What would you say to parents that are interested in volunteering with the canteen?

Come in and give it a try! It’s always a novelty for the kids when their parents are volunteering in the canteen, they bring their friends to see. I’ve been volunteering for the last 13 years. I used to help out at P&C fundraising events since my son, who is now in Year 12, started preschool here at Ngunnawal Primary School. When you’re dropping the kids off just come and spend half an hour with us, every little bit helps.

What do you love most about the role?

Watching the kids grow. At the start of the year, they are shy little people who come up to the canteen window but by the end of the year their confidence has grown.