SCHOOL CANTEEN OPERATIONS

AND MANAGEMENT
 Sun.Star Pampanga

 4 Aug 2018

 MARITESS S. GALVEZ
The Department of Education (DepEd) wants canteens in public schools to be healthy both in the
food they offer and in their finances.
The elimination of financial disputes between principals and teachers over canteen operations is
one of the goals of a 19-page order issued by the DepEd. To give teachers an additional source of
income, the department handed over the operation of canteens in public schools to teacher
cooperatives in 1996.
Another goal of the order is to "eliminate malnutrition, which affects the academic performance"
of students.
The order authorizes principals to audit the financial report of a canteen run by a teacher
cooperative to ensure that 20 percent of its profits are remitted to the school to defray the costs of
the school’s feeding program.
To encourage competition and improve the quality of service, the order also allows schools with
more than 500 students to have more than one canteen.
Adunna (2013) discussed that along the line of canteen management is the need for an
improvement system to boost not only sales but also the efficiency of its operations. In addition
to providing with nutritious and affordable foods, the canteen should be based on good
management practices and the financially self-sustaining. Experience shows that, with good
management and marketing practices, a 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 it 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 managements, accounting and
financial procedures staff are familiar with and comply with relevant legal requirements
regarding food safety, occupational health and safety standards. School canteen may operate
under a variety of management structures, depending on the individual characteristics and the
needs of school.
The DepEd in 2013 emphasized that only nutrients-rich foods such as root crops, noodles, rice
and corn products in native preparations, fruits and vegetables in season, and fortified food
products labeled rich in protein, energy, vitamins and minerals shall be sold in the school
canteen. Beverage shall include milk, shakes, and juices prepared from fruits and vegetables in
season. The sales of carbonated drinks, sugar-based synthetic or artificially flavoured juices, junk
foods and any food products that maybe detrimental to the child’s health
And that do not bear the SangkapPinoy seal and/or did not passed the BFAD approval is
prohibited. Iodized salt shall be used, in controlled quantity, in the preparation of cook foods to
ensure that iodine requirement of the clientele shall met and to eliminate iodine deficiency. The
use of monosodium glutamate (vetsin) shall be regulated. A reasonable mark-up price for all
merchandise in the canteen shall be allowed, provided that the selling retail price does not exceed
the prevailing prices in the locality. FNRI-DOST (2013), nutritional guidelines for Filipino
revised and organized by the (FNRI-DOST) , an interagency and multi-disciplinary technical
working group. Mendoza (2009), sanitation makes an important role in any food service
institution. Standard sanitation practice is important to be able to attain a better health of the
workers and most specially the costumers, because they are the reasons why we established food
institution
Johannes (2013; 39), discussed that the school canteens should provide cheap, sanitary,
nutritious food such as fresh milk, fresh fruits and fresh drinks boiled root crops, high calorie
indigenous recipes and the like canteen personal handling food in the canteen should be required
to undergo training for food handlers, obtain a certificate of good health from the municipal
health department and observe hygiene.
Operational practices must be geared to the welfare of the students, teachers and to the school as
a whole.