Taking on the role of Tuckshop Manager in 2021, after working as the tuckshop assistant, Nicola immediately recognised and seized the opportunity to increase the tuckshop’s profitability, by providing food to school staff.
Up until that point, teachers were offered the same food options as the students which was, quite simply, not appealing to them.
Staff happily took their money elsewhere to purchase salads and café- style sandwiches for a premium price. It’s a challenge faced by many tuckshops and canteens in metropolitan Queensland, who have to compete with a wide range of food delivery services (think Uber, Deliveroo, DoorDash etc.).
Nicola initially investigated being able to offer two separate menus (one for students and one for teachers). Their online ordering system was unable to support this. Not daunted by the setback, she decided to change the student menu to offer staff AND students delicious, healthy, café-style meals prepared in-house. Since then, she hasn’t looked back!
Most menu items offer a small and a large serve to cater for the different portions, as well as offering a more budget-friendly price point.
The Chicken Ceasar Salad was one the first salads Nicola put on the menu. It was a popular salad choice to whet the school community’s appetite for change.
Not all salads have been popular, while some have taken a while to gather momentum. For example, a few years ago Nicola offered a Haloumi and quinoa salad with roasted vegetables, feta and tuckshop-made dressing. At the time it didn’t take off, so they gave it a break for a while. It was recently put back on the menu and now they can’t keep up with orders!
The tuckshop team initially tried a ‘Salad of the Week’ which didn’t always sell and resulted in a lot of food wastage. Now, they offer new menu items as specials to gauge interest, to determine what items are worth putting on the menu.
Other popular menu items include Poke Bowls, Wraps and ‘Build Your Own’ Salads.
Nicola’s 2024 Recipe of the Year entry, ‘Fish Burrito Bowl’, remains popular and she has taken it up a notch, offering a selection of different meats that can be added instead of the fish.
So, how has this all affected the bottom line? Nicola can confidently say that they are busier than ever. Where she may have previously provided five staff meals throughout the course of the week, she is now be providing between 25 and 30.
Nicola does a lot of bulk prepping and cooking, making the most of her freezer where she can. This is not only more efficient on her time but also helps keep her costs down.
The students have embraced this change too, ordering salads and wraps, and not missing the previously offered ‘kids menu’ items (we all know the ones!).
But is a change in the menu all that was required for such a dramatic change in tuckshop operations?
“There’s much more to it than just a menu,” she said.
“You need to have a welcoming space where staff are encouraged to come and order or pick up their lunch. The right attitude and supportive staff have also gone a long way in managing this positive behaviour change.”
This case study was developed as part of the Healthier Tuckshops program funded by the Queensland Government through Health and Wellbeing Queensland.
