Tuckshops and canteens
Food
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Food
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Children’s wellbeing
Many people eat food away from home, sometimes voluntarily but many times involuntarily. School children and workers have to eat away from home due to their school or work hours. Many opt to take a packed lunch prepared from home, especially school children as Malta’s state schools do not have the service of canteens or school meals. The only exception is a special school for students’ with special needs, whose school meals are provided by a private catering company. Large worksites, such as factories or bank headquarters, often offer the service of a canteen or cafeteria.
School tuckshops
Most Secondary schools in Malta have tuckshops. Some are school-run, but others are leased out to private contractors. In past years, many controversies were aired about the quality of the food for sale from these outlets. Foods high in fat, sugar and salt were commonly found on the tuck shop menu and counter. These brought about the need for guidelines for these food outlets. In fact, the Healthy Eating Lifestyle Plan (HELP) document published by the Education Division in 2007, saw the launching of new regulations which provide guidelines for the provision of healthy nutritious food by these school tuckshops. These guidelines also make reference to sustainability issues, such as sourcing local foods and amount and type of packaging.
Click here to read a summary of these guidelines.
School tuckshops play a pivotal role in communicating food messages at school, and there needs to be consistency between what is taught in the classroom about healthy eating and nutrition and what is actually provided in the tuckshop. Indeed, adult food preferences are formed during childhood, so it is critical that efforts are made to improve the availability of healthy food options at school. An ideal way is to provide local, organic, fresh alternatives to conventional, energy-dense and highly processed foods containing too much fat, salt, sugar and artificial additives.
In many countries around the world there are farm-to-school programmes where schools source their food from local farms. There are also schools which have their own school garden, where students themselves often grow the food which is then used in the school’s retail outlet or events.
Canteens
Canteens at workplaces (factories, banks, hospitals etc.) are plentiful. Some provide free meals for workers; others charge for the food though prices may be subsidised. Often nutrition and food service is not a high priority at canteens. The goal is to provide food which hopefully satisfies the taste of the majority of the diners.
Local canteens typically offer quick meals, ladened with fat and salt. Pre-packed items (e.g. savoury snacks and sweets) and drinks (paricularly softdrinks) are also available. Health conscious consumers can sometimes find healthier food, such as wholemeal sandwiches/ buns with low-fat fillings, salads, fish/chicken based grilled snacks and yoghurt. Fresh fruit and packets of roasted nuts or pulses are also often available, as are plain water or sugar-free fruit juices.
Canteen food is normally packaged in plastic or styrofoam containers, which are not so eco-friendly. Disposable cutlery and glasses are also often used. In such case, customers should ask for recycled paper or plastic items. They should also ask for waste separating bins to be provided.
