Canteen
Our school canteen offers healthy, affordable food options for students. Learn about our canteen opening hours, our menu and how to order lunch.
About
In 2024, the Stanmore canteen came under new management. Donna Chau, Kenji Okuda, and Santo Bun are each hospitality professionals with experience at acclaimed venues including Koku Culture, Billy Kwong, Lotus Dining, Roka London, Bondi Trattoria, Longrain, China Lane, and Muum Maam Barangaroo.
With decades of combined experience, our canteen team prepares fresh, nutritious and delicious meals daily, designed with growing kids in mind.
The menu is thoughtfully curated to balance flavour, nutrition and fun, helping children develop healthy eating habits in a way they’ll enjoy.
We chatted with Donna, Kenji and Santo to find out more about their plans for our canteen.
What should we expect from Stanmore Canteen this year [2024]?
Donna: “We are really excited to be opening Stanmore Canteen. We are looking forward to connecting with the community and suppliers, being creative in our menu planning and promoting healthy eating but most importantly, having a positive impact on students’ lives through nutritious options. We hope to keep the canteen dynamic and fulfilling through continuous improvement in response to feedback and evolving dietary trends.”
Given that you have all worked in so many outstanding restaurants, you must have had some tough critics. How will you handle fussy eaters?
Donna: “We will make sure that we have diverse menu options, we will listen to feedback, provide clear information on our menu and we will be patient and respectful. It is important to create a welcoming environment and respect individual preferences, this is key to promoting healthy eating habits.”
What were your favourite foods as children?
Santo: “Nothing beats my Mum’s egg fried rice.”
Donna: “Noodles and dumplings were my favourite.”
Kenji: “I always enjoyed donburi, a Japanese rice-bowl dish consisting of fish, meat, vegetables or other ingredients simmered together and served over rice.”
Kenji, having grown up in Japan, and Santo, in Indonesia, what were your school canteens like as children?
Kenji: “Kyuushoku (or canteens) in Japan provide balanced meals combining rice, proteins, vegetable and dessert which emphasise traditional flavours. Australian canteens offer a broader menu and allow greater freedom of choice, Japanese school lunches focus on nutrition with limited accommodation of dietary preferences. One of the great things about school lunch in Japan is the communal classroom dining which fosters community and responsibility.”
Santo: “School canteens in Indonesia often feature a variety of traditional local dishes like nasi goreng (fried rice) and mie goreng (stir fry noodles), along with snacks such as fried bananas. They also need to cater to diverse dietary preferences including offering vegetarian and halal options.”
School canteen menus are expected to meet or exceed the guidelines set by the NSW Healthy School Canteen Strategy. The guidelines outline the type and frequency of food and drink permitted for sale through canteens in NSW government schools.
Canteens are also encouraged to support the Nutrition in Schools Policy, which identifies that any school program or activity relating to or involving food and drink should promote healthy eating and good nutrition to students.
Canteen opening times
The school canteen is open five days a week, providing healthy lunches for students and over the counter sales at recess and lunchtime.
Lunch orders should be placed online or over the counter before 9:00 am.
Contact us if you have an questions about our canteen opening times.
Order from our canteen
Online
Order online via your Spriggy Schools account and through the Spriggy Schools App.
If you don’t have an existing account, it’s quick and easy to set up a new account.
You can place orders from your phone, tablet or desktop computer within minutes. You can also avoid the morning rush by placing orders up to two weeks in advance.
Over the counter
Visit the canteen, located next to the COLA, to make an over the counter order.
Orders close each morning at 9:00 am but if you need to make an emergency order, please contact the school office and ask to be transferred through to the canteen.
Canteen menus
Give yourself a break and treat your kids to a delicious canteen meal.
Healthy eating habits start young
Discover how to promote lifelong healthy eating habits for kids in these Healthy Kids factsheets:
Parent portal
Use our parent portal apps to make a payment, view reports and record absences.
Bell times
Learn about our start and finish times, breaks and activities.