Sustainable tuckshops

As a busy foodservice operation, the school tuckshop can either be part of the environmental problem or become a leader in the sustainability space

All schools can benefit by taking on sustainable practices across multiple areas, which will help to control ever increasing energy costs.

Reducing Energy Usage

The key areas of energy use in the tuckshop are lighting, airconditioning, refrigeration, and cooking.

Making sure your equipment is in good working order, clean and well-serviced is the best strategy to cut down on energy use.

When it is time to upgrade, aim for designs and appliances that reduce energy usage.

If you are upgrading cooking facilities, keep in mind that the Department of Education is reconsidering the use of gas in schools.

Gas is more difficult to make sustainable, so schools are being encouraged to pursue electrification, with installation of induction cooktops, rather than replacing with gas.

For a full range of energy saving ideas, see these tips from Business Queensland.

Reducing Waste

Recycling is now commonplace in most schools, but reducing waste starts long before waste disposal.

The waste hierarchy in the Brisbane City Council’s comprehensive guide for reducing waste in schools steps through a process of avoid – reduce – reuse – recycle – disposal.

In tuckshops, this might involve buying ingredients in bulk, choosing products in reusable, compostable or recyclable packaging, cooking more meals from scratch, and switching to eco-friendly serving containers.

Find out how waste is managed in your school and have a conversation about integrating tuckshop waste into this.

If you find there is no effective system, take the lead, get a team together, and implement a whole of school system to better manage waste.

Food Waste

Cooking from scratch tends to increase food waste from the tuckshop, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

Composting, worm farms and even school chickens can be a great way to manage food waste, but all require a level of commitment from someone in the school.

If your school already has a garden, making a connection through food waste can open other possibilities, like using produce in tuckshop menus.

Don’t have a school garden? You may be able to use commercial compost services.

Case Study

Sara Begg from Freshwater State School in Cairns applied for the Queensland Government Organic Waste Smart Schools program.

Through this funding, Sarah was able to introduce a comprehensive waste management system in her school, including composting, and created a vegetable garden which now supplies produce for the tuckshop menu. A mini circular economy in the Freshwater State School!

For more information, check out the Queensland Climate Ready Schools Guide for simple steps schools can take to become more sustainable.