What we did

We have been engaged by NSW Health to provide a Menu Check Service to support the implementation of the NSW Healthy School Canteen Strategy. The Service has been established to provide all government, Catholic, and independent primary and secondary schools in NSW with an opportunity to have their menu checked and provide a Summary of Results report supporting school canteens to implement the Strategy.

How we did it

The Menu Check includes a review against indicators within key menu categories and regarding the placement and promotion of products. The Service uses a standardised approach and tools to check canteen menus against the Food and Drink Criteria.

We developed infrastructure to support the menu check process, including:

• A Service Handbook which contains all protocols used in the processing and assessment of school canteen menus and reporting the assessment results back to schools, and Local Health Districts
• An Access database to assist in the implementation of the Service
• A Dedicated Menu Check Shared Inbox, and free to call phone line
• A Customer Satisfaction Survey.

We invited licensed providers operating in two or more school canteens utilise the Service. We would first assess their overarching general menu that is used in each canteen. Then, once the provider’s menus have passed the menu check, any additional items and promotional practices in individual school canteens are then assessed.

This project is ongoing.

Benefits for the client

The Service produces weekly, monthly, and school term service delivery reports which provide statistics relating to applications received and the number of schools meeting the aims of the Strategy.

The Service has also produced several high-level reports including common reasons schools do not achieve the NSW Healthy School Canteen Strategy, common reasons why the Service has to request additional information, and Executive Reports which provide an analytical review and report on the delivery of the Service.