Canteen Service at Footscray High School which includes Year 9 Eat Well Program

Footscray High School is a multi-campus secondary school in the South Western Victoria Region of the Department of Education which services a large residential area and surrounding community of inner northern metropolitan Melbourne approximately 7 km from the Melbourne CBD. The school has a current enrolment of 1330 students in year 7 through to year 12. It is expected that enrolment will increase to a maximum of 1800 students, 450 at each junior campus and 900 at the senior campus over the ensuing years.

There is a gymnasium, theatre, and a farm.

The student population, assumed to be represented by a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds, is likely to be characterised by a reasonable percentage of families with both parents working and high socio-economic status.

The canteen service is required to cater for a significant proportion of approximately 1330 current students across all three campuses and 180 staff members during all Victorian term periods with the exception of public holidays and pupil free days.

Site visit: The Principal of Footscray High School offers prospective providers an opportunity to view the school canteen facilities up until 5 March 2026. Service providers are required to advise the Contact Person of their intention to attend by close of business three days prior to the requested visit. No more than two (2) attendees from the same service provider may attend the same site visit. All attendees must sign the attendance record which will be provided at each site visit.

A current internal provided canteen service exists at the school which has been the arrangement for several years.

School Council statement:

The School Council wants the service provider to provide an affordable and healthy canteen service to the school community. Both hot and cold meal options should be available, along with a variety of smaller, snack-sized items. All meals and snacks should be freshly prepared using high-quality, fresh ingredients. The overall quality and style of the food should be comparable to contemporary café-style offerings. In addition, catering services may be required for staff meetings and other internal events.

The School Council believes that all employees that work in the canteen service should be facilitators of positive development who provide a safe, engaging environment and nurture healthy interactions.

The School will license the following facilities per canteen:

Toilets (M/F) for both staff and students.

Kitchen (canteen)

Dining area (Kinnear)

Eat Well Program - Curriculum Program:

It is envisaged that a healthy menu is jointly prepared and served by the Year 9 students as part of the Eat Well Program.

The Eatwell Program is a school-based initiative for Year 9 students that promotes healthy eating, practical cooking skills, and nutrition education through real-world work placement experiences. Up to 13 students participate across the school’s three canteens, operating most weeks of the school year from Monday to Thursday during school hours (9:00 am–3:15 pm), with service aligned to recess (10:40–11:10 am) and lunch (12:50–1:35 pm). Students take part in hands-on activities including food preparation, cooking, and service, while following occupational health and safety requirements. The program builds key employability skills such as confidence, communication, collaboration, resilience, and problem-solving, with high expectations for professionalism and performance.

The successful supplier will be responsible for delivering engaging, practical sessions aligned with healthy eating principles and supporting students to develop workplace skills while maintaining high standards. This includes outlining daily tasks, providing a designated staff member as the main point of contact with FHS’s designated staff member, ensuring punctual onsite arrival with sufficient time for set-up, and communicating promptly about any issues, delays, or safety concerns. The supplier must work closely with school leadership and comply with Child Safe Standards, Department of Education requirements, and all Footscray High School policies.

The supplier will also provide and manage all required materials and equipment, including ingredients, ensuring everything is safe, compliant, and fit for purpose, as well as handling set-up and pack-down for each day. All food safety legislation and best practice guidelines must be followed, including safe storage, transport, and handling of food, with evidence of Food Safety Supervisor certification provided where required. At the conclusion of the program, the supplier will supply attendance records, feedback, and required reports, participate in evaluation activities, and share program outcome data or summary reports as requested.