News that a regional high school, in Southern Tasmania, would offer a Subway option for lunch each Wednesday was met with a healthy serving of nutritional skepticism.
Comments ranged from outrage - due to a concerning increase in eating disorders and obesity - to jovial banter on Twitter, including:
“A kid I went to school with had a sausage roll and a chocolate Big M for lunch every day for 18 consecutive terms.”
“Literally used to eat hot cheese rolls with tomato sauce twice a day from the canteen along with 400 other teenage boys. There were blokes who used to top this off with a 600ml, wait for it, custard.”
“We had a coke machine, $1 for a cup of premix. Savs in white bread, pies, pasties, snag rolls and every lolly under the sun.”
“I loved ‘Chips Friday’ ... they were so soggy and had enough sauce to fill an Olympic pool.”
The Tasmania School Canteen Association was also vocal in response with Julie Dunbabin offering in an ABC interview:
"We advise schools, and we cannot mandate it, but we do advise schools to cross off, with a black texta the choc chip cookie and the salami option.”
When a school engaged a fast food giant to fill a void which the community has traditionally catered, there was always going to be an overabundance of commentary across mainstream and social media. However, a problem not so evident during interviews and postings underpins one of the reasons why this type of school-based response has occurred.
Last week was National Volunteer Week; recognising the outstanding contribution of community minded citizens who add so much to our economic and social fabric.
Tasmania has always had a high rate of volunteering. It is part of our DNA to help, whether it be at the local sporting club, community organisation or school canteen. And while we have always relied upon a few to complete most of the work, motivating others to lend a helping hand, particularly in times of need, has always worked.
A report commissioned in 2014 and titled: The Economic Value of Volunteering in Tasmania found that volunteering was the eighth largest industry in Tasmania, delivering the equivalent of $638.1 million to the Tasmanian economy. The volunteering rate for adults, aged 18 years and above at 36 per cent, the fourth highest in the country and ahead of the national average at 34.1 per cent, highlighted how important and valued the industry remained.
For my generation, the school canteen manger was as well known as the popular teacher, with volunteers assisting daily to ensure the small business paid its way. The Mother’s Club (how strange does that sound in 2019) which became the Parents and Friends and in more recent years, the School Association provided the volunteers that ensured that service continued.
But times change. Mums and Dads work, often full-time. Childcare centres are full, and grandparents supplement this service, performing the essential role of providing before and after school care for their grandchildren.
With a well-documented ageing population, Volunteering Tasmania’s - the State of Volunteering Report 2012 highlighted that volunteer rates of the 65 plus age group will continue to dominate. Generation Y (1965-1979) will gradually replace Baby Boomers (1946-1964) in population numbers in the years to 2032, yet the percentage of ‘my’ generation volunteering, after that time, will decline if we don’t do something about it!
Volunteering is incredibly rewarding. It doesn’t matter the skills you have, whether financial, operational or strategic, we can all contribute and add-value to our local communities. Sometimes it can be a thankless task, with the politics of organisations as vibrant and robust as I experienced in the House of Assembly. But that is only the odd occasion with most experiences fulfilling and pleasurable.
A salad roll and a vanilla slice was my staple diet for the entirety of the Grade 10 school year, and I still say hello to my Primary and High School Canteen Managers and parents who volunteered on a regular basis. Long may that continue.
If you can find time to volunteer please step-up and assist our goal to reverse the projections, ensuring the next generation is more giving than the last.
Comments ranged from outrage - due to a concerning increase in eating disorders and obesity - to jovial banter on Twitter, including:
“A kid I went to school with had a sausage roll and a chocolate Big M for lunch every day for 18 consecutive terms.”
“Literally used to eat hot cheese rolls with tomato sauce twice a day from the canteen along with 400 other teenage boys. There were blokes who used to top this off with a 600ml, wait for it, custard.”
“We had a coke machine, $1 for a cup of premix. Savs in white bread, pies, pasties, snag rolls and every lolly under the sun.”
“I loved ‘Chips Friday’ ... they were so soggy and had enough sauce to fill an Olympic pool.”
The Tasmania School Canteen Association was also vocal in response with Julie Dunbabin offering in an ABC interview:
"We advise schools, and we cannot mandate it, but we do advise schools to cross off, with a black texta the choc chip cookie and the salami option.”
When a school engaged a fast food giant to fill a void which the community has traditionally catered, there was always going to be an overabundance of commentary across mainstream and social media. However, a problem not so evident during interviews and postings underpins one of the reasons why this type of school-based response has occurred.
Last week was National Volunteer Week; recognising the outstanding contribution of community minded citizens who add so much to our economic and social fabric.
Tasmania has always had a high rate of volunteering. It is part of our DNA to help, whether it be at the local sporting club, community organisation or school canteen. And while we have always relied upon a few to complete most of the work, motivating others to lend a helping hand, particularly in times of need, has always worked.
A report commissioned in 2014 and titled: The Economic Value of Volunteering in Tasmania found that volunteering was the eighth largest industry in Tasmania, delivering the equivalent of $638.1 million to the Tasmanian economy. The volunteering rate for adults, aged 18 years and above at 36 per cent, the fourth highest in the country and ahead of the national average at 34.1 per cent, highlighted how important and valued the industry remained.
For my generation, the school canteen manger was as well known as the popular teacher, with volunteers assisting daily to ensure the small business paid its way. The Mother’s Club (how strange does that sound in 2019) which became the Parents and Friends and in more recent years, the School Association provided the volunteers that ensured that service continued.
But times change. Mums and Dads work, often full-time. Childcare centres are full, and grandparents supplement this service, performing the essential role of providing before and after school care for their grandchildren.
With a well-documented ageing population, Volunteering Tasmania’s - the State of Volunteering Report 2012 highlighted that volunteer rates of the 65 plus age group will continue to dominate. Generation Y (1965-1979) will gradually replace Baby Boomers (1946-1964) in population numbers in the years to 2032, yet the percentage of ‘my’ generation volunteering, after that time, will decline if we don’t do something about it!
Volunteering is incredibly rewarding. It doesn’t matter the skills you have, whether financial, operational or strategic, we can all contribute and add-value to our local communities. Sometimes it can be a thankless task, with the politics of organisations as vibrant and robust as I experienced in the House of Assembly. But that is only the odd occasion with most experiences fulfilling and pleasurable.
A salad roll and a vanilla slice was my staple diet for the entirety of the Grade 10 school year, and I still say hello to my Primary and High School Canteen Managers and parents who volunteered on a regular basis. Long may that continue.
If you can find time to volunteer please step-up and assist our goal to reverse the projections, ensuring the next generation is more giving than the last.
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