Flexischools reveals the school canteen and tuckshop trends to look for this year
With schools across Australia now back in session for 2025, Flexischools, the app that brought online ordering and payments to Australian schools, has released new data that shows how parents are dealing with the mental load of school mornings, and daily lunch box preparation.
Flexischools’ survey of 1,000 parents and carers of Australian school children, reveals that parents are expecting to spend more than 100 hours and an average of $2,400 preparing school lunches for their children this year.
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
Time and cost of making lunches
- Average time to prepare lunches each week: 2.6 hours per week
- Average weekly cost of school lunches per family: $60
- Average weekly cost of school lunches per child: $35
Canteen usage
- On any given day, 20% of Australian school children use their school canteen or tuckshop
- Around 3% of Australian school children use the canteen or tuckshop every day (5 days per week)
| Average spend on canteen meals across Australia | ||||||||
| ACT $8.93 | NSW $7.68 | QLD $8.02 | VIC $8.93 | TAS $7.77 | SA $7.56 | WA $7.02 | NT $8.36 | National $7.38 |
Who’s in charge of canteen/tuckshop ordering?
Across Flexischools users:
- 79% identify as female
- 20% identify as male
- 1% identify as other
Most popular day of the week for canteen/tuckshop orders?
Friday – 33%
How organised are parents? When do they order canteen/tuckshop lunch?
- Last minute (Friday) – 22%
- Night before (Thursday) – 24%
- Getting organised (Sunday) – 5%
Canteen favourites (2024)
- 124,000 apple slinkies sold at school canteens in 2024
- Almost 70,000 vegemite sandwiches sold at school canteens in 2024
| Battle of the lunches – what’s more popular at Australian canteens? | |||||
| Sandwich, wrap or roll? | Burgers | Sushi | |||
| Sandwiches Wraps Rolls | 53% 32% 15% | Chicken Beef/Lamb Vegetarian | 54% 45% 1% | Tuna Chicken Vegetarian | 64% 25% 11% |
| Parents will recognise these old-school favourites… | And be surprised to see some new-look canteen menu items… |
| Sausage rolls with sauce Chicken nuggets Flavoured milk Meat Pies | Acai bowls Salmon nigiri Inari Fudgy Black Bean Brownies Chicken Caesar Salad Kofta Wrap Banh Mi Butter Chicken |
| 2025 School Canteen Trends according to Flexischools Smaller serving sizes to comply with state-based guidelines for healthy menusOngoing shift to ‘from-scratch’ meals – it’s more cost-effective, and easier for canteens to meet healthy eating guidelines to make their own meals. In 2024, almost 6,000 items on Flexischools menus across Australia were tagged as being “homemade”. Bolognaise and Butter Chicken are the most popular.Vegetarian and vegan options are gaining popularity. 9,100 items are currently tagged on Flexischools canteen menus as being either vegetarian or vegan. |
However, according to Flexischools’ research, many Australian parents have already worked out ways to hack their school morning routine, and save money in the process.
“Our research shows that parents who use their school’s canteen or tuckshop two times per week, will spend the same amount of money as someone who packs lunch everyday, but save themselves up to 40 hours a year – that’s the equivalent of a full working week!” said Rachel Debeck, CEO of Flexischools.
For many parents, this hack can be a game-changer for school mornings.
“We know that for parents and carers of school-aged children, the mornings are time-critical. A minute or two saved can literally make the difference between you getting to a meeting, or the school bus on time, and having your whole day thrown out.
“In the same way that Flexischools has helped to turn the tide on food waste at Australian school canteens – by allowing canteen managers to prepare food to order rather than have to throw away uneaten food at the end of lunchtime – Australian households can take advantage of their school’s canteen to help reduce their own food waste, while still adding variety to their childrens’ lunches.
“We know that Australian households are throwing away up to $2,500 worth of food per year. That’s a lot of uneaten sandwiches, warm yoghurt, and fruit that’s gone brown,” Rachel said.
“By supplementing your child’s weekly lunches with the school canteen, you can give them access to a fresh salad sandwich – minus the soggy tomato – or a homemade bolognaise, without having to shop for and store all the ingredients yourself, and make sure they stay appetising during the school day” said Rachel.
However, Flexischools’ survey revealed that some parents are reluctant to order from the school canteen, concerned it was either too expensive 50.89% or citing food quality 14.89% or a lack of variety 11.33% as their reasons for not ordering.
However, according to Flexischools, it’s time for parents to re-think the school canteen.
“Some of the most popular items on school canteens’ menus last year were things that were homemade – pasta bolognaise or butter chicken,” said Rachel.
“Many canteen operators think of their canteens as an extension of a family’s kitchen. They have qualified chefs, specialist canteen supervisors, as well as the canteen assistants or managers who get the meals to students.
School canteens are an incredible resource for families, that can help ensure children are fuelled with the food they need for learning, while helping take the pressure off family life,” said Rachel.