Abstract

The study consisted of Public School Canteens (N=93) both in elementary and high school. Public School canteens share common challenges in operations and management that affect the quality of their food offerings. Most cafeterias have no foodservice manager and staff and personnel were given little or no training with regards to food safety and food handling. Furthermore, space requirement and canteen facilities were not compliant to the required allocation of space and number of basic facilities, tools and utensils used inside the cafeteria. The results regarding the nutritional quality and adequacy of nutrition to the food offerings shows that, Cebu City public schools do offer some nutritious foods which are adequate enough to the students. However, menus are categorized to be limited. The Cebu City public school canteens are compliant to food safety and sanitation and its regulation to the food offerings. However, most of the school canteens fall short in complying with the following, (1) all canteen personnel/staff should wear their identification cards with photo inside the premises of the canteen, (2) posting of the menu/daily cooked food offerings indicating their nutritional value on a bulletin board within the school, and (3) exclusion of “fruit” drinks, ades, cocktail, beverages, and punches in the menu.