When should we start planning a school year catered lunch program?

Start no later than June of the preceding school year. The June PAC meeting is your window to get budget approval before summer break. July should be spent on caterer tastings and contract negotiation, August on allergen surveys and systems setup, and September on a pilot month. Schools that start planning in August consistently run into problems — caterers are already committed, allergen surveys are rushed, and there's no time for a proper pilot. I've watched programs collapse by October because nobody built the foundation during summer.

How much does a school catered lunch program cost per student in Vancouver?

Expect $6-9 per meal per student in Metro Vancouver, with the exact price depending on your caterer, menu complexity, order volume, and delivery distance. For a school with 200 students and 35% participation, that translates to roughly $486 per participating student annually across about 185 school days. Most successful programs use a hybrid funding model where parents pay $5-7 per meal and the PAC subsidizes the difference using gaming grants or fundraising revenue. The National School Food Program is also creating new funding streams for BC schools.

What happens on Pro-D days, holidays, and early dismissals?

Your catering contract must explicitly address non-school days. Pro-D days and holidays mean no delivery and no charge. The VSB calendar includes 5-6 Pro-D days, two weeks of winter break, two weeks of spring break, and several statutory holidays — roughly 30 non-delivery days per year. Build these into a master delivery calendar at the start of the year and share it with your caterer. Early dismissal days still require lunch service, but confirm whether the delivery window needs to shift. Any schedule changes — like a rescheduled Pro-D day — should be communicated to your caterer at least one week in advance.

How do we handle dietary restrictions and food allergies across the whole school?

Send a comprehensive allergen and dietary requirements survey to every family during the back-to-school period in August, with a firm response deadline before the first day of school. Compile all responses into a school-wide allergen matrix organized by classroom, and share it with your caterer immediately. Students with anaphylactic allergies must receive individually labelled meals with complete allergen declarations — no exceptions. Update the survey twice during the year, in January and April, to capture new students and any changes. At your meal provider, we build a school-specific allergen matrix and label every meal individually, but we need accurate data from the school to make that system work.

Should we commit to a full year or start with a pilot term?

Always start with a pilot. Run September as a formal test month — or commit to one full term (September through December) if your caterer requires a term-length contract. Track five metrics: participation rate (target above 25%), on-time delivery rate (target above 95%), parent satisfaction (target above 80% positive), allergen incident rate (must be zero), and food waste rate (target below 10%). If the pilot meets these targets, extend to the full year. If it doesn't, identify the specific failure point and fix it before recommitting. A pilot protects the school and the PAC from locking into a program that doesn't serve the community well.