This is an idea I heard late last year at our P&C (Parents & Community) Meeting. Our president had been to a meeting with other local school P&C Presidents and there was a lot of sharing of ideas.
The one we all loved was the Friday Feast, which we decided to rename Fun Food Friday and it combines fundraising with community building. It is basically a rehash of what I remember as ‘tuck shop’ except it is hosted by the students instead of parents, and runs during lunchtime or immediately after school.
Each classroom is assigned one Friday (or Monday or whatever day works for your school) during which each member of the class is responsible for bringing in a plate of food suitable for selling to students at lunch time or after school (ie cupcakes, mini quiche, party pies, jelly cups etc). Keep in mind that selling during lunch may conflict with the profitability of the canteen, while holding the Feast immediately after school might also encourage families to stay and play, and build community.
A price point should be decided in advance, such as $1 for everything or 50 cents and $1 per item, so that all students can afford to buy something.
Depending on the size of the school, this might mean there is a Friday Feast two or three times a term. For larger schools you may choose to have two classes assigned to each Feast to ensure there is enough food to sell.
Set up is minimal and can be done by students and teachers, or managed by one or two parents. A whole year of Feasts could be rostered in advance and promoted through the newsletter and posters near the school.
We decided there should be no constraints on what families can send (except for nuts), but your school may want to restrict certain types of foods to fit in with your policy on healthy eating.
As well as the obvious cupcakes, muffins, popcorn and honey joys if you’re able to provide access to cooking/refrigeration facilities, you could also sell icypoles in summer, cups of soup in winter, sausage rolls, mini quiche, and fruit or jelly cups.
The Friday feast – it’s time to bring back the old fashioned tuck shop as an easy fundraiser in schools
