Manitoba Schools Are Ditching Paper Forms
Cash envelopes, paper order forms, a shoebox somewhere in the staff room — that used to be how hot lunch worked at a lot of Manitoba schools. More of them are moving to LunchUp instead, where parents order online and everything gets tracked automatically.
The shift isn’t really about technology for its own sake. It’s that a PAC volunteer running a lunch program off spreadsheets and cash only has so many hours in a week, and most of them have actual jobs too.
What Changes for Parents
Parents log in, pick meals for however many kids they’ve got, and pay online — credit card or e-transfer both work. No more chasing down forms that came home crumpled at the bottom of a backpack, and no more guessing whether a payment actually went through.
For a closer look at a few schools that made the switch, see our post on how Manitoba schools are modernizing lunch ordering.
Healthy Menus, Local Vendors
Manitoba schools on LunchUp partner with local restaurants and caterers, not a national catering chain — gluten-free pasta, protein-packed grain bowls, that kind of thing. Every menu has to be peanut and tree-nut free, no exceptions, and any allergy a parent registers gets flagged automatically if it shows up in an order.
Schools can see the vendor menus and order counts in real time, so nobody on the PAC side is guessing what’s actually being served that week.
Where the Fundraising Comes From
Each hot lunch ordered adds a small amount — usually around $1 a meal — straight to the school’s fundraising total, no separate campaign required. Schools in Greater Winnipeg have put that money toward things like playground upgrades and classroom supplies, without running a single bake sale.
If your council’s looking at other ways to raise money too, our guide to fundraising through hot lunch programs walks through a few models schools use. Running the program itself is free for the school — no setup fee, no subscription — and money moves out every Friday, split automatically between the PAC and the vendor.
Getting Started
Watch how it works: https://youtu.be/li82F01w7r8
Reach out to LunchUp and we’ll show you what it’d look like for your school.
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