Handing Over the Hot Lunch Program: A Checklist for PAC Coordinators

Every June, something quiet happens inside school PACs across Canada. The chairs get passed. The spreadsheets get forwarded. The person who knew every vendor’s phone number and every parent’s allergy note hands over a folder to someone who’s still learning what PAC stands for.

If that’s you — either the one leaving or the one stepping in — this guide is for you. Running a hot lunch program is one of the most operationally complex things a volunteer will ever manage. A smooth handover doesn’t just protect the program. It protects the incoming coordinator from a very stressful September.

What to Document Before You Leave

The outgoing coordinator holds more institutional knowledge than they realize. If any of the following lives only in your head or your personal inbox, it needs to move somewhere the next person can find it.

• Vendor contacts and contracts. Who supplies the food? What are the delivery days? Is there a signed agreement, and when does it renew? If your school uses a platform like LunchUp, log in together and confirm the incoming coordinator has full admin access before your last day.

• The ordering schedule. When do orders open and close each week? What’s the cutoff for cancellations? When are payment runs processed? Write this down even if it feels obvious — it won’t be obvious to someone doing it for the first time in August.

• Allergy and dietary notes. If your program tracks student allergies manually outside the platform, make sure those records are transferred and up to date. A new coordinator should never have to guess about a child’s dietary restrictions.

• Parent communication templates. Save copies of any emails or newsletters you’ve sent. A first-year coordinator shouldn’t have to write “Hot Lunch starts next week” from scratch when you’ve already figured out what works.

• What went wrong this year. This is the most valuable thing you can pass on. The vendor who was late twice in December. The week orders accidentally stayed open too long. The parent who needed a last-minute refund. Write it down. Future you — or future someone — will be grateful.

What the Incoming Coordinator Needs to Do Before September

If you’re stepping into the role, the summer might feel quiet. It won’t stay that way. Here’s what needs to happen before the first lunch day of the new school year.

• Get platform access sorted immediately. Don’t wait until August. If your school uses LunchUp, confirm you have admin login credentials and that the outgoing coordinator has removed their own access or transferred ownership. Test that you can see orders, manage the menu, and pull reports.

• Confirm the vendor relationship for the new year. Reach out to your lunch supplier in June or July — not September. Confirm they’re still available, agree on start dates, and make sure the menu is set up correctly in the system before families start ordering.

• Update the school year dates in your platform. Lunch days, holiday closures, professional development days — these need to be blocked off before ordering opens to parents. Getting this wrong in the first week creates refund requests and frustrated families.

• Send a welcome message to parents in late August. A short note introducing yourself, confirming when hot lunch starts, and explaining how to order goes a long way. Parents who know what to expect are much easier to work with than parents who are confused.

How LunchUp Makes the Handover Easier

One of the most common pain points in PAC lunch program transitions is that too much information lives with one person. When the coordinator changes, the program effectively has to restart from scratch.

LunchUp is designed to keep program information in the platform, not in a person. Vendor menus, order history, allergy flags, parent accounts, and financial records all stay in one place regardless of who is running the program. When a new coordinator logs in, they’re not starting from zero — they’re picking up a system that already knows your school.

Handing over a hot lunch program should take an afternoon, not a month. If it’s taking longer than that, the problem usually isn’t the people — it’s the systems. A platform that centralizes everything makes the transition faster for the outgoing coordinator and less overwhelming for the incoming one.

Tip: Schedule a 30-minute overlap call between the outgoing and incoming coordinator before school ends. Walk through the platform together, confirm access, and answer any questions in real time. It’s the single most effective thing you can do to protect next year’s program.

A Simple Handover Checklist

• Platform admin access transferred ✓

• Vendor contacts and contracts documented ✓

• Ordering schedule written down ✓

• Allergy records reviewed and updated ✓

• Communication templates saved and shared ✓

• Notes on what worked and what didn’t ✓

• New school year dates blocked in the system ✓

• Vendor confirmed for the new year ✓

Hot lunch programs thrive on continuity. The coordinators change, but the kids counting on a warm meal every Wednesday don’t. A good handover is one of the most important things you can do for your school community — even if nobody sees it happen.