CANTEEN operators are not too optimistic about their businesses despite the announcement from the Ministry of Education that schools will reopen from March 1.

They told The Malaysian Insight their business had suffered badly after schools were closed for most of 2020 and early 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with students switching to online learning.

Eddy Fong, who has been a school canteen operator for 12 years told The Malaysian Insight that his business model has changed.

He has had to pack and deliver food to the students in classrooms, with canteens off-limits. Parents also have to pay for the food on a monthly basis.

“If a family has two or three children studying, they have to pay more for their children’s meals. So, most parents would rather not opt for school lunches,” Fong said.

“Parents would rather their children have a proper meal after school and prepare simple food or bread for them to eat during the break. This way, the parents can save money.”

He said when classes resumed last year, only 10% of parents were willing to pay for food from the canteen. Taking that into consideration, Fong said he is not optimistic with the current situation.

“I have done my best to assure parents that all measures have been taken to ensure the food I prepare is safe, but because of the pandemic, they are worried that the food may be unhygienic.”

Another canteen operator, Chan Yik Cheun, said his biggest challenge was not having enough people to help him when school starts.

“Since school is about to re-open, I have to hire more staff. Every day after class I have to confirm the number of students, pack the food, and carry all the food and drinks, which weigh around 10kg to the classrooms. It’s difficult to do this with fewer hands,” Chan said.

Now that students order their food online and pay using e-wallets, Chan said there aren’t many options. However, he believes business will gradually return to normal.

Fong – who runs a canteen at a Chinese primary school in Petaling, Selangor – said that many people think that running a canteen is profitable, but since the pandemic, the industry has been bleeding money.

“The canteen business was really easy to operate before the pandemic. Now with the uncertainty of schools opening and closing I’ve had to waste a lot of ingredients, which I bought with hard earned money.

“Ingredients are expensive but we can’t charge the students too much because it’s a school canteen.

“I have had to throw away more than 10kg of potatoes, rice, green onions and chicken as well. Even though they haven’t expired, I can’t keep them for too long because they are intended for children. It’s better to restock,” he said, underlying food safety considerations.

To make ends meet, Fong started a takeaway service in January, but business is just average.

“I deliver food to nearby residential areas by taking orders and cooking at home. There is a lot of competition in this business and the response so far has been average”, he said.

Chan, who runs the canteen at a primary school in Malacca, also turned to food delivery services to make ends meet during the school closure.

He had to seek extensions on the repayment of his loans because he had zero income at the time.

“The takeaway business is unpredictable, sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad. Some days I don’t even make enough for my living expenses and all my savings are gone. I’ve had to ask my brother for help, luckily he is able to do so,” Chan said, adding that opening and closing of schools has affected the industry.

“I remember once all the drinks and ingredients had been purchased but suddenly the government announced that schools will be closed. I can’t return the food and it was only a matter of time before it expired.

“Luckily, some teachers agreed to buy some of the items, the rest was used to make lunch boxes and were donated to welfare agencies.”

On February 19, Minister of Education Mohd Radzi Md Jidin announced that pre-schools, primary one and two students will return to school on March 1, while primary three, four and six students will start classes on March 8.

Secondary schools in group A (Johor, Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah) will begin classes on April 4 while group B, schools in the rest of the states will start on April 5.

It was also announced that private schools will reopen according to the schedule of national schools, while international schools that do not follow the Malaysian curriculum can reopen on March 8.

Tuition centres will also be allowed to resume operations on March 8. – February 26, 2021.