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INTRODUCTION

Canteens play a vital role specifically in schools, in providing safe,

healthy, and nutritious food to the school population. However, it generates a

significant amount of waste, such as food waste, packaging materials, and

single-use plastics. Improper handling and disposal of waste not only worsens

the environment but also limits opportunities for social responsibility and

sustainable development in educational institutions. According to Smith (2018)

stated that to assess the waste management practices of primary school

canteens and their environmental impact. Based on his results, it turns out

that an average of 70% found that most schools do not have an adequate

waste management system. In addition, 80% of the generated waste was not

properly sorted or disposed of, which caused environmental risks (Johnson,

2019).

The importance of this study is to understand the role of the school

cafeteria in promoting social responsibility and practices. The canteen is a

valuable platform for teaching children healthy eating habits and responsible

consumption behavior. With the help of this research, we can develop a

framework to promote the development of social responsibility in the canteen

to the environment. And we researchers can identify best practices and areas

for development in school cafeteria operations. With the help of the results,

we can develop strategies and operational methods that support the social

responsibility of the canteen and promote the overall development of

students.

School canteens have a key role to play in providing healthy food and

drink choices for students, but do they play their roles in contributing positive
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impacts to the environment by observing good practices? Social responsibility

is an ethical practice in which an organization shows the welfare of society by

taking several actions to make changes that benefit the environment. A

balance between the ecosystem and economy can help to build well-

functioning communities. Social responsibility among school canteens in the

Philippines was declared on its DepEd order no. 8, S. 2007 “Revised

Implementing Guidelines on the Operation and Management of School

Canteens in Public Elementary and Secondary School” particularly on

procedural guidelines and specific guidelines for school-managed canteens.

School canteens should consider social responsibility in operation not just for

providing good food for the students but also for carrying out practices that

also concern the environment.

Rugani (2017) stated about quantifying food waste in primary schools

and addresses the problem of waste disposal practices in school canteens. It

assesses the amount and composition of food waste generated and

discusses the need for improved waste management strategies to reduce

waste and promote sustainability in school canteens, which could further

contribute to defining ethical consumption, is food waste due to its

environmental and social implications. From an environmental perspective, it

shows that food waste has a serious negative impact. Not making waste at all,

is known as source depletion. In a school canteen setting source depletion

can take up many forms, including washable serving trays, preparing the right

amount of food, and considering students to choose the quantity of food that

they take rather than forcing all students to indulge in foods regardless of their

plan to eat them (US EPA, (2017).

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Moreover, from an environmental viewpoint, all these methods

abbreviate canteen food waste production at the source and radically reduce

or cut material use and pollution both from fabricating and from discarding the

stuff not used. In some canteens, the notion of a shared table, where students

are able to place undesirable packaged fruit or food for other students to grab,

has been applicable to favorably reduce food waste (Berry & Acheson, 2017).

The research gap in the study on the practices of school canteens in

relation to social responsibility development is the lack of a comprehensive

framework or model that integrates both the practices of school canteens and

the concept of social responsibility. This framework could provide a holistic

understanding of how school canteen practices influence the development of

social responsibility in elementary school students, including the role of

sustainable practices. By addressing this research gap, future studies can

contribute to the development of evidence-based guidelines or

recommendations for school canteens to effectively promote social

responsibility among students.

It is hoped that this study will be the following emphasize their research

beneficial to School Heads, teachers, and Students. The practices of a school

canteen in an elementary school are an essential aspect of promoting social

responsibility among students. The significance of this study lies in the

potential impact it can have on the student's development. Through

responsible practices in the school canteen, students can learn about

sustainable food choices, proper waste management, and the importance of

consuming nutritious meals. These practices can have long-term effects on

their overall health and well-being.

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In addition to the students, this study is also significant for the school

itself. A socially responsible school canteen can enhance the school's

reputation as an institution that prioritizes the well-being of its students and

the environment. It can attract positive attention from parents, the community,

and even potential sponsors or partnerships. By, establishing a framework for

social responsibility development in the practices of a school canteen in an

elementary school is crucial for shaping responsible and conscious

individuals. It promotes healthy living, and environmental sustainability, and

encourages students to make informed choices that positively impact

themselves and the society at large.

This chapter presents the review-related literature on the school

canteen, the Role of the school canteen in contributing to a health-promoting

school, Canteen Management, and Practices in Canteen Management and

Operation.

Lima (2019) mentioned that even if the educational institution must

ensure in keeping the water reservoirs clean, the school canteen that is built

in this place must also consider suitable implementation of this procedure. It is

because water is really an essential element in the school canteen that is

being utilized amidst other purposes, like sanitation, food preparation,

consumption, and environmental cleanliness.

Conventionally, Fernandez (2013) stated that the canteen staff follows

effective solid waste management procedures in order to keep the lunchroom

tidy. At the end of the day, the utensils are routinely cleaned and disinfected.

Trash bins with covering are located at the four corners of the canteen color-
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coded and separated as biodegradable and non-biodegradable. These trash

bins are emptied every day and sprayed with disinfecting chemicals to avoid

bacteria that may cause full odor due to spoiled foods. Solid waste was

removed daily by the local collectors to maintain cleanliness within the school

as a special arrangement between the canteen staff and the local collectors.

Moreover, Sanitation systems aim to protect human health by providing

a clean environment that will stop the transmission of disease. A school

canteen must need to be free from any dirt and it must be needed to have a

safe environment. Performing safe personal sanitation for the staff members,

being aware of food storage, keeping food in the right condition, and

maintaining neatness are the steps the staff must take to ensure safe

consumption (Ybanez, 2020).

According to Adunna (2013), in line with canteen management is an

improvement system to level up not only sales but also the effectiveness of its

operations. Aside from supplying nutritious and affordable food, the canteen

should see good management practices and be financially accessible. With

good management and marketing strategies, a canteen can supply healthy

foods that are affordable. The canteen is a small business. Like any business,

it requires effective management methods to be productive and successful.

Moreover, effective canteen management needs everyone who is

involved to be more familiar with its goals and aims together with the policies

where canteen staff and committee developed. In addition, an implementation

plan to achieve policy goals and day-to-day operational procedures was

structured and enforced staff learned and supervised the carrying out of
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efficient stock management, accounting, and financial procedures following

relevant legal requirements on food safety, occupational health, and safety

standards. School canteens may run using various management structures,

depending on each characteristic and standard of the school. Canteens in

schools are working under the direction of and are accountable to the school

council. Schools have the authority to supply food service to students in

several ways (Bensons,2013).

Variation that often seems to be noticed, is the environment of a certain

place that is needed to be assessed to ensure public health conditions. One

example for this is the school environment, where the younger generation

who are expected to be great leaders in the future spend most of their time.

Hence, the level of health management needs to be given importance. The

action that should be taken for this is to maintain the cleanliness of the school

canteen. (Sari, 2013)

Public places are physical environments that are prone to

contamination, pollution, and diseases. Inspecting and monitoring of public

spaces should be achieved to ensure safety in the possibility of health

problems. Every facility is constrained to impose environmental sanitation,

that should assess good management regularly. (Wati, 2013)

There are some school canteens wherein that do not use plastic bags

for their waste, and it often seems to look filthy, and it does smell bad because

of the rotted food remains. Most of the sticky foods that are left on the surface

of the trash bins are disgusting as it constantly piles up. Poor waste operation
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can be the root and the source for diseases to build up and flies could be

seen everywhere in the school canteen. (Pawenang, 2017)

This study explores the practices of the school canteen at Rizal

Elementary School and seeks to answer the following questions: (1.) What

are the practices of the elementary school canteen? (2.) What practices of the

school canteen reflect social responsibility development? and (3.) What can

be the framework to propose in the school canteen for social responsibility

development?
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METHOD

Elaborated in this chapter is the methodology that we used to conduct

this study. This includes the research methods and design, roles of the

research, research participants, method that we are going to use in collecting

the data analysis, trustworthiness, credibility, and ethical considerations.

Participants

The participants of this study are those persons who are responsible

for answering our questions, (5) five from the selected setting, which conforms

to the minimum requirement. This conforms to the minimum requirement of

five participants according to Foster (2000) and was supported by Stake

(2000) that five participants are sufficient to reach saturation. This study

focuses on practices in the elementary school canteen and how they reflect

social responsibility development. The researchers chose Rizal Elementary

School for the setting because we wanted to know and find out about their

practices and areas for development in school canteen operations.

Materials/Instruments

The researchers chose Rizal Elementary School because we wanted

to know, observe, and understand the practices that they implemented in their

school’s canteen that show the composition of food waste generated and

discuss the need for improved waste management strategies to reduce waste

and promote sustainability in school canteens. We chose this public

elementary school to conduct our study because it is convenient for us to

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access aside from that, the researchers already inquired about their canteen

staff and asked a permission to conduct our study.

Design and Procedure

This study utilized a qualitative phenomenological research approach.

A phenomenology study is an approach to qualitative research that focuses

on the commonality of a lived experience within a particular group. The

fundamental goal of the approach is to arrive at a description of the nature of

the phenomenon (Creswell, 2013). This research design is the best choice for

the researchers for this study because it can help the researchers understand

the meaning of a certain phenomenon.

The phenomenological qualitative research approach is suitable when

the researcher or the investigator either investigates a new field of study or

intends to ascertain and theorize prominent issues. There are many

qualitative methods developed to have an in-depth and extensive

understanding of the issues through their textual interpretation, and the most

common types are interviewing and observation. Defining phenomenological

qualitative research methodology as "a strategy or architectural design by

which the researcher maps out an approach to problem-finding or problem-

solving. In this study, the phenomenon is the practices of the school canteen

in Rizal Elementary School.

In our phenomenological study, the researchers used materials and

instruments utilizing in-depth interviews (IDI); the following were the process

utilized by the researchers: (1) Interview: We, the researchers have found

that to satisfy and enable our study to be complete we used the interview to
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answer the guide questions about practices of school’s canteen of the

participants that are useful to our study. The researchers requested

permission for legal purposes before we undertook interviews. In the interview

process, we set the environment first to make it particularly comfortable for

our participants as a way to appreciate their efforts to give our study a

favorable response; (2) Observations: The researchers created this scheme

where we take down notes specifying the instances. This study focused

heavily on the research question. The researchers used observations to

determine the participants’ predicaments and experiences; and (3) Audio

Recording: This is also the other way of collecting data, wherein the

researchers were making audio records with the use of mobile phones of what

was said during the interview and must be transcribed verbatim before the

data analysis started. Specifically, before the interview, the participants or the

interviewees were informed that their responses were being recorded.

Dudovskiy (2019), data analysis involves the reformulation of stories

presented by respondents taking into account the context of each case and

the different experiences of each respondent. In other words, data analysis is

the researcher's revision of primary qualitative data. However, in analyzing our

data, we utilized coding. Coding can be explained as the categorization of

data. A 'code' can be a word or a short phrase representing a theme or an

idea. Afterward, we identified common themes, and the researcher's analytical

and critical thinking skills play a significant role in data analysis in qualitative

studies.

Therefore, no qualitative study can be repeated to generate the same

results. There is a set of techniques that you can use to identify common
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patterns, themes, and relationships within the responses of sample group

members in relation to codes that have been specified in the first stage.

Lastly, we linked research findings to our research objectives. When writing

the data analysis chapter, we used important quotations from the transcript to

highlight major themes within the findings and possible contradictions. It is

important to note that the process of qualitative data analysis described above

is general and different types of qualitative studies may require slightly

different data analysis methods.

Participants were typically only willing to volunteer information,

especially information of a private or sensitive nature if the researcher agreed

to hold such in confidence. This is why the confidentiality and privacy of the

participants are protected by not using their real names in reposting data. I did

not divulge any information or events that tended to identify my participants,

including their names, contact numbers, and signatures.

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Practices of School Canteen in Elementary School: A Framework for

Social Responsibility Development

A Research Proposal

Presented to

DTE Department UM Panabo College

Panabo City

In Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements for the Courses

Research Project

Egail, Junah Grace A.

Gella, Roxanne B.

Pelisco, Gerlie B.
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