Excessive use of online food-delivery apps by students at a Surrey high school has prompted administrators to ban ordering food during class time.

But while the step isn鈥檛 exactly new, district officials say the need for it is somewhat unique to the Semiahmoo Peninsula in South Surrey.

鈥淭here has been the odd occasion over the years where a student has ordered a food delivery at a secondary school, but more recently, with online apps that open up options, some schools have seen such deliveries increase or become more regular,鈥� district spokesman Doug Strachan told Peace Arch News Wednesday.

鈥淎 few other secondary schools I have asked say there were a few deliveries earlier in the year, but it appears the novelty wore off, and it didn鈥檛 become an issue they had to address. It鈥檚 possible other secondary schools have had the issue crop-up, but it appears only Semi and Elgin have had an ongoing, growing and more widespread issue that staff had to address in a more systemic way.鈥�

Semiahmoo Secondary vice-principal Debbie Johnson said Wednesday that the reminder 鈥� which Strachan confirmed is not a district-wide policy 鈥� was most recently delivered to students in early October.

Johnson told PAN that students have been told they can鈥檛 leave class to meet a delivery driver for a pickup 鈥揵ut they haven鈥檛 been told they can鈥檛 use the apps, 鈥渁s long as the food that they鈥檙e ordering arrives before school, or at lunch or after school, and isn鈥檛 delivered on school property.鈥�

Apps such as SkipTheDishes, Uber Eats and DoorDash offer on-demand delivery from area restaurants 鈥� including Subway, Tim Hortons and Afghan Kitchen 鈥� through freelance drivers who receive a small fee per trip.

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The orders became an issue at Semi as office staff began to find themselves inundated with 鈥渂ags and bags鈥� of midday meals on a daily basis, Johnson said, estimating that at the beginning of the school year, there were up to a dozen deliveries a day.

鈥淲e were finding that lots of food-delivery companies were coming to the office, and so then it becomes sort of a logistical thing that now gets dumped on the office,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f the kids weren鈥檛 coming to pick it up, then it was sitting in the office.

鈥淲e said, we can鈥檛 have this happening.鈥�

There is also a concern with having a flow of unknown adults through the school鈥檚 doors, she said.

Johnson noted the school does have a cafeteria that offers 鈥渓ots of choice,鈥� and acknowledged that as more and more apps are developed, students鈥� choices are expanding.

Choices, however, are not the problem, she said.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 have a problem with kids having choice. It鈥檚 about the disruption that it causes.

鈥淭he message is, we want kids in class.鈥�

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