For an entire quarter, Helena High school was missing an important part of our lunchtime culture: The Catty Shack. We were all patiently waiting for next year when things could go back to “normal.” Thankfully we won’t have to wait that long. Mr. Askin’s small business class introduced Catty Shack delivery mid-November. Food will come straight to your classroom, no more lines just the same great food we all love.  

About a month ago, Mr. Askin mentioned trying to start a delivery service but was unsure if the school board would approve it. Flash forward and the Catty Shack has now had their first successful week of delivery service.  

Mr. Askin and the small business class had to go “through many rounds with the public health nurse” to get the delivery service up and running, and, Mr. Askin admitted, they had to alter their plans a little to get approval. For instance, only two employees can be in the Catty Shack at a time and they have a limited number of students delivering the lunches.  

To follow COVID-19 guidelines, the Catty Shack cannot accept cash. Therefore, to order from this delivery service, you must first get a money card on Rev Track. This money is like a Catty Shack account, which is required before placing an order through a Microsoft form for the Catty Shack. The first week, many students orderered without having any money in an account yet. Mr. Askin believes this is due to not enough marketing for the Catty Shack being done yet.  

If you want to order Catty Shack, just download the HHS app, go to the student life tab and click on “Catty Shack Orders.” This will take you to a form where you can choose your meal. Make sure you make your purchase by 11 am a day ahead! You will see the daily specials like usual but if you continue to scroll down, you will find more options called “Snack Packs” and drinks. These snack packs come in a $5, $4, and $3 option and include different combinations of pre-packaged snacks, such as goldfish, jerky, and trail mix.  

Because of the pre-ordering of food, the Catty Shack is able to provide more options, such as offering bone-in and boneless wings from Buffalo Wild Wings. Pre-ordering also ensures that every student gets the food they want. Previously, the Catty Shack would just estimate how much food to order from restaurants and some students were inevitably disappointed when the Costco pizza was sold out before they got to the counter.  There has also been a slight increase in prices this year, but at most only a $0.50 increase on certain products. This is due to the restaurants charging more, Mr. Askin said.

So, is the delivery service only a temporary adjustment for this year? Mr. Askin says that he can see continuing the service in some capacity in the future. He also says that in some ways, like getting the orders a day early, the delivery service is easier than the normal Catty Shack.

Although the new Catty Shack delivery service is off to a slow start, Mr. Askin has hope it will catch on and become a new normal. So, if you’ve been missing the Catty Shack, get your phone out to put your order in!