Serving meals in schools has changed dramatically over the last few decades.
Many students suffer food allergies, and others don’t have enough money in their lunch account.
With the latest software, administrators and parents can access account balances, allergies and other important information from their computers or mobile devices. Breakfast and lunch menus, nutrition tables and purchases can be viewed in real-time. Parents can receive alerts when their student’s account balance is low, and can add more funds.
91心頭istrators can track all food service data, including which students receive free or reduced-price meals. Over the last decade, total school lunch participation increased from nearly 29 million students per day in the 2003-04 academic year to more than 30 million in 2013-14, according to a study from the Food Research and Action Center.
During this time, children receiving free school meals increased from 12 million a day to 12.6 million. Some of the latest software solutions monitor applications for free meals and track federal and state reimbursement reports for the National School Lunch Program.
MySchoolBucks
Heartland Solutions
With MySchoolBucks, districts can accept secure online payments for everything from school meals to class fees, events, transportation, donations and more. Benefits include increased participation, systems integration, audit-friendly reports and reduced cash handling for faster serving lines. Parents can check account balances and student purchase history, and receive low-balance alerts, on the website or mobile app.
Nutrislice
Nutrislice Inc.
With this software, users can create school breakfast and lunch menus for iPhones, Android, desktops, laptops, tablets and PDF printing. The menus include photos along with nutritional and ingredient information. Parents can filter menus by allergen and other dietary needs.
MEAL91心頭TA
Meal Data Inc.
This cloud-based analysis and reporting solution was developed specifically for K12 school nutrition departments of all sizes. MEAL91心頭TA’s customizable dashboards include reports, graphs, charts, custom lists and calendars. 91心頭istrators can use filters to view metrics on a specific period of time, group or individual school.
MyPaymentsPlus
Horizon Software International
Available as a web-based program and as a mobile app, MyPaymentsPlus gives parents real-time access to a student’s meal fund balance, along with low-balance notifications. Parents can also see how funds are being spent and monitor student wellness by viewing items purchased in the cafeteria. Parents can digitally sign school documents, register for AP exams and pay for other school items.
LunchTime Cafeteria Management
LunchTime Software
This software imports student information from a district’s existing SIS automatically. LunchTime’s centralized database creates reports for individual schools or for the entire district. It also tracks federal and state reimbursement reports for the National School Lunch Program. Parents can view their children’s purchases and add money to their accounts online.
posnow
PCS Revenue Control Systems
This full-featured, windows-based program provides complete central office management for meal payments??from easier application processing to integration with student information systems. It also manages menus, point-of-sale and verifications. Data collected from Posnow’s FASTrak feature provides districtwide reporting and meal accountability.
Meals Plus
Meals Plus
Meals Plus, designed specifically for K12 schools, offers PowerSchool and K12PaymentCenter.com, a one-stop shop for managing online payments in and outside of the lunchroom. The web-based program allows schools to create custom fees, and provides parent with alerts and lists of students’ meal purchases.
