Meals Plus Monthly E-Newsletter - May 2014

Benefits of Working with an
Exclusive K-12 Vendor

For over 25 years, Meals Plus' complete attention has been on one exclusive segment: Child Nutrition Departments for K-12 schools. 100% of our focus is on what child nutrition departments need and want to successfully run their school cafeterias. But is working with an exclusive K-12 vendor really that much better? You bet it is!

For starters, our software is designed specifically for K-12 schools' needs. It doesn't have to accommodate other types of institutional food service management, so you won't be bothered with software features that don't pertain to your operations.

An exclusive K-12 vendor stays on top of the ever-changing state and federal requirements of your department. We understand how important the immediate needs are for your cafeterias, and develop a product that is fast, easy-to-use and reliable.

And finally, because our entire business model is based around YOU, the K-12 School Child Nutrition Department, we do not have another segment to fall back on. If you aren't happy, we aren't in business, plain and simple. The Meals Plus K-12 cafeteria software suite is comprised of everything you need to manage your department: Point of Sale, Online Payments, Menu Planning and Nutritional Analysis, Free or Reduced, and much more. Contact us today to schedule a live web demo or request a free trial of our school cafeteria software!

Tips from Cynthia Sevier, SNS,
Child Nutrition Operations Consultant

In our white paper, "Managing the Money on the Pantry Shelves," Child Nutrition Operations Consultant Cynthia Sevier, SNS, shares tips to managing your child nutrition department's inventory. Menu planning, procurement, supply chains, food costs, tracking foods and more are examined. Below is the "Ordering and Receiving" section of this free white paper.

"Ordering: After careful menu planning, bid development and approval; selection of standardized recipes; development of a procurement process; as well as ordering and receiving should be more efficient for site managers. They receive the information needed to produce the expected menu, along with an order calendar that has the time period to be covered and a delivery date. It is expected that the manager and staff will study the menu and recipes, and then assess current inventory prior to creating an order. Managers should not be expected to place a new order if there is still one that hasn't been delivered.

Receiving: Consider creating an ordering system to prevent over-ordering by establishing a maximum quantity to have on hand. Par level is the amount of an item needed to fulfill the menu requirements for one ordering period (usually one week), plus a small amount for emergencies and can be used for items that are ordered weekly. Past orders and invoices with history can help develop a starting point in establishing par levels. This practice simplifies the weekly ordering process and also gives vendors an idea of what to keep in-stock for weekly deliveries."

For more tips on managing your department's inventory
download your free copy of
"Managing the Money on the Pantry Shelves."

PowerSchool Connector

Meals Plus now offers a PowerSchool integration tool for our Point of Sale software, giving Meals Plus and PowerSchool customers more functionality and control over their student data management.

With the PowerSchool Connector, it will be easier to bring accurate data into Meals Plus Point of Sale on a timely basis, therefore decreasing manual data management and increasing productivity. Seamless, automated data exchange will reduce, if not eliminate, many of the hassles associated with managing the flow of import data. This allows you to reduce manual hours and get back to the important work – feeding your students!

Contact us today for more information.

Customer Spotlight

Kristi Casey, Beaumont USD (CA)

Kristi Casey of Beaumont USD in Beaumont, CA is one of the most well-versed staff members in her district when it comes to all things Meals Plus. Which is no small task considering that Beaumont USD utilizes almost every cafeteria management software program in the Meals Plus Product Suite, including point of sale, free/reduced management, menu analysis and cafeteria inventory management. Get to know Kristi in our latest Customer Spotlight and click here to see other Meals Plus Customer Spotlights!

The Dish: How long have you been using Meals Plus?
Kristi Casey: Beaumont Unified School District started using Meals Plus May 2011.

TD: What duties and responsibilities does your position entail?
KC: My position, Bookkeeper II is responsible for all aspects of the cash control and meal counting and claiming procedures for the department. I am also the key point of contact in the district for any inquiries involving the Meals Plus POS system.

TD: What aspects of your position do you enjoy the most?
KC: I enjoy being challenged researching discrepancies in the daily operations of the Child Nutrition Department.

TD: What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
KC: I love to spend time with my three daughters, and enjoy watching them play competitive sports, including softball, soccer and basketball.

TD: What what your favorite cafeteria lunch when you were a student?
KC: I have to admit my favorite lunch was the pizza, which was in the Beaumont School District, as I am also a Beaumont High School graduate myself.

Thank you, Kristi Casey and Beaumont USD,
for being a part of the Meals Plus Family!

Welcome to Meals Plus

We'd like to welcome the following school districts to the Meals Plus Family!

Meet the Team: Debra

Get to know the Meals Plus Support Team! Debra is one of our Technical Account Specialists, who helps make sure our customers receive the best tech support in K-12 child nutrition.

The Dish: How long have you been at Meals Plus?
Debra: I have been with Meals Plus since November 2014.

TD: What duties and responsibilities does your position entail?
D: I assist with Meals Plus Help Desk and training.

TD: What aspects of your position do you enjoy the most?
D: I enjoy being able to help people, troubleshoot and resolve their issues. I also like traveling onsite and working with our customers.

TD: What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
D: I enjoy spending time with friends and family, watching football, going to the beach and anything that involves the outdoors.

TD: What was your favorite lunch when you were in school?
D: Pepperoni pizza (surprisingly not the square kind) and waffle fries.

Visit our blog to meet the rest of the Meals Plus Team!

School Nutrition Conferences

We are spreading the word on how Meals Plus makes managing your school's students, staff, menus, finances and inventory easier. Come see us at the following conferences:

Components

- Point of Sale
- Free & Reduced
- Online Services
- PowerSchool
  Connector
- Inventory
- Menu Planning
- Nutrient Analysis
- Accountability
- Financial
- Time Clock
- Fixed Assets

Free Resources

Fiscal Survival 101: Financial Success in the Era of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act

Keeping the Lunchline Moving: Tips to Increase the Speed of Your Lunchlines

Managing the Money on the Pantry Shelves: Inventory Management for Your Child Nutrition Program

The Five P's of Promoting Your School Meal Program