Serving Meals In The Classroom

Many schools around the country have resumed in-person learning for the 2021/22 academic year, but the rise of the Delta variant has introduced new challenges, especially regarding meal distribution and maintaining social distancing in cafeterias. During discussions with our clients, we've learned that numerous K-12 schools are adopting innovative approaches to serve meals directly in the classroom. A quick search online for school foodservice publications confirms this trend, with districts trying various methods to address these issues despite the absence of a universally accepted best practice. This guide aims to walk you through the key considerations and offer practical tips to help you launch such a program effectively. Before initiating a meals-in-the-classroom initiative, it's crucial to engage everyone involved in the process or its outcomes. Teachers, custodial staff, administrators, volunteers, parents, and even students should be consulted. Teachers and custodial staff can provide valuable insights into what logistical support they’ll need to make the system functional. Feedback from students or parents on menu preferences or adjustments to current offerings can also be invaluable. Collecting input can be done through social media surveys, online tools like SurveyMonkey, or virtual meetings on platforms such as Teams, Zoom, or Google Meet. The first step in implementing a meal delivery plan is assessing your equipment requirements. Depending on the size of your campus and the number of students, one of the primary concerns is acquiring the right transport equipment to move meals from the kitchen to the classroom. This could include rolling coolers, insulated transport bags, food storage bins, and carts designed to carry meals, drinks, trays, or serving supplies. Within the classroom, you'll need placemats for each desk or meal trays/containers, waste receptacles for meal-related trash, hand sanitizers, and cleaning supplies for both students and teachers. Additionally, consider equipping classroom staff with tools to track meals, such as a point-of-sale (POS) system, which can help track student participation for reimbursement purposes. Start by reviewing what equipment you already have and repurposing it for your new setup. Utilizing existing resources is both cost-effective and helps avoid long lead times for new purchases. For instance, review your current carts and transform them into grab-and-go kiosks or food storage units. Existing pans can be converted into shelves within pan racks and then used as transport carts for trays or bagged lunches. Utility carts can similarly be adapted to carry prepackaged meals, hot foods in insulated carriers, or beverages in crates. Think creatively: rolling ice caddies and mobile milk boxes can also serve as transport options. Smaller or underused refrigerators can temporarily function as meal storage units, while ice cream freezers can keep milk or other beverages chilled. Milk dollies can be repurposed to transport meals or supplies directly to classrooms. Adding casters to stationary racks, shelving units, or milk crates can further enhance their mobility for meal transport. For any unmet transportation needs, collaborate with your Foodservice Equipment and Supply Dealer to identify the most suitable equipment solutions and sources to complete your system. Creating a grab-and-go station can streamline meal distribution significantly. At these stations, students pick up prepackaged meals at a designated location, such as a food cart in the cafeteria or a kiosk near the school entrance. For breakfast service in the classroom, placing grab-and-go meals at a kiosk near the entrance allows students to take their meals as they enter and eat them once seated in their classrooms. Similarly, grab-and-go stations work well for older students who frequently change classrooms before or after lunch. Reusable to-go containers, such as MyGo Containers™, can be used to package meals for pickup, reducing waste from single-use foam or paper containers. This approach improves functionality and reduces costs over time. Remember to include additional trash receptacles in the classroom to simplify waste collection when serving meals inside the classroom. If you choose reusable containers like MyGo Containers, set up a collection bin for students to deposit their used containers after finishing their meals. A POS system at the kiosk where students swipe their IDs upon picking up a meal can help track participation touchlessly. Depending on your tech capabilities, some schools have developed apps for meal ordering, allowing students to select their meals and pick them up at designated locations. These locations can range from simple racks with tagged meal spaces to more advanced setups. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is essential to ensure the safety of your meal delivery program. Recommended PPE includes face masks or face shields, hand sanitizer stations, signage to reinforce social distancing and safety guidelines, barriers/dividers, and floor markers indicating safe distances. Packaging plays a critical role in ensuring student safety. Equipment like bag sealers, temperature-resistant bags, packing machinery, disposable items such as paper plates and utensils, and reusable or disposable to-go containers are vital. Individually packaged meals are increasingly becoming the norm. While equipment can be purchased new or refurbished at reduced prices, operating costs and supply expenses will vary depending on the model. Sealing equipment requires consumables for each seal, which must be factored into your budget. Single-use containers like foam or paper to-go containers require frequent restocking due to storage space limitations and generate additional waste, necessitating more frequent trash removal. Using a bulk milk dispenser with reusable beverage containers can be a cost-effective alternative to traditional single-serving milk cartons, reducing both non-food waste and waste from partially consumed containers. Reusable to-go containers like MyGo Containers™ offer several advantages. Their food compartments are fully separated, and they feature a leak-resistant lid with a gasketed seal. When serving hot foods, these containers retain heat longer than traditional disposables, preventing food mix-up during transport. Each container can withstand over 1000 dishwashing cycles, making them more economical in the long run compared to disposables. Ensure you review your district’s purchasing policies. Bulk purchases across multiple schools or classrooms might yield better pricing. Look for alternative funding sources like grants or budget allocations for sustainability initiatives. Transitioning to reusable to-go containers instead of disposable ones may qualify for sustainability funds since these products reduce waste. Government grants are also available. After meals are served, returning supplies and cleaning up is essential. For reusable containers, allocate sufficient time for washing and drying. If serving both breakfast and lunch, a second set of containers may be necessary if drying time is insufficient. Since plastic takes longer to dry, establish drying racks for storage when not in use. Supplies can be collected and returned to the central kitchen using the same transport method used for delivery. Ready to get started? Here are some questions to help guide your planning: 1. How many meals will you be serving in the classroom? 2. Is this breakfast, lunch, or both? 3. Will your menu include hot food? 4. What serving solution best fits your menu? (Paper plates, sack lunches, to-go containers) 5. Do you need to transport meals to multiple campuses? 6. Are students able to pick up meals at a kiosk or will you deliver meals to the classroom? 7. Will you need to prepare meals for students that are remote? 8. What staffing changes will be needed to transition from cafeteria-style to classroom meal delivery? 9. Where will you store transport equipment when not in use? 10. Are there changes to your warewashing equipment needed? We’ve worked with several colleges and universities, as well as K-12 schools, to adapt their foodservice operations for classroom and remote meal service, along with socially distanced meal distribution. If you have questions or need assistance launching a classroom meal program at your school, feel free to contact Jessica Gomez, our campus dining expert, at 630-821-0244 or reach out via email, and we’ll help you design and equip an efficient and successful program.