The business of school foodservice is a never-ending one. As the current year begins to wind down, school nutrition directors are already ramping up new ways to improve service for the 2021-22 school year.
The last year and a half have presented many challenges forcing so many school foodservice operations to pivot. From in-class lunch delivery to social distancing and other safety measures in the cafeteria, we hope to see our schools return to a more normal style of service in the coming year. In all likelihood, there will still be the need to have safety measures in place, and we know our dedicated school foodservice staff members will do everything we can to keep kids safe. So, thank you!
As we look to the coming year and consider some of the needs and requirements that will still be in place because of Covid, we put together a basic list of considerations to keep in mind as preparations for the next year begin.
In some locations, school foodservice might begin with greater safety measures in place. This could mean much of the same as we've seen over the last year-plus. For districts that will require in-room meal service, consider mobile meal delivery systems to help staff get meals from the cafeteria to the kids as efficiently as possible. Meal carts designed to maintain food quality and safety are critical, and our friends at Lakeside provide solutions to do just that. In addition, contactless dispensing units can reduce the potential for spreading germs while still allowing for students to self-select many parts of their meals.
For students who will resume more normal, cafeteria-style lunch periods, serving lines are an important way to increase participation levels. There are many reasons for this. First, social distancing while in line might still be necessary for many locations. A serving line that provides the potential for distancing while also helping operators increase the speed of service can help promote participation. Serving lines are also critical in preserving food quality and for making the school lunch experience more enticing. Atlas Metal manufacturers serving lines to help with many of these challenges.
More than just about any other piece of foodservice equipment, ovens are the most critical and are the most likely to take on the rigors of day-to-day use in a school cafeteria. We recommend that every school cafeteria inspect the status of their oven units to make sure they're prepared for the coming school year. If you're even remotely concerned about making it through the year, we invite you to get a free school foodservice assessment from Heartland, and we can help you determine the current conditions of your oven units. If a new unit is needed, or if you're a new school preparing for the coming year, we can recommend the right oven from Blodgett based on your needs and requirements. Blodgett is widely known as the top oven manufacturer for school cafeterias.