Meal Counts

Part of the PBIC Operations & Equipment Guide

Counting and claiming meals outside of the cafeteria can be a challenge, particularly if you rely on POS software or hardware at lunch. Methods for BIC counting and claming include:

Student rosters: Paper or electronic rosters are kept and student names or ID numbers are submitted to the manager for record-keeping. These are subject to human error, and require training (and re-training) for proper compliance.
Wireless point-of-sale: There are a variety of companies offering wireless POS systems. These may require the purchase of hardware like tablets or keypads.

If you are operating “Grab-n-Go” service, mobile carts typically are staffed with a foodservice employee who ensures each meal is reimbursable and that each student enters their PIN, or is checked off a roster.

Many schools that participate in breakfast-in-the-classroom also participate in the USDA Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) that allows all enrolled students to eat school lunch and school breakfast at no cost. CEP participation simplifies counting and claiming and reduces administrative burden. CEP schools require only meal counts, which can be accomplished with simply tally sheets, student rosters, or even handheld counters.

Counting and claiming is often the most challenging issues in the transition to breakfast-in-the-classroom. Ongoing staff training for teachers on what constitutes a reimbursable meal, offer-versus-serve, and the importance of federal reimbursement to your school nutrition program is crucial to success. Check with your State Agency to discuss requirements and determine best practices for your BIC program.

Point-of-Sale System Providers

Cooper-Atkins Corporation is a customer-centric technology leader in monitoring solutions for the global foodservice, healthcare and industrial markets.

Educational Biometric Technology is the oldest and largest provider of biometric identification systems in the USA. Add speed and accuracy at low cost to any system. No fingerprints! Ask about free trial system.

Genovation, Inc., Is a leading manufacturer of PIN pads designed and engineered specifically for school cafeterias. Our PIN pads handle the most demanding tasks of school cafeteria POS environments.

Harris School Solutions is the school lunch software you need to run a nutrition program smoothly and successfully. Plan smarter, serve quicker and track your program down to the last crumb of data.

Heartland School Solutions is the leading partner to K-12 nutrition professionals. We will help streamline your operations.

Horizon Software provides cloud-based POS solutions that enable K-12 nutrition programs to be flexible in how and where they serve their students. Horizon is focused on smarter technology to assist in keeping students and staff safe by offering touchless capabilities such as Apple Pay, online payments, mobile inventory, and more. We specialize in increasing participation and reducing food waste.

inTEAM Associates, LLC, offers software and consulting services designed to streamline K-12 menu planning and drive increased participation with preordering grab ‘n’ go meals.

Nutrislice is a leading provider of digital dining solutions for K-12, including digital menus, signage and online ordering.

PaySchools and Health-e Pro provide complete cloud-based, nutrition software—POS, online payments, free-and-reduced meal applications, menu planning and nutrient analysis.

Cloud-based technology solutions

PrimeroEdge specializes in integrated management software solutions that offer the first-ever inspections app, allowing administrators to review, approve and monitor from one location.

TekVisions, Inc. is a curbside-cafeteria POS provider. Looking for a portable curbside touchless point-of-sale (POS) solution? TekVisions has quick delivery on portable terminals, tablets, scanners, pin pads, and carts! Save time and money! Lose the ledgers, stop clicking, and increase participation! Our hardware integrates with every major software solution for cafeterias! Find out why 140 of the top 200 school districts get their hardware from us!

TITAN School Solutions brings state-of-the-art efficiencies and real-time transparency to school foodservice with a 100% cloud-based solution.

More

PBIC Operations & Equipment Guide

The Guide is designed to help you choose the right equipment for your breakfast after the bell program.

Menu Planning

Review this section to find equipment suggestions to help you plan your breakfast after the bell menu.

Food Production Systems

The equipment in this section will help you plan what you need for storage, cooking, and holding food.

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