{"id":4038,"date":"2015-03-23T18:22:00","date_gmt":"2015-03-23T23:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/live-gordon-food-service.pantheonsite.io\/cycle-menu-planning-eases-school-menu-compliance\/"},"modified":"2023-02-01T14:15:30","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T20:15:30","slug":"cycle-menu-planning-eases-school-menu-compliance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gfs.com\/en-us\/ideas\/cycle-menu-planning-eases-school-menu-compliance\/","title":{"rendered":"Cycle Menu Planning Eases School Menu Compliance"},"content":{"rendered":"

In reviewing federal meal patterns for school lunch, several conclusions seem clear: Change is hard. Kids\u2019 eating habits are tough to break. And foodservice directors who employ cycle menus have an easier time complying with the updated nutritional requirements than those who don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cCycle menu planning is really the most effective tool an operator can use to successfully manage the changes we\u2019re all dealing with today and in the future,\u201d maintains Kathleen Kane, SNS, Director of Food Service Operations for Michigan City Area Schools in northwestern Indiana. \u201cIt makes the whole process easier, from menu planning to certification of compliance.\u201d<\/p>\n

A series of menus planned for a specific period of time\u2014four weeks for example\u2014a cycle menu offers different meals for each day within the cycle. When the cycle ends, it repeats again in the same order. This provides structure, predictability, and documentation\u2014all helpful assets in planning, maintaining, and validating menus that meet the new nutritional standards.<\/p>\n

Cycle menu meal planners help boost creativity and cost savings<\/h2>\n

Kane, who oversees foodservice operations for 17 sites throughout her district, has utilized cycle menus for the past four years. \u201cI was dead set against cycle menus for a long time,\u201d she recalls. \u201cPrimarily because I thought I\u2019d be giving up creativity. But I decided to give them a try\u2014and I am so glad, because there have been so many benefits, expected and unexpected.\u201d<\/p>\n

First and foremost is the time savings. \u201cThere is a lot of upfront work, planning your menus, gathering nutritional information, and putting everything into an accessible format,\u201d Kane acknowledges. \u201cBut once you\u2019ve got everything set, you don\u2019t have to reinvent the wheel every three or four or five weeks. And I discovered that it\u2019s easy to make substitutions in the middle of cycles, so you can be creative in responding to customer feedback.\u201d<\/p>\n

That proved especially important when Kane and her staff introduced students to new healthy foods\u2014some of which were well-received and some of which were not. Kane\u2019s cycle menu planning allowed her the flexibility to replace the latter items before they came up on the menu again.<\/p>\n

A number of schools reported higher food costs because of increased spending on fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. But Kane reports that her food costs actually decreased\u2014a development she attributes in large part to the control that cycle menus allow.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur schools are able to forecast their product needs very accurately based on their cycle menus,\u201d she says. \u201cIt used to be that inventory drove the operation, and that has the potential for waste. Now it\u2019s the menu that drives the operation, and waste is minimized.\u201d<\/p>\n

View More Tips on How To Reduce Food Waste<\/a><\/p>\n

Labor is also minimized, as staff members become more and more adept at preparing foods when they prepare them over and over again. \u201cThis also improves the quality of dishes, which makes our customers happier.\u201d<\/p>\n

Programs with allergy issues are better served, because all allergen information is linked to the cycle menus. Cycle menu planning also can assist in diverting commodities. Even printing costs are decreased. \u201cWe save $7,000 to $8,000 a year in design and printing costs, because we change our cycle menus only twice a year.\u201d <\/p>\n

Choose your cycle\u2014and your tools<\/h3>\n

Kane has devised a three-week cycle menu for elementary and middle schools, and a one-week cycle menu for high schools. \u201cBut the high school menu has 14 to 15 different entr\u00e9e choices each week, so our students don\u2019t get bored with the choices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gordon Food Service has developed five-week menu cycles that can be used by K\u201312 customers. These menus, available for each grade level, meet all the new USDA regulations to ensure that schools qualify for the additional meal reimbursement offered under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. Customers can access these menus on Gordon Experience<\/a> under Resources > Great for Schools > Making the Grade.<\/p>\n

For more information on cycle menus, please contact your Gordon Food Service Customer Development Specialist.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

School foodservice directors and kitchen managers benefit from more structure and time savings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":4039,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[112,69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-k12-education","category-running-your-business"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCycle Menu Planning Eases School Menu Compliance<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mobile devices allow people to access information, shop, place orders and pay any time. 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