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How to Edit a School Year Meal Service & The School Year - Error Log

Updated
This mini guide covers the essential steps for editing a CACFP & SFSP School Year Meal Service, and the School Year Error Log. For a full reference with a rundown of all features, participant tracking, guidance on recording services, exporting guidance, see the full CACFP&SFSP - School Year article here. 

 

 

How do I edit a School Year Meal Service?

To edit a School Year Meal Service, click the Meal Services heading in the left navigation pane and select School Year to access the School Year Meal Services table. Locate the meal service you want to edit and click the orange pencil icon in the Actions column to open the editable School Year Meal Services Details page. Make the necessary changes and provide a reason for your edits in the Describe the extent and reasoning for your modifications text box—this field must be completed to save your changes and is only visible and editable by users with the Network Administrator or Network Manager role. 

Once finished, click Update Meal Service to save your changes or Cancel to discard them.

 

Editing Permissions & Workflow

  • Field access depends on user role – The number of fields a user can edit varies based on their assigned role. Click here for details on which fields each role can edit and here for more information about these fields.

  • Comments field – All users can view and edit the Comments field during a meal service. The most recent updates will appear in the network-level meal service log.

  • Add participants first – If you need to add any participants, do this before entering the completed meal service for editing. For guidance, see How do I add a New Participant.

 

How do I edit meals delivered during a School Year Meal Service?

If a user attempts to record more meals served than are available for a specific meal service, a pop-up will appear with several options. Selecting Return to Meal Service will take the user back to the meal service page. Choosing Change Meals Available opens a secondary pop-up where the user can update the number of meals from the previous day and the number of meals received; the initial entries will already be filled in and can be modified and saved. 

Note that only the user who created the meal service can make these changes. Selecting End Meal Service will prompt the user to confirm that they want to end the meal service, which can also only be completed by the user who created it.

 

School Year Meal Service - Error Log

How do I start a new School Year Meal Service using the Error Log feature?

The steps to start a new School Year Meal Service using the Error Log feature are the same as starting one without it, with one key exception:

  • Time restrictions: Users other than Network Administrators cannot start a meal service outside the designated meal times set in Agency Settings. Attempting to do so will display a red error message, and the Meal Services table will mark the meal service as In Error for that date. Network Administrators will see the meal service listed as In Error in the Meal Services Log.

    • When using Error Log, the end time and meal type are automatically set based on the Agency Settings. The system selects the meal type with a start time closest to the current time.

User Permissions: Network Administrators can start meal services at any time, while Agency Managers and below can only start the meal service within the start and end times define in Agency Settings.

Click here for instructions on how to start a new meal service.

 

How do I delete a School Year Meal Service using the Error Log feature?

To delete an Error Log meal service, click Meal Services in the left navigation pane and select School Year to access the School Year Meal Services page. Any meal service that did not occur during the time periods set in the Agency Settings will appear in an Error state on the Meal Services log. To delete a meal service in an Error state, click the red trash icon in the Actions column. Be absolutely certain before deleting, as once a meal service is removed, no information from it can be recovered from the system.

User Permissions: Network Administrators can both edit and delete a meal service in an Error state, while general CACFP and SFSP users can edit but cannot delete these meal services.

 

How do I enter a past School Year Meal Service using the Error Log feature?

On the School Year Meal Services page, any meal service that did not occur during the designated times in the Agency Settings will appear in an Error state. To add or update information for a meal service in an Error state, click the orange edit icon next to the service. You can edit every field in the meal service. Make sure to record your reason for edits in the Describe the extent and reasoning for your modifications text box—edits cannot be saved without completing this field. When your updates are complete, click Update Meal Service to save your changes, or Cancel to discard them. The meal service will be saved as edited by the user currently logged in.

User Permissions: Network Administrators and Network Managers can view and edit the “Describe the extent and reasoning for your modifications” text box, and all users can view and edit comments entered during the meal service.

 

Tips & Best Practices 

📝 Use notes – Add helpful context or details in the Notes section to keep records clear.
⚠️ Watch for errors – Address any prompts or Error statuses right away to maintain accurate reporting.
 

For a full reference with a rundown of all features, participant tracking, exporting, and error log guidance, see the full CACFP&SFSP - School Year article here.