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Running a Summer Meal Service with Multi-Day Meal Issuance

Updated

 

Network Admin

If you're a Network Administrator logged into the network organization, you will have to toggle to the agency you want to start a meal service for. 

Click on the hierarchy symbol on the top right of the page. A dropdown list will appear of your sites. You can click on the site you'd like to create a meal service for. From there, you will see the button available for the site's meal service. 

You'll want to create a new summer meal service at the time your meal service is about to begin, NOT the time you received the food.

💡 For information on how to enable multi-day meal issuance (non-congregate meals), refer to the following resources:

Starting a Multi-Day Meal Service

  1. You can start a new Summer Meal Service using one of the two options below:

    Option 1 Option 2

    Click on Summer on your Dashboard.

    Screenshot 2025-07-10 at 9.49.57 AM.png

    Click on the Meal Services heading.
    Click on the New Summer Meal Service button in the top right corner.

    Screenshot 2025-07-10 at 9.52.50 AM.png
  2. Fill in the following fields:

  • Number of meals from the previous day: How many meals are being used in this service that were intended for the previous service? (Optional; may not appear in all portals.)

  • Number of meals received: Enter the total number of meals received. Since multi-day meal issuance is enabled, this total will be divided equally across the number of days set in the agency’s settings.
    For example, if 30 meals are entered and the issuance period is 3 days, the system will automatically allocate 10 meals per day.

  • Do the meals match the planned menu?: Are the meals received those that were expected?

    • If they do not match, you will be asked to enter details about the actual meals received.

  • Temperature of Meals Received: The temperature of the meals upon arrival. (Must be under 200. Optional; may not appear in all portals.)

  • Temperature of Milk Received: The temperature of the milk upon arrival. (Must be under 99. Optional; may not appear in all portals.)

  • Date: The date of the meal service. Only Network Administrators and Network Managers can record a meal service for a date in the past.

  • Time Received: The time when meals were received. (Defaults to the current time. Optional; may not appear in all portals.)

  • Time meal service will end: The scheduled end time. (Defaults to 45 minutes after the current time.)

  • Meal Type: Select the type of meal from the dropdown.

  • Meal Style: Check all that apply to the style of meal being served. (Optional; may not appear in all portals.)

    • Administrators can manage these options in the Lists section.

  • Error Log: If using the Error Log feature, the end time and meal type will auto-fill based on the Agency Settings. The system will choose the meal type closest to the current time. [See Error Log Feature for more information.]

  • Signature: The signature of the program distributor starting the meal service.

    • Use your finger (touchscreen) or mouse (computer) to sign.

    • Click Clear to re-enter the signature.

    • The Signed By field auto-fills with the name of the logged-in user, and the date will default to today.

Click on Start Meal Service to begin the meal service.

  1. The following page will show a confirmation that the meal service has been created.
  2. If you have entered an end time, a countdown clock will be at the top of the page counting down until the end of the Meal Service.
    • First Meal- Child: Represents how many children received at least one meal.
    • Second Meal- Child: Only used after all children have received their first meals.
    • Third Meal-Child: Only used after all children have received second meals.
    • Meal-Program Adult: Counting how many adults were served meals who are part of the program.
    • Meal-Non Program Adult: Counting how many adults were served meals who are not part of the program.

      🔍 Based on the multi-day issuance settings enabled, each meal category will show separate counts per day, as determined by the meal service details you entered during setup.
       
  3. Feel free to enter notes or commands applicable to the particular meal service. There is a 70-character limit.
  4. Click on End Meal Service to end the meal service.

  1. A notification will appear asking if you're sure you want to end the meal service for every user who is currently accessing it. Every other user who is currently accessing this service will also have this notification pop up on their screen. Click on OK.

  2. A confirmation will appear letting you know that the meal service has ended. Click OK.
     

    Changing Settings If you change agency settings while a meal service is in progress, you risk encountering an error while ending that meal service. The system expects the same options while starting the meal service to be available when ending it.

The next screen will display a summary of your meal service details.

Click Return to Summer Meal Services to go back to the Summer Meal Services log.