Recently, it's become common to see pictures of school meals shared online that students and parents deem unacceptable. Or, to see an article that negatively compares American school lunches to those from other countries. Unfortunately, this trend perpetuates an already dangerous, false stigma that all American school lunches are unacceptable. And we know that's not the case!

Parents want to be assured that their students are served healthy, delicious meals at school, but may be wary if that is actually the case based on content they see online. Combating this negative stigma can be difficult, but it's become a necessary battle for school nutrition departments across the country.

Here are a few tips that can help you get upset parents on board with schools meals:

Menu calendars are a staple to any school nutrition program. Whether they're available in print or online, parents at your school district check them regularly. The design of your menu calendars give you the opportunity to portray your program's personality while offering important information in a clear and concise way.

Here are 7 steps to help spice up the look and feel of your school menu calendars:

Knowing when it's time to upgrade your cafeteria's POS hardware, versus sticking with what you already own, can have important implications for your foodservice operation. Upgrading too soon is certainly not good for your bottom line.  But waiting too long can also be expensive.

The new school year is here and we've updated our menu templates with brand new designs for the 2017-18 school year.  These fun, free, easy-to-use templates are available for you to download now. With unique designs that channel the spirit of each month, these menus are sure to catch the eye of your students' parents.

The 2017-18 school year is almost here! You and your staff are ready to start another year of serving students healthy meals everyday. What if you had more funds to promote your program and boost participation? MySchoolBucks and Heartland School Solutions are excited to offer Growth Grants for the start of the 2017-18 school year!

Recently, much media attention has been focused on school cafeterias and the (seemingly) controversial methods used when students cannot pay for their meal. Cafeteria staff have an obligation to balance feeding hungry kids, maintaining financial stability, and following district guidelines. Occasionally, something has to give.

The following post was written by Barry Sackin of Sackin & Associates. 

Most have started – thinking, planning, and organizing for the 2017-2018 school year. It's never too early to begin organizing materials, student class enrollment, back to school kick off, student registration events, and fall programs.

Does student lunch participation come to mind? How do you plan to get more students involved in purchasing lunch? Do you consider the short lunch period – where cafeteria staff feel rushed to transact students and make sure they have time to eat?

Our research shows that for every student who submits cash or check payment, it can take up to 7 seconds for the transaction to complete.

What does that mean? 50 students could add 6 minutes to each lunch period.  If those same students prepaid for their meals, more time can be spent making additional sales at your serving lines.

MySchoolBucks provides a library of supporting material to help promote its service to students and parents. Utilizing these FREE resources can help get the word out to parents, increase participation and speed up your serving lines!

Promotional materials are also available for School Store users. Promote a school event, apparel, tech fees and more! Create a custom flyer, add your own message and logo and have them sent directly to you.

To place an order or access any of these materials, be sure to visit MySchoolBucks Marketing Central.  

Here at Heartland, our goal is to help make your life a little easier by providing innovative software and dedicated service – that goes not only for district staff, but for the parents in your communities as well.

To that end, we’re thrilled to announce that Heartland has chosen to partner with FamilyID, a leader in cloud-based registration platforms, which will streamline and simplify program registration and payments for parents and school administrators.

Those end-of-year events are sneaking up on schools with AP exams, proms, and graduation right around the corner. And what’s next?...summer programs! It can be a challenge to promote your summer programs when spring events and exams become a focus.

Many families start making summer plans early in the year to accommodate work schedules, vacation time, and other obligations. This means that creating a clear communication plan early on is the key to successfully promoting summer programs before school lets out for the summer.

Here are 5 tools to help get the word out and increase participation in summer programs at your district: