The Food Program feature empowers administrators to construct and manage menus, record meals, and generate comprehensive reports based on all entered data.
Food Program Settings
Before setting up your food program, ensure you've reviewed your settings.
From your Admin Dashboard, click the Food Program tab.
Click the white Settings button in the top right corner of the screen. The Food Program Settings window will open.
Refer to the table below for a description of each setting.
Configure meal times by selecting the hour and minute at which they occur.
If there is a meal type that you do not have, you can deselect the Enabled checkbox and it will not show in your account.
Click the blue Save Settings button to confirm your selections.
Show weekends on the calendar | Includes Saturday and Sunday on the menu calendar. |
Show CACFP rules | Highlight errors and help with CACFP compliance by clearly identifying which meals are reimbursable or not, along with detailed explanations. Errors will be highlighted in red. Hover over the question mark to view suggested solutions. |
Organize by category | Menu items will be organized by the following categories: Meat, Grain, Vegetable, Fruit, and Dairy |
Show default food items | Include the default food items for CACFP. If this setting is not enabled, you will need to create all food items on your menu from scratch. |
Manage Food Items
The Food Program allows you to create a menu for your students from the Food Items you've added to Playground. Before creating your first menu, you must add food items to playground.
Add Food Items
From your Admin Dashboard, click the Food Program tab.
Click the blue Manage button in the top right corner of the screen, then click Manage Food Items. The Food Items page will open.
Click the blue Add Food Item button. The Add Food Item window will open. Add the name of the food, the type of food, and select whether it should be allowed for infants only.
Click the blue Add Item button to add the food item to your list. The food item will now appear in the Food Item Table.
Edit & Delete Food Items
Food items added to your list can be edited or deleted by clicking the three dots next to the item name.
Create the Menu
Once you have food items, you can create a weekly menu using those items.
From your Admin Dashboard, click the Food Program tab.
In the top left corner of your screen, next to Week of, select the week for which you want to create a menu.
On the right side of the screen, toggle between Regular and Infant, depending on who you are creating the menu for.
Click Edit Meals and then Edit to begin adding your meals. The Menu for that specific day will open.
Choose between Edit and Quick Edit. The distinction between Edit and Quick Edit is that Edit provides the option to specify the portions for the food item.
Click a Meal Type to start adding food items. A list of the food groups will appear. Click on a food group to add an item.
Type where it says Select Meat Item, to search for the food item you want to add. Optionally, add the portion (amount and unit) that you will serve.
Add food items for each meal you will serve. Once completed, click the blue Save button in the top right corner of the screen.
Your menu for that day will now appear in the calendar. Repeat this process for each day of the week.
💡To edit an existing meal, follow the same steps listed above.
Duplicate Menus
Created menus can be duplicated to future days. This will help reduce the workload required to create multiple weeks of food plans.
From your Admin Dashboard, click the Food Program tab.
Navigate to a week that already has meal plans created. Click the gear icon ⚙️ next to Edit Meals for a certain day.
Click Duplicate and the Duplicate Meal window will open. Select the meal types you are duplicating and then select the dates for which you would like to duplicate these meals.
Click Load More to view the next month.
Click Save once completed.
🚨 If there is an existing menu for this day it will be merged with the menu you are duplicating. Any existing meals will be overwritten.
Log Meals on Mobile
From your Playground Mobile App, you can make Eating Posts to record the details of a student's meal.
From your Playground Mobile App, tap + New Post in the top left corner of your screen.
Under Select Post Type, tap the Eating icon.
Select students to record their meals. You can select multiple students at once.
Tap a classroom to record a meal for all students in that classroom.
At the top of the screen, you can adjust the time of the meal.
Under each student's name, select the Meal Items by tapping Meal Items: Not Set
The Meal Items page will open. If you have a menu for that day, you can select one of the meals from the list. To select individual foods from your list, toggle to Select Items. When the meal or food is selected, click the blue Done button in the top right corner of the screen.
Select how much of the meal the student ate and add notes.
Optional: Tap the green photo icon to choose a photo from your camera roll to attach the post. Tap the purple camera icon to take a picture and attach it to the post.
Repeat this process for each student. When you are done, tap the blue Post button in the top right corner of your screen.
A banner will appear indicating that a new post has been recorded.
💡 If you want to make eating posts with the same details for each student, tap Individual Details at the top of the Meal page. You will then be switched to Bulk Details mode, and you can then add one set of details that will apply to all students.
To set meal items for all your students at once, click Set Meal Items for All Students. Next, choose the meal you want to log and tap Done. All students will then be assigned the selected meal items.
Food Program Reports
Your state may require you to report on student meals. Food Program reports will include the details you've recorded about each student's meal. See the table below for a description of each report type.
From the Admin Dashboard, click Reports on the left-hand side of your screen.
Click on the Food Program tile.
Choose the Report Type, specify the date range, and select the student group for which you'd like to generate the report. Refer to the table below for a detailed breakdown of each report and its contents.
Click Generate Report. A CSV file will download to your computer.
CACFP | Generates a CSV usable for CACFP from meals recorded and student meal subsidy information |
CACFP Detailed | Generates a CSV for CACFP with a row for each student for each day and which meals they received |
CACFP Invalid Entries | Lists all invalid data in CACFP claims |
CACFP Meals Served | Lists each meal each day and the number of meals served |
CACFP Shifts | Timesheet of meals served for the food program |
Compact CACFP Detailed | A more compact version of the CACFP detailed report |
Daily Attendance and Meal Count | Report for daily attendance and meal count |
Monthly Claimed Meal Count Summary | Report for monthly summary of meals for a school |
Monthly Menu PDF | Monthly menu nicely formatted as a PDF to print. Shows calendar month for the date selected |
Weekly Menu PDF | Weekly menu nicely formatted as a PDF to print. Shows Monday through Friday for the date selected |
CACFP
The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) standards can be turned on via the Settings button under the Food Program feature. Playground always advises that Administrators check with their food sponsor before using Playground's reporting.
Assign Students to a Meal Subsidy Type
From the Admin Dashboard, navigate to the Students tab on the left-hand side and click on a student's name that is a part of CACFP to open their profile.
Click Edit information in the top right corner to edit the student's profile.
Click Show additional information to open the student's details.
In the Meal subsidy drop-down, select from the list of subsidy options:
Free
Reduced
Paid
Not specified
Click the blue Save button in the bottom right corner of the window. By tagging the student with their subsidy type, you'll be able to provide CACFP with the reporting they require.
Record meals for students
From the Playground app, you can select the specific Amount and Meal for the post. Click here for step-by-step instructions on Logging Meals on Mobile.
This information will filter directly into the CACFP report. Learn more about reporting for CACFP by clicking here.
Food Program Management FAQ
Can I record the specific food items that the student ate?
Yes, when recording an Eating activity, teachers or admins can specify the specific food, amounts, or meal that the student ate.
Does Playground accommodate CACFP?
💡 Playground always advises that Administrators check with their food sponsor before utilizing Playground's reporting.
Absolutely! Playground has built out specific functionality and reports that make subsidized meal programs at your school a breeze. You can record specific meals, tag students to a specific meal subsidy program, and generate a CACFP report.
Can I run my Hot Lunch program through Playground?
Yes, you can create a Hot Lunch program that guardians can sign up for when enrolling in your school or once they are already accepted. Charge families your hot lunch fees directly through the app.