Introduction
- Adding Exceptions
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Begin by adding any new "Exceptions" to the menu system. Exceptions are calendar days where lunch is not served, such as in-service or half-days. Note: Weekend days are automatically excluded, and do not need to be added as Exceptions.
To add Exceptions, first mouse over the "Schools" tab in the menu at the top of your Digital Bell Dashboard. In the drop-down menu, click "School Menus."
Next, click the "Exceptions" link in the right sidebar, under the "School Menus" heading. This will bring you to a list of your existing Exceptions.
Click the "Create Exception" button in the right sidebar to add a new Exception. On the "Add Exception" form, enter the date (or date range - ex. Winter Vacation), and title the Exception. The title you enter will appear on your calendar. Optionally, a description can be added.
The "Keep Menu Plan Items" option will determine how the Exception works with the calendar.
- Selecting "Yes" will interrupt your meal plans by skipping the entered date(s), and resuming afterwards - this option should apply to all instances where exception dates are known in advance (Ex. In-service days, holidays). For example:
Day 1 - Day 2 - Exception - Day 3 - Day 4 / The meal plan for Day 3 is resumed after the Exception - Selecting "No" will replace that day's existing meal plan with the title of the exception - use this option only if you need to remove the meal plan for a date (or date range) that was not known in advance (ex. School closed due to inclement weather), and the meal plan(s) for the entered date(s) will not be served upon students' return to school. For example:
Day 1 - Day 2 - Exception - Day 4 - Day 5 / The meal plan for Day 3 is removed from the schedule by the Exception
The "Calendar" section may display a "There are no calendars available that contain the selected date range" message, for dates known in advance. This is normal and will be updated in the "Adjusting your Calendar Range" step. Any calendars that currently apply to a new exception will also be listed here - in this case, tick the checkbox for any calendars that are affected by this Exception.
Finally, click the "Submit" button to add your first exception to the list. Create additional Exceptions as necessary.
Return to Top - Selecting "Yes" will interrupt your meal plans by skipping the entered date(s), and resuming afterwards - this option should apply to all instances where exception dates are known in advance (Ex. In-service days, holidays). For example:
- Adding Menu Items
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If your meal plans include new, never before entered Menu Items (i.e. individual food items, such as "Chicken tacos" or "Steamed broccoli"), they can be added manually or in bulk. To begin, click the "Menu Items" link in the right sidebar (under "School Menus").
This will bring you to a list of your existing Menu Items. To add a single Menu Item, click the "Create Menu Item" button in the right sidebar.
To add in bulk, click the "Import Menu Items" button.
- To add a single Menu Item, enter the title of the item, as it should appear on the menu. Optionally, any existing Food Groups can be selected by clicking on the "Food Groups" field, an image of the item can be attached, and description added. In the optional "Diet Considerations" section, items can be marked as "Vegetarian" or "Contains Pork." The "Nutrition Facts" section is also optional, and allows you to enter detailed dietary information. The final optional section is for "Vendor Information," where the vendor name and item number can be added for reference. Once the form is complete, click the "Submit" button to add the Menu Item to the list.
- To add Menu Items in bulk, use the "Menu Items" field to enter the name of each item as they should appear on the menu. Each item must be entered on its own line in this field. Note - copy/pasting a column from a speadsheet will automatically enter each item on a separate line. Once all of the items have been added, click the "Submit" button to add the items to the list. This method will only add the titles of the Menu items to the list - any optional information will need to be added on a per-item basis.
To edit an existing menu item (to add or remove optional information or rename an item), click the Edit button (pencil icon) to the left of any item to view the "Edit Menu Item" form. Once finished, click the "Submit" button to save your changes.
Return to Top - To add a single Menu Item, enter the title of the item, as it should appear on the menu. Optionally, any existing Food Groups can be selected by clicking on the "Food Groups" field, an image of the item can be attached, and description added. In the optional "Diet Considerations" section, items can be marked as "Vegetarian" or "Contains Pork." The "Nutrition Facts" section is also optional, and allows you to enter detailed dietary information. The final optional section is for "Vendor Information," where the vendor name and item number can be added for reference. Once the form is complete, click the "Submit" button to add the Menu Item to the list.
- Creating Meal Plans
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Updating the First Schedule
Now that any applicable Exceptions and new Menu Items have been added to the system, you can begin to build your new meal plans. First, click the "Schedules" link, under the "School Menus" heading in the right sidebar. Here, you will see your existing Schedules, which are generally broken down by the type of Menu Item included in the meal (Entree / Sides / Snacks / etc.).
Multiple Schedules are used to build a complete meal plan, with each Schedule color-coding its Menu Items. Next, click the View button (magnifying glass icon) to the left of the Schedule you will be updating first.
This will bring you to your selected schedule's page, which will list the existing "days" on the Schedule. Note, the days are not labeled by date, only by number. However, by checking your public-facing Lunch Menu page, you should see that the numbered days line up with the dates on the calendar (excluding any Exception dates). The schedule you are viewing should list the appropriate item type for each day (i.e. the "Entree" schedule should contain only the entrees for each day).
Adding Days to the Schedule
Begin the update by clicking the "Add Day to Schedule" button in the right sidebar. The "Add Day" form will automatically list the next day number in the "Day" field's drop-down menu. Next, click on the "Menu Item" field to begin adding items to the meal plan. Here, you will only be adding the items that apply to your selected schedule - i.e. if you are editing the "Entrees" schedule, you will enter the meal plan's entree(s) for the first day of the new calendar period.
Once you begin typing the name of the item, a list of options will pop up - select the appropriate option from the pop-up list to add your first item. Continue (if necessary) by typing the name of the second item for that day. Once you have entered all of the items that apply to the chosen schedule, click the "Submit" button to add the day to the list.
Click the "Add Day" button again, and add the next day's items for the selected schedule, and continue until all of the calendar period's days have been added and populated with menu items. This will complete your first schedule.
Updating Additional Schedules
Multiple schedules will complement each other, and together will create a full meal plan for each day. If you will need to add items for another schedule (ex. "Sides" or "Snacks"), click the "Schedules" link under "School Menus" in the right sidebar, to view your list of schedules again.
Locate the next schedule you will be updating, then click the View button (magnifying glass icon) to the left of the title. This will bring you to your second schedule, where days and their items will need to be added in the same manner as the first schedule (ex. if you are now updating the "Sides" schedule, you will enter the side items when creating new days). Continue updating additional schedules as needed. Once finished, all schedules should have the same number of days in their lists.
Return to Top - Adjusting your Calendar Range
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Now that all schedules have been updated, the meal plans for the next calendar period will be ready to publish. Click the "Calendars" link under "School Menus" to view your list of calendars.
Here, you should see one calendar for each schedule (ex. Entrees / Sides / Snacks). All calendars will need to be updated to publish the full meal plans. Begin by clicking the Edit button (pencil icon) to the left of the first calendar.
The top of the "Edit Calendar" page will list the schedule that is attached (ex. Entree). Below, use the "To" field in the "Date(s)" section to extend your menu to the end of your latest calendar period.
Finally, tick the checkbox for any Exceptions that apply to the latest calendar period, and click the "Submit" button to extend your calendar's range.
Repeat the process for the other calendar(s) in the list (ex. Sides, Snacks). Once all calendars have been extended to the end of the latest period, and the appropriate Exceptions have been selected for all calendars, the full meal plans for each of the days you have added will appear on the public-facing calendar.
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