How Menu Boards Increase School Lunch Participation
Green Edge Systems’ LED Flashing Menu Boards and MyPlate Dry Erase Boards are essential tools for increasing school lunch participation rates by making school menus more engaging, adaptable, and reliable for students. With the current challenges of rising food prices and limited product availability, schools must frequently adjust their daily menus to reflect what is actually available. Green Edge Systems' solutions offer a fast and easy way to update menus daily, making them more reliable compared to traditional digital or printed menu boards, which are typically planned far in advance and cannot be easily updated. This flexibility ensures that students always see accurate menu information, which increases their confidence in the lunch program and boosts participation.
1. Frequent Updates for More Reliable Menus
Due to food shortages and price fluctuations, many schools cannot stick to pre-scheduled menus for the week or month. Green Edge Systems' LED Flashing Menu Boards and MyPlate Dry Erase Boards allow cafeteria staff to update menus quickly and easily, ensuring students see the most accurate and reliable meal options available that day. This contrasts with traditional digital menu boards or printed menus, which are typically scheduled in advance and cannot accommodate daily or even weekly changes without significant effort.
By providing real-time updates, Green Edge Systems helps schools offer a more transparent and trustworthy meal experience, improving students’ satisfaction and increasing participation in the lunch program.
2. Capturing Attention with Dynamic Displays
Green Edge Systems’ LED Flashing Menu Boards are equipped with flashing lights and customizable messages that capture students' attention. These eye-catching boards create a vibrant and inviting atmosphere in the cafeteria, making it more likely that students will be drawn to the meal options. The boards help present food in an exciting way, emphasizing new menu items, specials, and healthy choices, which encourages more students to participate in school lunch programs.
3. Promoting Balanced Nutrition with MyPlate
The MyPlate Dry Erase Boards from Green Edge Systems are designed to reinforce USDA's MyPlate dietary guidelines. By visually breaking down meals into fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins, and dairy, these boards educate students on how to build balanced, nutritious meals. When students see the MyPlate framework, they are more likely to make informed, healthier choices, which not only improves their diet but also boosts their interest in participating in the lunch program.
4. Customization for Relevance
Green Edge Systems allows schools to customize both the LED flashing boards and MyPlate dry erase boards to suit their unique needs. Schools can display daily meal options, specials, or themed days to keep the cafeteria offerings fresh and interesting. The flexibility to highlight student-favorite dishes, holiday menus, or new recipes keeps students curious and engaged, encouraging them to try school meals more frequently.
5. Increased Engagement and Interaction
Both the LED Flashing Menu Boards and MyPlate Dry Erase Boards can serve as tools for student interaction. Green Edge Systems’ boards can be used to showcase nutrition challenges, fun facts about food, or even allow students to vote for their favorite meals. This type of engagement creates a more interactive experience, making lunch feel more like an event, which can boost participation rates.
6. Clear and Effective Communication
Clear communication is key to increasing participation in school meals. Green Edge Systems’ boards help schools communicate their daily meal offerings, special promotions, or new food items in a clear, vibrant way. LED flashing boards can be programmed to deliver important messages such as “Today’s Special”, “Don’t Miss Out”, or “Try Something New!”, which encourages students to explore the menu and increases their interest in school-provided meals.
7. Adapting to Food Price Increases and Product Shortages
With today’s high increases in food prices and the limited availability of products at reasonable prices, schools face a significant challenge in maintaining their planned menus. Daily menus often have to change due to shortages or unexpected price spikes, meaning schools can no longer guarantee the same menu across all locations. This challenge makes district-wide planned menus difficult to execute, and frequent updates are required at the individual school level.
Green Edge Systems’ LED flashing boards and dry erase boards provide the flexibility to update menus daily for each school, something that is not possible with digital or printed menu boards, which are static and difficult to update on short notice. With Green Edge Systems, cafeteria staff can easily adjust the displayed menu based on the day's available ingredients, ensuring that students always have accurate, up-to-date meal options. This adaptability supports smooth operations despite ongoing supply chain challenges.
8. Promoting Healthier Choices
Both the LED Flashing Menu Boards and MyPlate Dry Erase Boards help schools emphasize the importance of healthy eating. By prominently displaying messages about choosing fruits, vegetables, and balanced meals, the boards not only educate students but also nudge them toward making healthier meal choices. This focus on nutrition can increase participation, as students and parents become more confident in the quality and healthiness of school meals.
9. Creating a Positive Dining Experience
An engaging and visually appealing cafeteria environment can transform how students perceive school lunches. Green Edge Systems’ vibrant LED boards and colorful dry erase boards make the cafeteria more inviting, helping create a positive dining atmosphere. This enjoyable environment can encourage more students to participate in the lunch program instead of bringing meals from home.
10. Supporting Consistent Nutritional Messaging
By integrating Green Edge Systems’ MyPlate Dry Erase Boards, schools can reinforce the nutritional education taught in classrooms. The boards serve as a consistent reminder of healthy eating guidelines, helping students make connections between what they learn in health education and the choices they make in the cafeteria. This educational reinforcement can encourage students to participate in the lunch program, knowing that meals are aligned with federal nutrition standards.
11. Cost-Effective with Fast ROI
One of the standout advantages of Green Edge Systems’ menu boards is their cost-effectiveness compared to traditional digital menu boards. Conventional digital boards often require ongoing IT support and incur substantial fees, whereas Green Edge Systems’ LED flashing boards and MyPlate dry erase boards require minimal maintenance and no ongoing support fees. This means schools can quickly recover the initial investment, as the cost savings from avoiding IT fees and maintenance quickly add up, making the switch to these boards a financially savvy decision.
With fewer technical and financial burdens, schools can use these savings to further improve meal programs, helping increase participation rates even more by offering higher quality meals or new initiatives to engage students.
By offering dynamic, engaging displays and promoting healthy eating, Green Edge Systems’ LED Flashing Menu Boards and MyPlate Dry Erase Boards help schools increase lunch participation rates. These tools not only make school meals more visually appealing but also encourage students to make informed, nutritious choices. Coupled with their cost-effectiveness, fast return on investment, and ability to adapt to food shortages and price increases, they offer a budget-friendly, flexible solution that helps schools enhance their meal programs while boosting student participation.
Since 2012, Green Edge Systems has been a pioneer in developing innovative menu board solutions specifically for school food services. Their offerings include LED Flashing Menu Boards, a unique segment of digital menu boards, and MyPlate dry erase boards, both of which have become vital tools in promoting healthy eating in school cafeterias. Serving over a million students daily in thousands of schools nationwide, Green Edge Systems’ menu boards not only deliver essential meal information but also help increase participation in school lunch programs by making healthy options more visible and engaging to students.
1. Frequent Updates for More Reliable Menus
Due to food shortages and price fluctuations, many schools cannot stick to pre-scheduled menus for the week or month. Green Edge Systems' LED Flashing Menu Boards and MyPlate Dry Erase Boards allow cafeteria staff to update menus quickly and easily, ensuring students see the most accurate and reliable meal options available that day. This contrasts with traditional digital menu boards or printed menus, which are typically scheduled in advance and cannot accommodate daily or even weekly changes without significant effort.
By providing real-time updates, Green Edge Systems helps schools offer a more transparent and trustworthy meal experience, improving students’ satisfaction and increasing participation in the lunch program.
2. Capturing Attention with Dynamic Displays
Green Edge Systems’ LED Flashing Menu Boards are equipped with flashing lights and customizable messages that capture students' attention. These eye-catching boards create a vibrant and inviting atmosphere in the cafeteria, making it more likely that students will be drawn to the meal options. The boards help present food in an exciting way, emphasizing new menu items, specials, and healthy choices, which encourages more students to participate in school lunch programs.
3. Promoting Balanced Nutrition with MyPlate
The MyPlate Dry Erase Boards from Green Edge Systems are designed to reinforce USDA's MyPlate dietary guidelines. By visually breaking down meals into fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins, and dairy, these boards educate students on how to build balanced, nutritious meals. When students see the MyPlate framework, they are more likely to make informed, healthier choices, which not only improves their diet but also boosts their interest in participating in the lunch program.
4. Customization for Relevance
Green Edge Systems allows schools to customize both the LED flashing boards and MyPlate dry erase boards to suit their unique needs. Schools can display daily meal options, specials, or themed days to keep the cafeteria offerings fresh and interesting. The flexibility to highlight student-favorite dishes, holiday menus, or new recipes keeps students curious and engaged, encouraging them to try school meals more frequently.
5. Increased Engagement and Interaction
Both the LED Flashing Menu Boards and MyPlate Dry Erase Boards can serve as tools for student interaction. Green Edge Systems’ boards can be used to showcase nutrition challenges, fun facts about food, or even allow students to vote for their favorite meals. This type of engagement creates a more interactive experience, making lunch feel more like an event, which can boost participation rates.
6. Clear and Effective Communication
Clear communication is key to increasing participation in school meals. Green Edge Systems’ boards help schools communicate their daily meal offerings, special promotions, or new food items in a clear, vibrant way. LED flashing boards can be programmed to deliver important messages such as “Today’s Special”, “Don’t Miss Out”, or “Try Something New!”, which encourages students to explore the menu and increases their interest in school-provided meals.
7. Adapting to Food Price Increases and Product Shortages
With today’s high increases in food prices and the limited availability of products at reasonable prices, schools face a significant challenge in maintaining their planned menus. Daily menus often have to change due to shortages or unexpected price spikes, meaning schools can no longer guarantee the same menu across all locations. This challenge makes district-wide planned menus difficult to execute, and frequent updates are required at the individual school level.
Green Edge Systems’ LED flashing boards and dry erase boards provide the flexibility to update menus daily for each school, something that is not possible with digital or printed menu boards, which are static and difficult to update on short notice. With Green Edge Systems, cafeteria staff can easily adjust the displayed menu based on the day's available ingredients, ensuring that students always have accurate, up-to-date meal options. This adaptability supports smooth operations despite ongoing supply chain challenges.
8. Promoting Healthier Choices
Both the LED Flashing Menu Boards and MyPlate Dry Erase Boards help schools emphasize the importance of healthy eating. By prominently displaying messages about choosing fruits, vegetables, and balanced meals, the boards not only educate students but also nudge them toward making healthier meal choices. This focus on nutrition can increase participation, as students and parents become more confident in the quality and healthiness of school meals.
9. Creating a Positive Dining Experience
An engaging and visually appealing cafeteria environment can transform how students perceive school lunches. Green Edge Systems’ vibrant LED boards and colorful dry erase boards make the cafeteria more inviting, helping create a positive dining atmosphere. This enjoyable environment can encourage more students to participate in the lunch program instead of bringing meals from home.
10. Supporting Consistent Nutritional Messaging
By integrating Green Edge Systems’ MyPlate Dry Erase Boards, schools can reinforce the nutritional education taught in classrooms. The boards serve as a consistent reminder of healthy eating guidelines, helping students make connections between what they learn in health education and the choices they make in the cafeteria. This educational reinforcement can encourage students to participate in the lunch program, knowing that meals are aligned with federal nutrition standards.
11. Cost-Effective with Fast ROI
One of the standout advantages of Green Edge Systems’ menu boards is their cost-effectiveness compared to traditional digital menu boards. Conventional digital boards often require ongoing IT support and incur substantial fees, whereas Green Edge Systems’ LED flashing boards and MyPlate dry erase boards require minimal maintenance and no ongoing support fees. This means schools can quickly recover the initial investment, as the cost savings from avoiding IT fees and maintenance quickly add up, making the switch to these boards a financially savvy decision.
With fewer technical and financial burdens, schools can use these savings to further improve meal programs, helping increase participation rates even more by offering higher quality meals or new initiatives to engage students.
By offering dynamic, engaging displays and promoting healthy eating, Green Edge Systems’ LED Flashing Menu Boards and MyPlate Dry Erase Boards help schools increase lunch participation rates. These tools not only make school meals more visually appealing but also encourage students to make informed, nutritious choices. Coupled with their cost-effectiveness, fast return on investment, and ability to adapt to food shortages and price increases, they offer a budget-friendly, flexible solution that helps schools enhance their meal programs while boosting student participation.
Since 2012, Green Edge Systems has been a pioneer in developing innovative menu board solutions specifically for school food services. Their offerings include LED Flashing Menu Boards, a unique segment of digital menu boards, and MyPlate dry erase boards, both of which have become vital tools in promoting healthy eating in school cafeterias. Serving over a million students daily in thousands of schools nationwide, Green Edge Systems’ menu boards not only deliver essential meal information but also help increase participation in school lunch programs by making healthy options more visible and engaging to students.