Reporting on future meal menu choices in advance

This article explains how to report on future meal menu choices using the Custom Report Writer. Guardians can view their children's future meal selections through the Parent Portal or App, while school staff can generate reports to predict meal demand. The article details the steps to create a report, customize it, and view totals for specific days, along with FAQs regarding meal choice changes and the necessity of using Rotating Meal Menus.

You can see and report on meal choices for future dates so you can give predicted numbers to your catering staff to meet demand. This can be done in the Custom Report Writer only.

• When using Rotating Meal Menus, guardians can see their children's future choices through the Parent Portal or Parent App: Meal Menu choices on the Parent Portal or Parent App
• On the school staff side, meal choices will not populate in the meal registers until the day of the meal. You can see more information here.
• On the day of the meal, you can report on the meal choices in the Meals area. You can see how for Rotating Meal Menus here, or standard meals here.

Reporting on future meal choices

Creating your report by student

To report on future meal choices, go to School > Custom Report Writer and click to create a new report. Add a name, and select the Parent Portal Meal Choices report type.

Next, choose the time scale for your report. We've defaulted it to look at the current week, but you can change this if needed, for example if you want to only look at a certain day.

Your report by default will include these fields, but you can add more if needed.

• Meal
• Meal date/time
• Meal provision
• Meal price category
• Meal type
• Provision label (Meal choice)

If you don't want to filter your data for a specific student group, you can click Skip setup wizard and view your report.

By default, your report will show the most recent date at the top, and students alphabetically.

Click the name column to group all student's choices together.

Reporting on totals

If you want to edit your report to show totals for a certain day, click Edit. 

Change your date range to Custom and select the date.

Add a grouping for Meal Choice.

Save and view your report - you'll then be able to see the number of each meal choice for that day.

FAQ

What happens once the Meal Register is taken?

The Parent Portal Meal Choices report will only show the choices parents have made through the Parent Portal and Parent App. If the meal choice is changed in the Meal register on the day of the meal, it won't change in this report.

Once the meal takes place, you'll need to use these reporting tools: Reporting on Rotating Meal Menu choices

Can we use this report if we don't have Meal Menus?

No, because this report shows choices made on the Parent Portal and Parent App. If you don't use Rotating Meal menus, these choices won't exist, so your report will be blank.

You'll need to not use this reporting type if you don't have Meal Menus, as it isn't possible to remove this option.

Can staff set meal choices in advance? 

The only way to do this is if parents have added these from the Parent Portal or the App. Meal choices cannot be set by teachers or staff in Advance, because the meal registers are generated at 4am each morning.