HSS School Nutrition: 2020 Year in Review (And a Look Ahead to 2021)
They say necessity is the mother of all invention.
In our case, 2020 provided more than its share of necessity, and we’re proud to say that Harris School Solutions’ Nutrition team rose to the challenge!
We’ve worked tirelessly this past year to meet the rapidly changing needs of our School Nutrition clients, and the results proved better than we could’ve hoped.
Take a look below at the innovative new solutions we delivered in 2020, as well as some of the exciting developments you can expect in 2021.
Recapping 2020
State SNA virtual Conferences
First, we would be remiss not to mention an innovation that wasn’t our own, but that had a major, positive affect on the industry. Thanks to the hard work of state SNA organizations across the country, we were able to showcase all of our critical, timely innovations to the School Nutrition professionals who need them most.
With that in mind, we once again thank our state SNA colleagues everywhere.
First Batch of COVID-adapted School Nutrition Solutions
From the start of the pandemic, we knew we had to work quickly to adapt our School Lunch tools for the uncertain future, with social distancing and contactless processes in mind. So that’s just what we did.
Take a look at the video below to see our initial batch of COVID-adapted School Lunch solutions, including a host of Meal Pre-Order tools and contactless payment technology.
Digital Bus Pass Application and Processing
Speaking of adapted solutions, our School Nutrition team is never afraid to help however we can, even if it’s outside the world of food.
That’s how we were able to develop EZBusPass, the complete digital solution that makes it easy for parents and staff alike to submit and process applications and payments for school bus passes.
Our Nutrition clients needed a hand with transportation, and we answered the call. We took the Nutrition technology we had already developed and got creative to solve the problem of applying for bus passes during the pandemic.
Check out our EZBusPass page for details.
Multi-Day Curbside Pickup Entry with One Click
Back to the Nutrition innovations, the biggest challenge this year didn’t come from the cafeteria itself, necessarily. Instead, School Lunch employees were faced with figuring out how to serve multiple take-home meals, curbside, as a result of students’ new staggered attendance schedules.
As a larger, trusted provider with a whole host of tools to work with, we were able to collaborate across solutions in order to create just the functionality our clients need.
Now, with eTrition, School Nutrition professionals can enter multiple meals for a single student with just one click!
While many School Nutrition management solutions require users to enter each individual serving for each day manually, one after another, eTrition goes above and beyond to deliver exactly what our frontline School Nutrition heroes need in the real situations they face on a daily basis.
For more information, read this news article about our convenient “Grab-and-Go” serving capabilities.
Credit Payments at the Point of Sale
Entering meals into the School Nutrition management software with a single click is helpful, but we didn’t stop there.
“That’s incredibly helpful for School Lunch professionals,” we thought, “but what about the parents?”
So we kept working, focusing on expanding eTrition so it could accept credit card payments right at the point of sale, no pre-deposited funds required.
Find out more about convenient POS credit card payments here.
Inventory Scanning
Next up? With meals flying out the door in amounts that aren’t the usual one-at-a-time, we thought ahead, realizing that inventory tracking would be especially crucial in 2020.
That’s why we began working on an even smoother way to connect inventory scanning instantly into eTrition.
This not only will speed up inventory counts while making them more accurate, it also will enable School Food Service Directors to keep a closer eye on supplies as they move throughout the district.
Learn more about School Nutrition inventory scanning here.
Looking Ahead to 2021
With all of these fresh new tools now available to our clients, many providers would be content to sit back and ride 2021 out on the successful work of 2020. But we’re not most School Nutrition providers!
Heading into 2021, be on the lookout for the launch of the POS Credit Card Payments and Inventory Scanning discussed above, as well as…
A fresh new look and feel for eTrition!
That’s right! We’ve built the tools you need, and now we’re about to make it all even more user friendly with an eTrition refresh, helping you to keep your daily work flowing that much more smoothly. After all, having come through the other end of 2020, we could all use a refresh right about now, couldn’t we?
Plus, as we roll out these updates to the software, you’ll be able to choose how you interact with the new eTrition look and feel. You can jump right into each stage as it’s released, or you can ease yourself into it by sticking for a while with the classic eTrition interface you’re used to.
No matter how quickly or slowly you take advantage of the refresh, the best part is that the entire upgrade is free! (With 2020 now in your rearview, we know you deserve it!)
So enjoy your winter break, and we’ll meet you right back here at the start of January, 2021, ready to go!