School cafeterias have a history of being too noisy and hard to manage. As early as the 1900’s, school cafeterias were developed to feed the masses at lunch time. The setup for feeding and seating the masses has not changed much in the last century. School cafeterias still serve food through a serving line. Students are still seated family style in order to eat the food. Given that most schools allow an average of only 20 minutes for students to get food, get seated and get eating, noise and chaos are inevitable. So what can be done to provide a more manageable and pleasant lunch experience? Why should anyone care?
The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) suggests that schools can help teach students the importance of eating healthier by making eating it fun and easy to do. Schools can provide nutrition education, give students opportunities to try new foods before they appear on the menu, and ensure that students have at least 20 minutes once they are seated (seat time) to enjoy their meal and socialize.
According to the Mayo Clinic , socializing not only staves off feelings of loneliness, but it also helps sharpen memory and cognitive skills, increases your sense of happiness and well-being, and may even help you live longer.
There is plenty of research to support the importance of having a nutritional and enjoyable lunch. There is plenty of support, not only suggesting, but demanding making lunch time longer. Yet, school cafeterias of today are still functioning the same way they did almost a century ago. So until change happens, what can schools do now to reduce the noise and chaos in order to provide a more manageable and pleasant lunch experience for students?
Many schools have designed reward incentive programs just for the cafeteria. These programs have helped a little, but they are short lived because the programs are designed with elements of century old rewards and incentives that require a great deal of time and organization to implement and maintain.
Click on the link below to download a newer version of a school cafeteria Incentive program that uses the ETM Machine APP and ETM Card system. It can help bring a century old problem into the 21st century.
ETM Machine APP Cafeteria Incentive Program
