Use this guide to create a Dinner Menu and publish it on MCAS.
Access: The minimum permissions required to access Dinner Menus can be found in the Dinner module from within Config > Setup > Roles and Permissions.
See Also: How to Setup Meal Types and How to Configure the Dinner Module
From the left Menu go to Config > Dinner > Dinner Menus.
This will take you to the Dinner Menu page where any pre existing Menus will be visible.
On this page you will need to press the Plus Icon in the top right hand corner of the Dinner Menus Panel to create a New Menu.
This will provide you with the Menu Details screen where you enter all of the relevant information.
Note: Please take holidays into account when setting the dates for your menu. If you have a Dinner Menu rotation in place, the rotation will continue during holidays. So, for example if you have a 3 week rotation and the last week prior to a holiday was a Week 3, then you had a 2 week break, the week you return would be another Week 3. For this reason, we would recommend that most schools set the Menu to end prior to the holiday, and then begin a new Menu when the Students return.
In my example, I have created a Menu for the 21/22 Academic Year which is only visible to Year Groups 7-11.
My Menu has a 2 Week Cycle, which means there are 2 separate Weeks where the choices are different and they rotate each Week.
For example;
- Week 1 has Meal Choices 1-5, after Friday Week 1 it will switch to Monday Week 2
- Week 2 has Meal Choices 6-10, after Friday Week 2 it will switch back to Monday Week 1
At the bottom of the page, you will see that there are options for Download Template and Import Menu Items.
Pressing Download Template will provide you with a Template download where you can create and amend multiple Menu Items in one place then Import them.
Once you have this Template, you may need to add an additional row to the Table and then add the information under each Column for the Menu Item you want to create.
Note: It is crucial to not amend the Column Headings otherwise the Import will not work.
Once you have added the information to your Template and saved it, you can now press Import Menu Items and browse for the same Template.
Once the Template has been Imported, you will receive a Success Message.
Now if you check the Menu Items by pressing Next at the top of the page, the Items you created should be visible.
Regardless of if you have Imported Menu Items or want to add them manually, once you have added your Menu Details, press Next.
Pressing Next will take you to the Menu Item page where you can Select or manually Add Menu Items to be on your Menu.
If you wish to create a new Menu Item manually, press Add and this will allow you to create a new Meal Choice.
Once you have created a new Meal Choice for your Menu you can press Save.
Note: If you wish to add a Category like Vegan or Light Snack, you can add these via the Lookup Tables within Config > Administration > Lookup Tables > Dinner Food Option Category.
Here you can create new Categories which you can then select when you make a new Menu Item.
Going back to the Dinner Menu, once you have all of the Menu Items in place you need to Highlight/Tick the ones you want to use and press Next.
This will take you to the final page where you now determine which Menu Items are available on which Days and Weeks.
To do this, Hover on the space under one of the Weekdays until it turns blue then click on it. This will prompt you to add a Meal Choice.
In my example, I can now select which Meal Choices I want available for Monday Week 1.
Set Menu Items are given to all Students who make a Dinner booking on that day, regardless of the choice that they make. Click Add Choice if you would like to give the Students options to select from.
In the example below, when making a Dinner Booking, the Students would have to make a choice between a Cheese Sandwich or a Jacket Potato, and then a choice between Apple Pie and Chocolate Cake, and all Students who make a dinner booking will receive an Apple.
Continue until all of the Menu Days and Weeks have Meal Choices selected.
Finally, once you Mark the Menu as Complete you will receive a Success Message, as well as the ability to Publish the Menu on MCAS.
Note: The Start/End Date you selected when first creating the Menu will determine when the Menu will be visible on MCAS and for how long.
Now if you go back to Config > Dinner > Dinner Menus, the new Menu you have created will appear with a status of Complete.
The option to add Multiple Dinner Menus has been added. Where Menus overlap, they will be displayed in the Dinner Menu Clashes section. Clicking on the Pencil icon to the right will give the option to select or remove the Menus to be available for that Date.
The option to select from Multiple Menus will then be available in the MCAS Parent Portal.
This will also be reflected in the MCAS Parent App.
Note: Parents using the MCAS Parent App will need to download the latest version from the Google Play Store or the Apple Store to see the changes.
The option to link a Menu to Medical Conditions has been added. Only Students or Staff who have the selected Medical Conditions will be able to see the Menu.
Note: The Medical Conditions displayed in the dropdown list will be those created in the Lookup Tables.
