While there is plenty of equipment that is specifically designed for serving meals in classrooms, you don’t necessarily need to go out of your way to purchase new equipment in order to do so. A great starting point is to review the equipment you already have on hand and see what you can repurpose for in-class meal serving. This is a cost effective method and also helps avoid long lead times. Here are a few tips when it comes to reviewing and repurposing your existing kitchen equipment.
Review your carts and repurpose them: You can convert salad bars to grab and go kiosks and even food storage carts. This is done by using the pans as shelves in your existing pan racks and using it as a transport cart for trays or bagged lunches. Utility carts can also be turned into a delivery system that allows you to carry meals in prepackaged containers or insulated carriers.
Think outside the box: Rolling ice caddies and mobile milk boxes can also be transformed to carry meals as well. Smaller refrigerators can be used for temporary meal storage, while your Ice cream freezers can keep milk or other beverages cold. You can also use Milk dollies to transport meals or supplies from classroom to classroom.
Mobilize: By adding casters to your stationary racks, shelving units or milk crates this allows you to use these products for meal transport. There is no need to go out of the way and purchase a grab-n-go rack when you can create one with the equipment you already have on hand!
Innovate with inexpensive items: This last method requires some creative thinking. Should you need a divider between lines, instead of purchasing a new plexiglass divider, you can hang a shower curtain and use that in place of. You can also utilize the dollies from maintenance and use them as a method for moving crates that are too heavy to carry.
At Cook’s we have a wide range of kitchen equipment and supplies available at all times. Should you need assistance in purchasing new equipment, our well trained foodservice professionals are happy to assist you.
