Back to school season is right around the corner, and with that comes school cafeteria lunches. Delivering an outstanding school and daycare meal service experience is incredibly important. Foodservice operations such as K-12 cafeterias need reliable and sturdy trays that can help feed many people in one day. Consider the key points and options below to select the school lunch cafeteria tray that will best suit your needs.
Tray compartment depth:
The depth of the trays is an important factor to consider when shopping serving trays, trays with extra deep compartments include a deep-dish design for generous portions, recommended for serving larger quantities of food as it easily accommodate large entrees, ideal to use when serving older children.
Number of compartments needed:
Cook’s carries a wide variety of trays that feature compartments in different colors, sizes, and configurations, finding the ideal one for your application should be easy. The compartments on the trays are great for holding cups, side dishes like salads, bread, pastas, or vegetables. Some trays come with a few sections while others come with many sections of varying sizes to suit your serving needs.
• The 3-Compartment trays and 4-Compartment trays are recommended when the food options are limited or keeping portions to one entrée and two sides is the goal, the difference between both is that the 4-compartment one includes a spot for utensils to sit.
• 5-Compartment trays are a great option for school cafeterias, they are engineered for little hands and big appetites. The easy grip handles make balancing these trays easy for low coordination users, while they are stain-resistant, ensuring minimal wear and tear visibility.
• 6-Compartment trays feature a combination of three smaller upper compartments, two larger lower compartments, and a flatware holder on the right side hold a standard government "Type A" lunch. With five compartments and a utensil slot for easy pre-organizing, these are incredibly versatile beyond schools, also working in industries such as hospitals and correctional facilities.
• This 8-Compartment trapezoid shaped tray features large, deep compartments to minimize spills. The entrée compartment holds 15 oz. and there is also a built in 12 oz. bowl, a cup holder and flatware slot.
Tray Style:
• Cafeteria Style trays are perfect for everyday use in schools offering self-service. Its large surface area allows the users to hold a plate of food, sides, utensils, and drinks all on one convenient tray, making it effortless to carry full meals from check-out lines to tables.
• Trapezoid trays can come with compartments or without compartments, their distinctive trapezoid shape works by allowing the placing of multiple trays around crowded dining table comfortably.
Meal Delivery/Transportability:
If meal delivery is a practice that your facility takes part of, or if you want to offer users the ability to transport their meals outside the cafeteria area effortlessly, these options could work for you:
• Meal Delivery Trays have an optional meal delivery insert tray lid that is sold separately. This lid features an easy snap on and snap off design for opening and closure.
• MyGo Containers are an excellent alternative If keeping track of the tray and the lid is not a task that you are up to. They combine the functionality of separated compartments featured in trays, with the transportability of the lid and tray combo all in one single container.
