{"id":126065,"date":"2020-05-06T13:53:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-06T12:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iris.co.uk\/?post_type=blog&#038;p=126065"},"modified":"2022-07-07T13:10:01","modified_gmt":"2022-07-07T12:10:01","slug":"cashless-canteens-whats-on-the-menu-for-schools-2","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.iris.co.uk\/blog\/education\/cashless-canteens-whats-on-the-menu-for-schools-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Cashless canteens: What\u2019s on the menu for schools?"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.is-small-text{font-size:.875em}.is-regular-text{font-size:1em}.is-large-text{font-size:2.25em}.is-larger-text{font-size:3em}.has-drop-cap:not(:focus):first-letter{float:left;font-size:8.4em;font-style:normal;font-weight:100;line-height:.68;margin:.05em .1em 0 0;text-transform:uppercase}body.rtl .has-drop-cap:not(:focus):first-letter{float:none;margin-left:.1em}p.has-drop-cap.has-background{overflow:hidden}:root :where(p.has-background){padding:1.25em 2.375em}:where(p.has-text-color:not(.has-link-color)) a{color:inherit}p.has-text-align-left[style*=\"writing-mode:vertical-lr\"],p.has-text-align-right[style*=\"writing-mode:vertical-rl\"]{rotate:180deg}<\/style>\n<p>What kind of experience&nbsp;are you&nbsp;serving up&nbsp;at lunchtime? The trials and tribulations of cash on school grounds&nbsp;are well known. Cash&nbsp;in the canteen, however,&nbsp;results&nbsp;in a&nbsp;huge&nbsp;number of&nbsp;issues,&nbsp;many of which you may not have considered.<\/p><p>The benefits of online payments are being realised by more schools than ever.&nbsp;When it comes to school meals, eliminating cash promises to improve security,&nbsp;hygiene, efficiency and more. Here\u2019s why&#8230;&nbsp;<\/p><style>h1.has-background,h2.has-background,h3.has-background,h4.has-background,h5.has-background,h6.has-background{padding:1.25em 2.375em}h1.has-text-align-left[style*=writing-mode]:where([style*=vertical-lr]),h1.has-text-align-right[style*=writing-mode]:where([style*=vertical-rl]),h2.has-text-align-left[style*=writing-mode]:where([style*=vertical-lr]),h2.has-text-align-right[style*=writing-mode]:where([style*=vertical-rl]),h3.has-text-align-left[style*=writing-mode]:where([style*=vertical-lr]),h3.has-text-align-right[style*=writing-mode]:where([style*=vertical-rl]),h4.has-text-align-left[style*=writing-mode]:where([style*=vertical-lr]),h4.has-text-align-right[style*=writing-mode]:where([style*=vertical-rl]),h5.has-text-align-left[style*=writing-mode]:where([style*=vertical-lr]),h5.has-text-align-right[style*=writing-mode]:where([style*=vertical-rl]),h6.has-text-align-left[style*=writing-mode]:where([style*=vertical-lr]),h6.has-text-align-right[style*=writing-mode]:where([style*=vertical-rl]){rotate:180deg}<\/style>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Allergies&nbsp;and safety in the canteen<\/h2><p>Schools can\u2019t afford to put the health and safety of any child at risk. Unfortunately, food allergies are incredibly dangerous; anaphylactic shock is a very real threat for children,&nbsp;one which&nbsp;schools&nbsp;need to&nbsp;be vigilant of&nbsp;at every turn.&nbsp;<\/p><p>&nbsp;It is unrealistic to&nbsp;expect students to be conscientious of every menu option&nbsp;at lunch time; this is particularly true when it comes to young children.&nbsp;However, avoiding allergens is practically impossible for schools, too. While you can\u2019t eliminate&nbsp;the allergies themselves, you can tackle the issue at its\u2019 root,&nbsp;before children&nbsp;even step&nbsp;foot in&nbsp;the&nbsp;canteen.&nbsp;<\/p><p>An online payments system enables schools to share menus with parents in advance; parents read the menu, make selections&nbsp;on behalf of their child and pay upfront. An online system&nbsp;ultimately alleviates&nbsp;students of the responsibility of&nbsp;monitoring every menu option, providing peace of mind for all involved.&nbsp;<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Canteen health and hygiene&nbsp;<\/h2><p>Cash and germs go hand in hand,&nbsp;in more ways than one. The money&nbsp;we handle is a breeding ground for bacteria; in fact, in a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.londonmet.ac.uk\/news\/articles\/cash-contains-potentially-life-threatening-bacteria-new-tests-find\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">controlled study<\/a>, London Metropolitan&nbsp;University found 19 strains of bacteria living on a range of British bank notes and coins.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><p>We\u2019ve all heard the rumours of drug contamination on cash&nbsp;and, unfortunately, these rumours have been found to be true. Class A drug residue is&nbsp;present&nbsp;on over&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/uk\/2002\/nov\/10\/drugsandalcohol.ukcrime\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">three quarters of paper banknotes<\/a>. Due to&nbsp;the&nbsp;prevalence and risk of drug contamination, over \u00a315 million is destroyed every year to eliminate notes from circulation.&nbsp;<\/p><p>The risk of contamination in your school canteen as a direct result of cash is high.&nbsp;Any opportunity to reduce cash on school grounds is preferable;&nbsp;in the canteen, it is&nbsp;vital for the safety of students.&nbsp;<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">No more waiting around&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/h2><p>How long do&nbsp;students stand in queues&nbsp;waiting to be served lunch,&nbsp;every day?&nbsp;With many schools&nbsp;opting&nbsp;to shorten breaks&nbsp;in order to&nbsp;extend lessons, students need to be served and seated quickly&nbsp;to ensure they benefit from a much-needed break.&nbsp;<\/p><p>Handling cash at the till can be time-consuming. Not only do online payments speed up the exchange, but most cashless systems (including +Pay!) offer meal selection functionality, too. With menu data collected early,&nbsp;kitchen staff&nbsp;can&nbsp;prepare the right&nbsp;quantities&nbsp;of each dish, reducing waste and ensuring every student receives their preferred option.&nbsp;<\/p><p>Collecting, counting and banking cash is an inconvenient task&nbsp;which&nbsp;many time-strapped&nbsp;teams can ill-afford. Online payments streamline reconciliation and finance processes, improving efficiencies&nbsp;whilst&nbsp;vastly reducing security issues or chance of human error.&nbsp;<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Parent arrears, debt&nbsp;and payments<\/h2><p>The expectation&nbsp;for&nbsp;every&nbsp;parent&nbsp;to&nbsp;send their child to school with&nbsp;lunch money&nbsp;is about as&nbsp;practical&nbsp;as&nbsp;hoping for a&nbsp;paper&nbsp;newsletter&nbsp;to&nbsp;make its way to parent hands;&nbsp;that is to say,&nbsp;very&nbsp;impractical&nbsp;indeed.&nbsp;<\/p><p>Dinner money debt is an&nbsp;increasing&nbsp;issue&nbsp;for many schools;&nbsp;it\u2019s also&nbsp;one which is unlikely to improve while schools fail to&nbsp;take action. Providing a quick and easy way to top up lunch money is the only way to meet the issue head on. Unless your processes meet the needs of&nbsp;modern&nbsp;families, your school&nbsp;will&nbsp;continue&nbsp;to&nbsp;shoulder&nbsp;the financial burden of&nbsp;parent&nbsp;arrears.&nbsp;<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Safety and security in the canteen<\/h2><p>Sadly, for many children, lunch times are&nbsp;a huge&nbsp;source of anxiety. The stigma around free school meals remains prevalent&nbsp;today. In fact,&nbsp;many students&nbsp;claiming FSM admit that&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/cpag.org.uk\/sites\/default\/files\/Going%20Hungry%20young%20peoples%20experiences%20of%20Free%20School%20Meals.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">they\u2019d rather&nbsp;go hungry<\/a>&nbsp;than be seen to be claiming&nbsp;a&nbsp;free meal.&nbsp;<\/p><p>Creating a supportive&nbsp;environment in which all students feel safe to enjoy&nbsp;their&nbsp;lunch is the responsibility of your school. Online payments provide every student with the same experience&nbsp;at the till;&nbsp;no money&nbsp;is exchanged,&nbsp;making&nbsp;the process discreet for those claiming free school meals.&nbsp;<\/p><script src=\"https:\/\/fast.wistia.com\/embed\/medias\/cid60r7jww.jsonp\" async=\"\"><\/script><script src=\"https:\/\/fast.wistia.com\/assets\/external\/E-v1.js\" async=\"\"><\/script><div class=\"wistia_responsive_padding\" style=\"padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;\"><div class=\"wistia_responsive_wrapper\" style=\"height:100%;left:0;position:absolute;top:0;width:100%;\"><div class=\"wistia_embed wistia_async_cid60r7jww videoFoam=true\" style=\"height:100%;position:relative;width:100%\"><div class=\"wistia_swatch\" style=\"height:100%;left:0;opacity:0;overflow:hidden;position:absolute;top:0;transition:opacity 200ms;width:100%;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fast.wistia.com\/embed\/medias\/cid60r7jww\/swatch\" style=\"filter:blur(5px);height:100%;object-fit:contain;width:100%;\" alt=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\" onload=\"this.parentNode.style.opacity=1;\" title=\"\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Food for thought&nbsp;<\/h2><p>We\u2019re on a mission to&nbsp;showcase the benefits of online payments to&nbsp;UK&nbsp;schools.&nbsp;Following the COVID-19 pandemic&nbsp;and the end to closures, school life will be different; now is the time to investigate practical steps towards&nbsp;ensuring the health&nbsp;and safety&nbsp;of your school community.&nbsp;Going cashless in your canteen is a step in the right direction.<\/p><p>+Pay provides a contactless, convenient way for parents to top up lunch money. Our free mobile app and desktop portal offers flexible payment options to suit all parents. Free low balance reminders, advance bookings functionality and integration with cashless catering providers make +Pay a favourite with schools and parents.&nbsp;We\u2019re ready to support you on the road to a cashless environment; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iris.co.uk\/education\/engagement-suite\/iris-parentmail\/\">get in touch<\/a> to find out more.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What kind of experience&nbsp;are you&nbsp;serving up&nbsp;at lunchtime? The trials and tribulations of cash on school grounds&nbsp;are well known. Cash&nbsp;in the canteen, however,&nbsp;results&nbsp;in a&nbsp;huge&nbsp;number of&nbsp;issues,&nbsp;many of which you may not have&#8230;","protected":false},"author":169,"featured_media":126079,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"BlogArticle.sectorIds":[],"BlogArticle.productIds":[],"BlogArticle.businessTypeIds":0,"BlogArticle.snippetImageId":0,"BlogArticle.featured":[],"BlogArticle.post":"","BusinessSize.sectorId":0,"BusinessSize.qualifier":"","BusinessSize.post":"","BusinessType.sectorId":0,"BusinessType.iconId":0,"BusinessType.post":"","CaseStudy.companyName":"","CaseStudy.sectorIds":[],"CaseStudy.productIds":[],"CaseStudy.pdfId":0,"CaseStudy.snippetImageId":0,"CaseStudy.post":"","Faq.productIds":[],"Faq.post":"","HRPartner.post":"","Industry.formButton":"","Industry.formButtonTitle":"","Industry.formButtonClass":"","Industry.button1":"","Industry.button1class":"","Industry.button2":"","Industry.button2class":"","Industry.thumbId":0,"Industry.iconId":0,"Industry.intro":"","Industry.quote":"","Industry.quoteName":"","Industry.post":"","InsightArticle.thumbId":0,"InsightArticle.productIds":[],"InsightArticle.videoUrl":"","InsightArticle.featured":0,"InsightArticle.post":"","KnowledgeBase.problem":"","KnowledgeBase.productIds":[],"KnowledgeBase.sectorIds":[],"KnowledgeBase.post":"","NewsArticle.productIds":[],"NewsArticle.snippetImageId":0,"NewsArticle.featured":0,"NewsArticle.post":"","Office.latlng":"","Office.address1":"","Office.address2":"","Office.address3":"","Office.address4":"","Office.postcode":"","Office.post":"","Product.formButton":"","Product.formButtonTitle":"","Product.button1":"","Product.button1class":"","Product.button2":"","Product.button2class":"","Product.sectorIds":[],"Product.businessTypeIds":[],"Product.businessSizeIds":[],"Product.businessRoleIds":[],"Product.suiteIds":[],"Product.demoFormId":0,"Product.demoFormButtonText":"","Product.videoUrl":"","Product.dataTitle":"","Product.customUrl":"","Product.introImage":0,"Product.intro":"","Product.logoId":0,"Product.telephoneNumber":"","Product.supportOnly":"","Product.hideOnAll":"","Product.productCode":"","Product.legacyTitle":"","Product.ioslink":"","Product.androidlink":"","Product.post":"","ProductNewsArticle.sectorIds":[],"ProductNewsArticle.productIds":[],"ProductNewsArticle.snippetImageId":0,"ProductNewsArticle.featured":0,"ProductNewsArticle.post":"","QualifyingAnswer.sectorIds":[],"QualifyingAnswer.productIds":[],"QualifyingAnswer.post":"","Sector.formButton":"","Sector.formButtonTitle":"","Sector.formButtonClass":"","Sector.button1":"","Sector.button1class":"","Sector.button2":"","Sector.button2class":"","Sector.thumbId":0,"Sector.iconId":0,"Sector.intro":"","Sector.quote":"","Sector.quoteName":"","Sector.post":"","StaffMember.photoId":0,"StaffMember.role":"","StaffMember.linkedIn":"","StaffMember.post":"","Suite.sectorIds":[],"Suite.businessTypeIds":[],"Suite.businessSizeIds":[],"Suite.businessRoleIds":[],"Suite.intro":"","Suite.logoId":0,"Suite.post":"","Support.post":"","Testimonial.t_quote":"","Testimonial.t_author":"","Testimonial.t_job":"","Testimonial.post":"","Webinar.startsAt":"","Webinar.duration":0,"Webinar.registrationLink":"","Webinar.snippetImageId":0,"Webinar.videoUrl":"","Webinar.sectorIds":[],"Webinar.productIds":[],"Webinar.post":"","WhitePaper.sectorIds":[],"WhitePaper.productIds":[],"WhitePaper.snippetImageId":0,"WhitePaper.downloadFormId":0,"WhitePaper.noscriptUrl":"","WhitePaper.post":"","content-type":"","rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"iris_sector":[1753],"class_list":["post-126065","blog","type-blog","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","iris_sector-education"],"acf":[],"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.iris.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Cashless-canteens-810-x-430-Blog-Popup-PM.png","coauthors":[],"author_meta":{"author_link":"https:\/\/www.iris.co.uk\/author\/toby-lester\/","display_name":"Toby 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