How Adams 12 Five Star Schools Transformed School Lunch with SchoolCafé
Updated: Oct 13
We hear it time and time again: “We’re looking for school nutrition systems that speak to one another.”
School nutrition professionals yearn for efficiency—for an all-in-one solution that connects Menu Planning, Production, Inventory, and more. After years of disjointed operations, Adams 12 Five Star Schools was just one of many districts ready to make the switch to transform school lunch.
Transforming School Lunch With SchoolCafé
Previously, Adams 12 was using paper production records and disconnected POS, finance, and warehousing modules. After receiving a bond for a new central kitchen/warehouse, they knew they could not scale operations with their existing software. In 2024, they went out for RFP, and SchoolCafé won them over with its all-in-one cloud-based approach and willingness to grow alongside such a large district.
With major change comes a learning curve—but Adams 12 wasn’t alone during the SchoolCafé implementation process. Our Customer Success team crafted personalized training for Adams 12 staff. We always want to meet our customers where they’re at; before on-site training took place, our team met virtually with Adams 12 to review training materials, so instruction was tailored to their specific needs.
Customer Success Manager Jaime Lawrence led on-site training and used real-world applications to demonstrate the product in action.
“Part of her training was, ‘Okay, it’s a requirement that you guys have two fruits. You planned these two fruits for the day. What happens when the truck backs up, and they don’t have those? How do you fix that?’” Director of Nutrition Services Sarah Grunow said.
During the implementation process, Adams 12 noticed a few features just weren’t compatible with their daily operations. So, Customer Success met with Adams 12 to adapt our software features to meet their needs—and they were able to start the school year with the tools they needed for success.
“SchoolCafé has been so incredible with us picking up the phone and being like, ‘Okay, on paper, XY&Z sounds really great, but when we multiply that by 49 service locations, here’s what we’re struggling with,’” Grunow said. “And that has really allowed us to, one, experience our own growing pains, but also work with SchoolCafé to really customize our end user experience.”
After implementation, it didn’t take long for Adams 12 to feel the transformation—specifically in production.
With SchoolCafé, their float managers could review planned production records remotely, rather than walking into a shift blind. Waste tracking was easier because managers could quickly pull historical data on actual versus planned quantities and prepare accordingly. Color-coded production calendars allowed the central office team to quickly view kitchen performance and compliance at a glance. Finally, SchoolCafé enabled them to generate preschool-specific menus and streamlined the process of running dual programs from a single kitchen.
SchoolCafé didn’t just transform the lives of Adams 12 nutrition professionals but families as well. Previously, Adams 12 hosted their online menus and payment portal on two separate platforms. With SchoolCafé’s Family Hub, they consolidated menus and payments into a single platform, improving user experience and bridging the gap between home and school.
Our job isn’t complete just because the implementation process is. Our Customer Care team is there to troubleshoot and provide support however they can. So, when Adams 12 encountered software issues, Customer Care Specialist Chris Rios was just a call away.
“He’s best friends with our team at this point,” Grunow said. “We have never gone to him with a question, concern, or ask, and it not be the most welcoming, kind, responsive meeting. We can call him at the drop of a dime and say, ‘Oh my gosh, XY&Z is happening,’ and it feels like he drops everything to help us.”
Two years later, Adams 12 is running a high-performing nutrition operation fueled by passion—and SchoolCafé! Grunow and her team are excited to scale operations with the rollout of their new central kitchen/warehouse, and even more excited to explore SchoolCafé’s Insights module to boost program participation.
Interested in discovering what SchoolCafé can do for your nutrition program? Schedule a software demo today!