As part of the Activity section of brightwheel, you can create custom menu items for tracking purposes! This resource will walk you through how to create custom items, enable/disable menu items in rooms, and touch on reporting options as well.
Assign Student Meal Type
Before logging a meal, assign each student a Meal Type within the "School Details" Panel on the student profile. Options are Not Specified, Free, Reduced, or Paid. Meal Types will appear next to student data on the Meal Report.
Logging Food Activities on the App
If logging in as an Administrator or Manager, tap Rooms. If logging in as a Lead Staff or Staff member, use the rooms drop-down at the top of the page to open the correct room.
💡Be sure the student is checked into the room you are logging a meal in to ensure records appear on the Meal Report
Once in the appropriate room, tap Add Activity
Select Food
Select an individual, some, or all of the students
Adjust the Time as needed
Tap Food or Bottle
If tapping Food, tap All, Most, Some, or None to reflect how much of the meal was consumed
If tapping Bottle, input the ounces drank
Select the Type of Meal (Breakfast, AM Snack, Lunch, PM Snack, Dinner, Late Snack)
Tap the + next to 'Meal Items' to add custom tags or pre-populated meal items for the food you serve
Check the 'Staff Only' box as needed
Add an optional note or attach a photo
Click Add Activity when finished
Logging Food Activities on the Web
Click to expand My School
Activities can be logged from the room, or an individual student feed
If adding from the room feed, click the Room tab > select a room
If adding directly from the student profile > click the Feed tab
Click the + Add Activity button
Select Food
Use the Student field to select an individual, some, or all students
Adjust the Time as needed
Tap Food or Bottle
If tapping Food, tap All, Most, Some, or None to reflect how much of the meal was consumed
If tapping Bottle, input the ounces drank
Select the Type of Meal (Breakfast, AM Snack, Lunch, PM Snack, Dinner, Late Snack)
Select 'Meal Items' to add custom tags or pre-populated meal items for the food you serve
Add an optional note or attach a photo
Choose whether to check the Staff Only box or not
💡This is not selected by default and is up to each program what activities should or shouldn't be shared to the student's feed. Learn more about this option here.When ready, click Add Food
Quick-Add Meal Items From Menus
Any staff member assigned to a given Room can add easily add pre-populated meal items from the menus you've created in brightwheel. This also ensures children's meal items are accurately tracked for CACFP reporting.
To add pre-populated meal items, staff can simply tap the Quick add [meal name] items for today button shown below when they are logging a food activity for their Room.
Manage Custom Menu Items
Admins and Staff can add, edit, and delete custom food items from brightwheel on a web browser. In addition, custom food items can be added within the brightwheel app when logging a food activity.
🚩 Custom food items cannot be edited or deleted within the brightwheel app. This can only be done on the web.
Manage Custom Menu Items on the Web
Log into brightwheel on a web browser
Navigate to My School > Menu on the left sidebar
Toggle at the top of the page to Food items
Use the filters to search or narrow down your food item list
Hit Edit next to a food item to change the name or food category
Hit Delete next to a food item to remove it from your program
To add a new food item, hit Add food item in the upper right corner
Add Custom Menu Items on the App
If logging in as an Administrator or Manager, tap Rooms. If logging in as a Lead Staff or Staff member, use the rooms drop-down at the top of the page to open the correct room.
Once in the appropriate room, tap Add Activity
Select Food
Select an individual, some, or all of the students
Click Next
Tap the + next to 'Meal Items'
Click the Edit option in the top right corner
Use the search bar and type in your new food item
Tap the green Add 'FOOD' button
Once added, this food item will permanently be in your system to select
Enable/Disable Menu Items in Rooms
Once you have created custom menu items, you can enable or disable them by room within the brightwheel app! The process is very similar to adding a new item. Here's how:
If logging in as an Administrator or Manager, tap Rooms. If logging in as a Lead Staff or Staff member, use the rooms drop-down at the top of the page to open the correct room.
Once in the appropriate room, tap Add Activity
Tap Food
Select an individual, some, or all of the students
Tap the + next to 'Meal Items'
Tap the Edit option in the top right corner
Tap the + to Room option to add the food item to the room or the ✓ In Room to disable the item
This feature allows the menu in each room to be customized depending on the room but still standardized throughout your organization!
Reporting
Admins and Managers can easily pull reporting on planned menus and meals served at your program from your account on the web. Learn more about our Meal Report and our Menu Report.
These reports are a great resource when you need to collect necessary data to ensure that your school or center complies with the CACFP (Child and Adult Care Food Program) federal program that provides reimbursement for healthful meals and snacks served to children and adults.