Cheat Sheet
Fill in the required fields:
Name
Base Measurement
Category
Allergens
Add conversions and packaging details
Add the Base Measurement (e.g., 100g).
Add Weight ↔ Volume Conversion (e.g., 1 tbsp = 15g).
Add the Smallest Custom Unit (e.g., a bottle = 1 gallon).
Create the Packaging Hierarchy (e.g., case of 6 bottles, crate of 10 cases).
Definitions
Items are the building blocks of Gaia. They represent food items you might physically find in a pantry and use as ingredients in a recipe. For example, an item could be raw flour or a frozen dinner roll. Items have a robust data model and audit trail that allows districts to see history and pull custom reports.
Item Details:
User Assigned ID: Specific code or ID used for internal reporting and tracking. Optional field in addition to system generated ID.
Name: The district's preferred format and convention for naming the item. Required.
Base Measurement: This is what is used for entering the initial nutrition information, typically the amount found on the item label or 100 grams. Required.
Manufacturer Details: Manufacturer name, parent brand, GTIN, UPC, and product code. Optional.
Category: Helps organize items into shopping list categories (e.g., Frozen, Dry Goods, Long Shelf Life). Required.
Allergens: Gaia is pre-loaded with the 9 main USDA allergens Dairy, Tree Nut, Egg, Shellfish, Sesame, Soy, Wheat, Fish, and Peanut. User must choose an allergen or select None or Unknown. Districts can show additional allergens by submitting a request. Required.
Special Diets: Gaia is pre-loaded with commonly tracked dietary requests such as Vegan, Vegetarian, Halal, Kosher and more. Districts can add more options by submitting a request. Optional.
Attributes: Compliance data relevant for menu analysis such as Whole Grain Rich or fruit / vegetable juice. Optional
Sample status: Items marked as samples will block publishing menus which contain these items. This is best used when trying out something new and have not yet identified manufacturer and vendor details. Optional
Documents: Relevant attachments such as child nutrition labels, product spec sheets, formulations statements, and other compliance documents. Optional
Nutrition:
Meal Components: Categories like Grain, Meat, and various Vegetable subcategories (e.g., Red/Orange, Dark Green), Fruit, and Milk.
Nutritional Information: Details about calories and nutrient composition.
Ingredient Statement: Detailed list of ingredients for processed or assembled items.
Units:
Conversions
Conversion are used to unlick different standard and custom measurements in relation to the base measurement. There are two types of conversions:
Weight ↔ Volume: examples include spices, fruits, vegetables, and oils. By specifying one weight to volume conversion, e.g., 1 tablespoon = 15 grams, all the volume and weight variations become available.
Custom Conversion: custom conversions have to be linked to a standard volume or weight measurement that is already active. Examples include each individually wrapped items (IW), serving units such as meatballs or tots, or container size for pantry staples.
Measurements:
Measurements are meaningful quantities or variations of the base measurement and relevant conversions, used to display nutrition facts for that specific measurement. For example, if you have added a USDA food such as canned beans, and it has a base measurement of 100 grams and conversion of 1/2 cup = 130 grams. However you typically build your recipes in ounces and want to easily calculate nutrition facts for 2 ounces.
Packaging
Packaging units are used to track multiple case sizes and inventory tracking units. Remember to create the smallest custom or packaging unit first before building the relationship between different units. For example, for a case of vinegar bottles: 1. Add base measurement (e.g., 100 g) 2. Add volume conversion (e.g., 1 tbsp = 15 g); 3. Add container (e.g., Bottle of 1 gallon); 4. Add case hierarchy (e.g., Case of 6 Bottles, Crate of 10 Cases, etc.).
Shopping Measurement
This is the preferred unit for inventory management and shopping. For example, for IW the shopping measurement is likely the same as the base unit (e.g., 1 each = 57 gram) while for a bulk raw ingredient such as rice it could be cups, pounds, or container.
Key Calculated Fields:
System ID: Unique code generated by Gaia that cannot be changed.
Status:
Draft: New and unpublished, not usable in recipes.
Published: Active and usable in recipes.
Archived: No longer usable in recipes.
Average Price: The average price of the base measurement using the unit price of all active vendor products.
Inventory on hand: Tracks all transactions including received orders, submitted PRs, discarded / damaged inventory, and any other manual or automated inventory transaction.
Related Objects
From the item page you can also view and manage related recipes, products, and inventory. These are covered in more details in the linked articles.
Recipes: List of every recipe or sub-recipe that uses this item as an ingredient, with a direct link to view the recipe details. Making updates to the item will automatically update related recipes and create a new version.
Products: List of the different purchasing options for this item, with the ability to edit and assign vendors, package size, pricing, and active order guides.
Inventory: List of the amount on hand for each school with the user's purview. E.g., a director may see a summary of all schools with a breakdown by school, while a single site manager will only be able to manage inventory for their own school.
Adding and Editing Items
New items can be added from the Pantry page or from the Quick Actions section in the Navigation bar. You can Add Item from the Child Nutrition Database or Gaia Catalog directly, or Create New Item if not found in the catalog.
From the item actions menu on the top right of the item page you can also
Duplicate items: You will have the option to copy some or all of the attributes such as nutrition facts, conversion, and attachments
Archive items: This will inactivate an item from main pantry and recipe book searches without removing the details from the platform. Archived items can be accessed through Custom Pantry Views.
Delete items: This will completely remove all records and history of the item from the Gaia platform.