The way young people interact with the food service industry is changing. Children are becoming more savvy, confident consumers and are voting with their digital wallets for the tech-forward services they value. Schools must keep updated with these changing food trends to keep students returning to the dining hall and increase the uptake of healthy school meals.
Nearly a third of British children use food delivery platforms every week, and GoHenry reported that their 6 to 18-year-old customers spent £7.85 million on the top three food delivery apps in 2023, presenting a new challenge for schools and caterers.
Students have made headlines by ordering fast-food deliveries to their school canteens. Meanwhile, stopping pupils from sneaking away to their favourite food outlets at lunchtime remains a concern for many schools. Students know what they want regarding both their food choices and empowering purchasing experiences.
Can schools tackle this issue more productively by embracing students’ meal-ordering preferences?
Bring a modern meal-ordering experience to your school dining hall
Schools now have an exciting opportunity to raise the bar for on-site food services by introducing innovative new technology to their dining halls. CRB Cunninghams’ Self-Serve Kiosks enable students to quickly purchase packaged items or order food and drinks for collection independently, using an intuitive touchscreen interface in the dining hall.
A smooth, modern ordering experience with self-serve technology
Students simply tap their ID card or scan their fingerprint at the Self-Serve Kiosk to start their transaction. They can scan the barcode of any pre-packaged items or browse the intuitive touchscreen menu to select their meal. Students can see their selections and the total cost on-screen, so when ready, they just tap to check out. The total is instantly deducted from their Fusion Cashless account, and the kiosk prints their receipt. Order details are sent to the kitchen to be prepared for collection, and transactions are recorded in the school’s Fusion system.
Self-Serve Kiosks compete with popular out-of-school food service models
Modern students are well-informed consumers; they know and love the services popular restaurants and food delivery apps offer. Schools can capitalise on this enthusiasm by implementing the same service model in their dining halls.
Like self-ordering systems at their favourite fast-food chains, interactive kiosks for school canteens present an easy-to-use interface with helpful item images, dietary information and transparent pricing. The kiosks’ integration with Fusion Cashless means the checkout process is quicker than some out-of-school versions, which require customers to make chip and pin payments.
The final part of this innovative school food service model is Fusion Online, the kiosks’ mobile pre-ordering counterpart. Like familiar food delivery apps, Fusion Online lets students order school meals directly from their mobile phones, placing orders in advance to collect at break or lunchtime.
Self-Serve Kiosks in schools give students agency
The benefits of self-serve kiosks for schools go far beyond their familiarity. They also give students a true sense of autonomy by giving them more control over how and when they can purchase meals and what they eat.
Self-serve technology in school dining halls speeds up the meal purchasing process by adding extra service points without increasing the demand on catering staff. In particular, using kiosks as self-service checkouts for grab-and-go items can save students from standing in long cafeteria queues, helping them better manage their busy schedules.
Students also have more confidence in their purchases when using a kiosk. A 2023 survey of US consumers found that 67% of Gen Z (13 to 28-year-olds) prefer ordering from a restaurant kiosk to placing their order with an employee, and their top-rated benefits of digital kiosks were:
- Enjoying building their own order
- Finding it easy to navigate the interface
- Feeling like they have more time to browse the menu
Self-service kiosks give users time to consider their options and potentially customise items without the perceived social pressures of interacting face-to-face with a till operator at the front of a long queue. The ability to independently browse a menu and visually check nutritional information, ingredients, allergens and prices at their own pace creates a more relaxed and enjoyable meal-ordering experience than students might have at a traditional service counter.
Students expect to use technology when ordering meals
The current generation of teenagers and young adults are native users of the latest consumer technology. Secondary school children are not only comfortable using technology; their out-of-school experiences mean they expect it and value the speed and convenience that it affords them.
Growing up in this technological era, school-aged children don’t share older generations’ concerns about technology feeling cold or inhuman. Self-serve technology in school dining halls saves students time in their busy schedules. One of the most significant benefits of digital kiosks in schools is that they free students from standing in long cafeteria queues, helping them enjoy their lunch breaks, eat and socialise with friends in a relaxed environment.
