Unique Kitchen Equipment Solutions for School Food Program Success

The school lunchroom holds a special place in the hearts and minds of K-12 students. From Friday fish sticks and pizzas, to burgers and sloppy joes, to fruit Jell-O, students look forward to the fare served at school lunchrooms.

School nutrition programs are now more important than ever in providing students with healthy access to food. Because of this crucial role school food programs play, there are also combined challenges that schools face, including serving tasty, nutritious fare to an ever-increasing student body with minimum waste, all on a budget that seems to decrease every year.

Here are just a few examples of the commercial kitchen equipment that’s a perfect fit for K-12 school meal programs:

Combi Ovens

Alto-Shaam’s commercial combi ovens combine multiple cooking functions into a single appliance, allowing K-12 kitchen staff to provide expanded menu options with healthier alternatives to frying. These ovens do the work of a convection oven, kettle, steamer, fryer, smoker, and more.

Vector Multi-Cook Ovens

Vector® multi-cook ovens allow simultaneous, high-quality preparation of a wide variety of foods at once with no flavor transfer thanks to Alto-Shaam’s Structured Air Technology®. This innovation offers up to four ovens in one – each chamber with independent temperature, fan speed, and cook time control. With a single Vector F Series oven, K-12 kitchens can scratch cook twice as much food in half the amount of time as conventional cooking technology.

Combi-Vector Stacked Configuration

Alto-Shaam offers the ability to stack one of its Prodigi™ combi ovens over its revolutionary Vector multi-cook oven to create the Vector-Combi Stack, allowing school kitchens to maximize food production, efficiency, and versatility while minimizing required hood space.

School kitchens can create up to four or five distinct and separate cooking chambers within a single footprint with no flavor transfer, and less water and plumbing required. The Vector is available in either electric or gas. There are a wide variety of accessories available for the Vector Combi Stack, including pans, probes, cleaning supplies, stands, and more.

Heated Holding Cabinets

Serving hundreds of students every day is a complicated task, and many schools have multiple lunch periods. Thanks to Alto-Shaam’s Halo Heat® technology, keeping food hot until the moment it is served is a snap. Our heated holding cabinets feature controlled temperatures and a closed environment free from forced air and added humidity, keeping food safe, warm and flavorful for students. Plus, select models have earned the EPA's ENERGY STAR® certification, significantly saving on energy costs.

Heated Shelf Merchandisers

Alto-Shaam’s heated shelf merchandisers also use that same Halo Heat technology to proudly display today’s lunchroom choices while keeping food hot. They’re the perfect way to display even the most delicate food items, such as sandwiches, pastries, and burritos, keeping them moist and flavorful. With the increase of grab-and-go in K-12 school food programs, HSMs are a key staple to keep lines moving quickly and speed up service to allow students more time to eat.

QuickChiller™ Blast Chillers

Due to the number of students they need to serve, many school districts prepare food at a central commissary, transporting it to individual schools to be rethermalized and served. Others prepare it a day or days in advance. However you manage your school food program, Alto-Shaam’s QuickChiller™ Blast Chillers rapidly and uniformly decrease the temperature of hot foods well within HACCP and FDA requirements.

Implementing a K-12 Food Program with Alto-Shaam Kitchen Equipment

Building a school lunch program with Alto-Shaam cooking equipment offers a host of advantages over other brands. Alto-Shaam ovens can be pre-loaded with your school’s favorite recipes, lowering labor needs and simplifying kitchen operations. Food can be prepared in advance in the kitchen or at a central commissary, then rethermed as needed. Prepared foods can be kept in Alto-Shaam holding cabinets for immediate hot food service. That means quicker cafeteria lines while providing tasty, nutritious meals designed to fuel a day of learning.

Safely and efficiently serve students high-quality food with equipment solutions from Alto-Shaam. Whether you’re looking to deliver food to classrooms, replace old self-service options or implement a grab-and-go program, we’ve got the answers you need! Contact an expert today to find out more.