Introducing School Food United

Parents and pupils lead busy lives. As the demand for user-friendly online services rises, Sodexo has worked alongside Alliance in Partnership group to develop and launch School Food United (SFU).

This menu pre-order and payment platform offers convenient meal ordering and payment service to busy families on the go. It ensures our pupils get to eat their choice of lunch every single day. For schools, it reduces admin, improves kitchen efficiency, cuts the need for cash on site, reduces food waste and supports social distancing measures.

Feedback from the early stages of the roll out showed a sales increase ranged between 14% and 22%, with 100% of parents choosing to order meals via SFU.

Positive comments from schools included: ‘It’s a great system, easy to use’, and one school involved in the initial pilot in December 2020 reported an increase of 400 meals in week one.

The uptake of free school meals also rose, ensuring more young people benefitted from a daily hot nutritious lunch.

School Food United’s benefits are good for you:

SFU takes your school ordering service into the digital age, offering parents and pupils:

On-the-go ordering, anytime, anywhere. SFU is available on any digital device
A direct link to the on-site Sodexo catering team and all meals on offer
Colour coded menus that make it easy to view and choose favourite dishes, guaranteeing every pupil their choice each day
An alternative payment method to cash and a contactless service, giving a more hygienic solution
A dedicated customer service resource for parents to resolve queries efficiently
Direct regular communication with parents via email, sharing menu updates, theme days and exciting offers, and encouraging a two-way dialogue to gain feedback to improve our service
Theme day menus to help engage the children and encourage them to try new foods
The ability to top up the account, and have multiple children on one account
Special functionality to flag special dietary requirements and allergens, meaning a safer environment.

Working alongside you, Sodexo can leverage the School Food United platform to build trust with parents and ensure that in partnership, we prepare and deliver fresh food and informed menus based on what pupils, and parents, really want.

This short animation shows just how easy the School Food United order and payment process is for parent

Find out more about Sodexo Schools