- About Non-Food Items
- Opening the Non-Food Items Screen
- Searching for and Opening a Non-Food Item
- Exporting Non-Food List to Excel® File
- Unpublishing/Publishing a Non-Food Item
- Changing the Display Name and Description of Non-Food Item
- Changing Stock Item Category for a Non-Food Item
- FAQs
About Non-Food Items
A non-food item is a non-edible item that does not contain any nutritional information, but can be used in a recipe. For example, utensils and napkins.
It also includes adaptive aides for persons with a limited ability to feed themselves, such as divided plate to keep food separated, or a weighted spoon to help eat soup. (To work with adaptive aides in the MealSuite system, see Adaptive Aides (Equipment) ).
Non-Food Items are "Generic"
The non-food items in the system are "generic" and are not specific brand products (i.e., vendor products).
"Behind the scenes" in the system, a non-food item is associated with one or more actual vendor products that are verified to match with the item (the same as food items). From a non-food item's associated vendor products, one is selected for that non-food item. The system will automatically select the vendor product for the item via its product-item selection logic.
However, if needed you can manually select a different product for the non-food item (as you can do with food items). As the logic is the same with food items, see the following articles for more information and instructions:
- Verified Vendor Products and the Selected Product for a Food Item
- Selecting Vendor Products for Food Items by Favouring
Opening the Non-Food Items Screen
Non-food items for use in your account are available from the Non-Foods screen via Menus & Recipes > Non-Food Listing.
Setting Columns on the Non-Food Items Screen
You can set the columns to display on the non-food items screen. To do so:
- Click the Set Columns button. The Set Columns pop-up appears.
- For the columns you want onscreen drag-and-drop them from the right side of the pop-up to the left side of the pop-up. For the columns you do not want onscreen, drag-and-drop them from the left side of the pop-up to the right side of the pop-up.
- You can determine the sort order of the columns displayed onscreen by clicking, holding, and dragging a column to it desired spot in the column list.
- Click Apply to apply your changes and close the pop-up.
Searching for and Opening a Non-Food Item
On the Non-Food items screen (Menus & Recipes > Non-Food Listing), you can search for a non-food item via the Search field at the top right. You can also search for non-food items by using the filter controls, which display items that match your search criteria.
Clicking the Look Up Name of a non-food item opens the slide-out panel for the non-food item, where the information about the non-food item is displayed.
Exporting Non-Food List to Excel® File
The non-food list displayed onscreen can be exported to an Excel® file. To do so, click the Export button at the top left of the screen (first screenshot below). When the file is ready, click the Download button to the message that appears (second screenshot below).
Unpublishing/Publishing a Non-Food Item
By default, a non-food item is published in the system, which means it is available for use in your account and any child accounts.
Unpublishing a Non-Food Item
You can unpublish a non-food item if needed. To do so:
- Search for and open the non-food item.
- At the top right, click the Unpublish button to change it to Publish.
- The non-food item is now unpublished.
Republishing a Non-Food Item
To republish an unpublished non-food item, complete the following steps:
- Search for and open the non-food item.
- At the top right, click the Publish button to change it to Unpublish.
- The non-food item is now published.
Changing the Display Name and Description of Non-Food Item
When you open a non-food item, its Display Name and Description can be edited. Upon making any changes, click the Save button to apply your changes.
When the default display name or default description has been changed, a "Revert to Default" button exists beside the field for that item. Clicking the button resets to the default name or description for that item.
Changing Stock Item Category for a Non-Food Item
When you open a non-food item, its stock item category can be changed via the Stock Item Category field (indicated below). Upon making any changes, click the Save button to apply your changes.
When the default stock item category for an item has been changed, a "Revert to Default" button exists beside the Stock Item Category field for that item. Clicking the button resets to the default stock item category for that item.
FAQs
A non-food item is not available in the Non-Foods Listing screen/database?
If you do not see a non-food item, then you can put in a request to MealSuite to add the non-food item to the system.
Click here to open the request form and enter the necessary details. For Type, select Non-Food, as per screenshot below. Click Submit when done.