- About Item-Selection Logic for the Non-Select Service Type
- "Serve Choice 1 Items First" Method
- "Serve Full Choices Paired Together" Method
About Item-Selection Logic for the Non-Select Service Type
There are two item-selection logic methods in the system that can be applied to the non-select service type:
- Serve Choice 1 Items First - The objective of the system is to serve a meal consisting of all choice 1 items in the menu categories. If a choice 1 item in a menu category is DNS due to an allergen or being manually marked as DNS, and there is no other choice 1 item in the menu category, then the system will look at serving items from the choice 2 selection in the menu category.
- Serve Full Choice Paired Together (default) - The objective of the system is to serve a full choice meal, as this allows a meal with items that complement each other. A full choice meal consists of all items from the same choice selection (i.e., all items in choice 1 equal a full choice meal; all items in choice 2 equal a full choice meal, etc.). See "Serve Full Choices Paired Together" Method below.
Setting the Item-Selection Method for the Non-Select Service Type
To set your item selection method for the non-select service type:
- Select Tools & Setup > Manage Facility. The Manage Facility screen appears.
- Click the Menu Service Location tab.
- Select your item selection method:
- Serve Choice 1 Items First
-
Serve Full Choices Paired Together (default)
Depending on your selection, see the appropriate topic below to understand the item selection logic on how an item is served:
"Serve Choice 1 Items First" Method
About the "Serve Choice 1 Items First" Method
When you select the Serve Choice 1 Items First method for the non-select service type (as per above instructions), the automatic selection logic to determine what is served is as follows:
- Step 1 - System Attempts to Serve Choice 1 Items
- Step 2 - If Appropriate Item Cannot be Found in Menu Category
- Step 3 - If Appropriate Item Cannot be Found in AA Menu
Step 1 - System Attempts to Serve Choice 1 Items
The objective of the system is to serve a meal consisting of all choice 1 items in the menu categories. If a choice 1 item in a menu category is DNS due to an allergen or being manually marked as DNS, and there is no other choice 1 item in the menu category, then the system will look at serving items from the choice 2 selection in the menu category.
For example, assume a resident has a wheat allergy. The system will serve the choice 1 items of Chicken Picatta in the Entrée category and Green Beans in the Vegetable category, but the Pasta in the Starch category is DNS because it contains wheat; therefore the system will instead serve the choice 2 French Fries in the Starch category.
| Menu Category | |||
| Entrée | Starch | Vegetable | |
| Choice 1 | Chicken Picatta |
|
Green Beans |
| Choice 2 | Hamburger | French Fries | Okra |
If Menu Category has Multiple Items from the Same Choice Selection
When there are items from the same choice selection in a menu category (e.g., both orange juice and apple juice are choice 1 items in the Juice category), then the selection logic is as follows:
- If all items from the choice selection can be served (i.e., no item is DNS due to an allergen or being manually marked as DNS), then the system serves all items from the choice selection. For example, if apple juice and orange juice are both choice 1 items in the Juice category, then both apple juice and orange juice are served.
- If an item from a choice selection is DNS (due to an allergen or being manually marked as DNS), and there is one or more non-DNS items from the same choice selection, then the system will still serve the non-DNS items from that choice selection. For example, if the choice 1 apple juice is DNS but the choice 1 orange juice is non-DNS, then the orange juice is still served. The system will not look at the next choice selection (i.e., choice 2).
- If all items from a choice selection are DNS (due to an allergen or being manually marked as DNS), then the system will look at the next choice selection. For example, assume the choice 1 items of apple juice and orange juice in the Juice category are both DNS, then the system will look at the choice 2 selection in the Juice category, which for example's sake consists of cranberry juice and the pineapple juice, both of which will be served.
When Items are Tagged as Dislike Preferences
If there is only a single item from a choice selection, the automatic selection logic to determine what is served when an item is tagged as a dislike preference is as follows:
| Choice 1 Item | Choice 2 Item | System Result |
| Disliked | Neutral | Choice 2 item is served. |
| Disliked | Disliked | Choice 1 item is served. |
| Neutral | Disliked | Choice 1 item is served. |
If there are multiple items from a choice selection, the automatic selection logic to determine what is served when one or more items are tagged as a dislike preference is as follows:
| Choice 1 Items | Choice 2 Items | System Result |
| All disliked | All neutral |
Choice 2 items are served. |
| All disliked | Some disliked | Choice 2 items that are not disliked are served. |
| All disliked | All disliked |
Choice 1 items are served. |
| Some disliked | Some disliked or All disliked or All neutral |
Choice 1 items that are not disliked are served. |
What About Menu Items Marked as Like Preferences?
Future functionality will allow an item marked as a like in choice 2 to be given priority and served over a choice 1 item that is neutral. Until then, in order to have a choice 2 item served over a choice 1 item, mark the choice 1 item as a dislike.
Step 2 - If Appropriate Item Cannot be Found in Menu Category
If the selection logic results in a menu category with DNS items, then the system will look at the house fallback also available (AA) menu (assuming a house fallback AA menu is scheduled for the menu service location) for an appropriate item, looking in the day, meal period, and menu category. Note that an AA item displays as underlined on a Tray Menu ticket.
Step 3 - If Appropriate Item Cannot be Found in AA Menu
If a menu item cannot be served after the selection logic is performed above, the system displays a “Substitute Needed” cell.
By hovering over the Substitute Needed cell and clicking the Add Substitute option (first screenshot below), the Add Substitute modal displays (second screenshot below) with the following options:
- Add a fallback substitute to resolve a Substitute Needed (replaces item for the instance: day, meal period/snack time, and menu category).
-
Add a personal menu item to resolve a Substitute Needed (adds personal menu item for the instance: day, meal period/snack time, and menu category).
"Serve Choice 1 Items First" Method: Therapeutic Diet Type/Texture Type
When a resident/patient is on a therapeutic diet type/texture type (i.e., non-regular), the "Serve Choice 1 Items First" method functions as standard--but using the therapeutic substitute items for the diet/texture instead of the regular menu items.
| Menu Category | |||
| Entrée | Starch | Vegetable | |
| Choice 1 | Item 1 |
|
Item 1 |
| Choice 2 | Item 2 | Item 2 | Item 2 |
Note that as per standard system functioning, if a diet type/texture type cell on the menu item extension grid is set to DNS (i.e., no therapeutic substitute is offered), then as such no menu item exists to populate on the personal menu for a resident with the same diet type/texture type.
For example:
- On the menu item extension grid for Mashed Potatoes the Regular diet/Puree texture cell is set to DNS.
- The Mashed Potatoes is in the Starch category, and as such for a resident with the regular diet/puree texture, no menu item exists to populate in the Starch category on their personal menu.
For the "Serve Choice 1 Items First" method, the system will trigger the selection logic if an item exists on a personal menu but is DNS due to an allergen or being manually marked as DNS. Therefore if a menu item does not exist in a category on the personal menu, the selection logic does not trigger, and the system just serves the remaining existing items from the choice selection (e.g., choice 1).
| Menu Category | |||
| Entrée | Starch | Vegetable | |
| Choice 1 | Item 1 | Item 1 | |
| Choice 2 | Item 2 | Item 2 | Item 2 |
To not have a menu category be blank on the personal menu, then open the menu item extension grid and select an appropriate substitute recipe for the diet type/texture type cell.
"Serve Full Choices Paired Together" Method
About the "Serve Full Choices Paired Together" Method
When you select the Serve Full Choices Paired Together method for the non-select service type (as per above instructions), the objective of the system is to serve a full choice meal, as this allows a meal with items that complement each other. A full choice meal consists of all items from the same choice selection (i.e., all items in choice 1 equal a full choice meal; all items in choice 2 equal a full choice meal, etc.).
- On the personal menu, the system looks at the choice 1 selection, and if at least one choice 1 item is DNS due to an allergen or being manually marked as DNS, then the system looks at the choice 2 selection.
- If at least one choice 2 item is DNS due to an allergen or being manually marked as DNS, then the system looks at the choice 3 selection (assuming the choice 3 selection exists).
Scenario: Assume the resident has a wheat allergy. The Pasta cannot be served because it contains wheat; therefore the system will look at the choice 2 selection. Because no choice 2 item contains wheat, the system will serve the full choice 2 meal.
| Menu Category | |||
| Entrée | Starch | Vegetable | |
| Choice 1 | Chicken Picatta |
|
Green Beans |
| Choice 2 | Pork Chop | French Fries | Okra |
"Serve Full Choices Paired Together" Method: Menu Category with Multiple Items
When there are items from the same choice selection in a menu category (e.g., both orange juice and apple juice are choice 1 items in the Juice category), then the meal replacement logic is as follows:
On the personal menu, if one item from the menu category is DNS due to an allergen or being manually marked as DNS, then the system automatically looks at the next choice selection. For example, assume for the choice 1 selection that apple juice and orange juice are in the Juice category. The apple juice is subsequently marked as DNS, but not the orange juice. The system will automatically look to serve the choice 2 meal.
"Serve Full Choices Paired Together" Method: More than One Full Choice is Suitable
If more than one full choice meal can be served because no items are DNS due to an allergen or being manually marked as DNS, then the system will evaluate the likes and dislikes applied to the items of each choice in the system to determine the full choice meal to serve. The system uses a like-to-dislike ratio equation to score each full choice meal, and the full choice meal with the higher score is selected to be served: The ratio equation is as follows:
- Like equals +1
- Dislike equals -1
Scenario: Assume full choice 2 has four items with likes (+4) and one item with a dislike (-1) for a score of +3. Assume full choice 1 has three items with likes (+3) and two items with a dislike (-2), for a score of +1. In such a scenario, full choice 2 with the higher score (+3) would be served over full choice 1 with the lower score (+1).
"Serve Full Choices Paired Together" Method: Therapeutic Diet Type/Texture Type
When a resident/patient is on a therapeutic diet type/texture type (i.e., non-regular), the "Serve Full Choices Paired Together" method functions as standard--but using the therapeutic substitute items for the diet/texture instead of the regular menu items.
| Menu Category | |||
| Entrée | Starch | Vegetable | |
| Choice 1 | Item 1 |
|
Item 1 |
| Choice 2 | Item 2 | Item 2 | Item 2 |
Note that as per standard system functioning, if a diet type/texture type cell on the menu item extension grid is set to DNS (i.e., no therapeutic substitute is offered), then as such no menu item exists to populate on the personal menu for a resident with the same diet type/texture type.
For example:
- On the menu item extension grid for Mashed Potatoes the Regular diet/Puree texture cell is set to DNS.
- The Mashed Potatoes is in the Starch category, and as such for a resident with the regular diet/puree texture, no menu item exists to populate in the Starch category on their personal menu.
For the "Serve Full Choices Paired Together" method, the system will trigger the meal replacement logic if an item exists on a personal menu but is DNS due to an allergen or being manually marked as DNS. Therefore if a menu item does not exist in a category on the personal menu, the meal replacement logic does not trigger, and the system just serves the remaining existing items from the choice selection (e.g., choice 1).
| Menu Category | |||
| Entrée | Starch | Vegetable | |
| Choice 1 | Item 1 | - | Item 1 |
To not have a menu category be blank on the personal menu, then open the menu item extension grid and select an appropriate substitute recipe for the diet type/texture type cell.