About the Also Available (AA) Menu
For information on what an also available (AA) menu menu is and what it can offer, see the separate article About the Also Available (AA) Menu
Creating a New Also Available (AA) Menu from Scratch
It is recommended to copy an existing Also Available (AA) menu and use it as a base to create a new AA menu.
However, if you want to create a new blank AA menu from scratch, then that functionality is available. When you build a menu from scratch, you can manually add items to it, or copy menu items to it from another menu. The steps below explain how to create a new AA menu from scratch.
- Select Menus > Menu Listing. The Menus Listing screen appears.
- Click the Add New button. The Add Menu slide-out panel appears.
- Enter or select the following:
- Name - enter a name of your menu (maximum 40 characters).
- Type - select Also Available.
- House Fallback - the menu items are offered as substitutes when menu item selection logic excludes an item for the person and there is no personal specific substitute or personal fallback substitute for that person on their personal menu. For more information, see Menu Item Selection Logic.
- Duration (Weeks) - enter the menu cycle in weeks.
-
Menu Category Choices - select the number of choices (up to 5) that the menu can support for its menu items. A menu item labelled as choice 1 will be the main and a menu item labelled as choice 2 will be the first alternate, etc. For more information on choices, see Choices for a Menu Item.
Note that if the menu does not support menu item extensions (i.e., the Extension Type is No Extensions), the No Choice option is available, meaning your menu items will not be categorized by choices. A menu with no choices and no extensions is typically used in a cafeteria or catering environment. -
Extension Type
- Extended Menu - (default) keep this option if the menu items are to support therapeutic substitutes extended to diet orders.
- No Extensions - select this option if the menu items will not support therapeutic substitutes extended to diet orders.
-
Extension Editor (applicable if menu is an extended menu):
- Auto-Open - select this option if the menu item extension grid will automatically appear when adding menu items.
- Manual - select this option to not have the menu item extension grid automatically appear when adding menu items.
-
Description (optional) - enter a description of the menu.
- In the Configuring Menus section, select if the AA menu is to be single day menu via the Single Day Menu option (first screenshot below) or a weekly menu via the Weekly Menu option (second screenshot below). Then select the meal services the AA menu supports by selecting/clearing the check boxes as needed.
- Click the Save button to apply your changes and close the slide-out panel.
- Your next step is to build the menu. You have the following options:
- Add items to the menu.
- Copy items to the menu from another menu. To do so, see the Copying Menu Items to Another Menu article.