Layout, Equipment, and Work Methods for School Lunch Kitchens and Serving Lines

1966

National Agricultural Library

Marketing Research Report Number 753

A study of six lunch operations in Ohio indicates that a thorough job of planning new kitchen facilities will pay off throughout the life of the facility in terms of reduced labor requirements. Best results are achieved in schools where the local administration draws the kitchen manager into the planning process, obtains new ideas from visits to new facilities, and formalizes requirements and plans in the form of tentative specifications. This procedure will help the food service consultant and architect in their detailed planning. Final plans should be reviewed by local school officials as well as kitchen management before being ap- proved. In many States, the plans also can be submitted to the State department of education for review and recommendations by the School Lunch Director.

With present trends in school enrollment, facilities must be planned for growth. Incorporating a 50-percent growth potential in output into new facilities is feasible, if enough space is allotted. Economies of scale will permit a sizable increase in output in the kitchen if additional equipment can be added as needed, and if adequate aisle space is provided. Larger kitchen facilities will require less floorspace per meal than small-scale operations.

In developing the layout, including storage areas, food preparation, and serving area, planners should provide a straight-line flow of the food, with a minimum of back-tracking. Within the kitchen, work stations should be set up on a functional basis, with similar equipment being grouped together in central locations.

Selection of equipment should take into consideration its conformance to present and expected methods of operation, the extent to which it permits adherence to applicable principles of motion economy, and its speed of output. Capacity, durability, quality of construction, and price are other major factors that must be weighed when comparing one make of equipment with another.