Ordo vs. Yay! Lunch: Choosing the Right School Food Program

When it comes to choosing a meal program for your school, finding a reliable food service provider that meets your school’s needs is crucial.

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Yay! is a school lunch company that partners with restaurants to provide food for private schools. Ordo provides fresh, healthy meals for all types of schools across the country, powered by an online platform that helps administrators manage their paperwork and track participation.

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Schools choosing between Yay! and Ordo generally look at several categories:

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• Menu pricing
• Reimbursable meals for NSLP/CACFP/SBP
• Meals with or without sides
• Kid-friendly portions
• Toddler safe meals
• Online ordering
• Nut-free options (ex. nut-free)
• Breakfast offered
• On-site services

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How Yay! compares to Ordo.

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Menu pricing

Ordo provides meals for all types of schools. For NSLP/CACFP schools, Ordo can serve food at typical price points to match reimbursement rates, depending on the state. For other schools, the average price per meal is $7, ensuring that schools can deliver fresh, hot meals while managing their budgets effectively. In contrast, Yay! offers meals at a higher price point at $9 per meal on average, reflecting their restaurant partner business model.

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Reimbursable meals for NSLP/CACFP/SBP

Ordo: Ordo partners with schools to deliver meals that align with federal programs like the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and School Breakfast Program (SBP). This compliance means that schools can offer meals that meet nutritional guidelines while securing the maximum possible reimbursement.

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Yay! Lunch: Given Yay’s business model of restaurant partners and pricing, they are unable to create menus compliant with NSLP or other related government programs.

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Meals with or without sides

Ordo: Ordo's meal program goes beyond just the main dish, ensuring that each meal includes a thoughtfully curated selection of sides. This guarantees students receive a nutritionally balanced meal with proteins, grains, fruits, and vegetables, meeting school dietary guidelines. Additional side dishes are also available.

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Yay! Lunch: Sides are usually ordered separately from the main menu items.

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Kid-friendly portions

Ordo: For schools with younger students, Ordo crafts its meals specifically with children in mind, adjusting portion sizes and nutritional content to align with age-appropriate dietary guidelines. This results in much less waste and ensures the proper amount of nutrition for little ones.

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Yay! Lunch: As Yay! does partner with restaurants to provide its food, the portion sizes tend to be full size adult portions, which usually leads to a younger student having too much food during mealtime and can lead to waste.

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Toddler safe meals (no choking hazards)

Ordo: Pre-K students require extra attention when it comes to food safety, and Ordo’s team ensures that each meal is safe for this young age group. This involves removing or minimizing common choking hazards like whole grapes, nuts, and hard vegetables while still providing a diverse and wholesome menu.

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Yay! Lunch: While Yay! Does offer meals for younger students, choking hazards are not entirely guaranteed and their meals may not meet this requirement, given the restaurant-sized portions its menu typically offers.

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Online ordering

Both Ordo and Yay! Lunch offer convenient online ordering systems for families.

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Nut-free options

Ordo: Ordo understands the severity of food allergies and has implemented strict protocols to ensure that all meals are nut-free. This policy includes rigorous ingredient sourcing, staff training, and menu selection to provide a safe dining environment for students with nut allergies.

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Yay! Lunch: Yay! provides nut-free options on its menus, but, even according to their own website, they cannot guarantee nut-free meal prep due to their restaurant kitchens.

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Breakfast offered

Ordo: Ordo's program includes breakfast offerings alongside lunch if needed. This helps schools support students with nutritious meals at the start of the day, positively impacting their learning and well-being.

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Yay! Lunch: While Yay! does offer a variety of menu items for its students, it does not contain breakfast specific items served every day.

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On-site services

Ordo: While Ordo typically supplies schools with their meals daily, it primarily offers vended meal service. However, they can establish some on-site food service, depending on the school. This on-the-ground support is tailored to the needs of each partner school, providing a seamless dining experience that caters to their unique schedules and preferences.

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Yay! Lunch: Yay! Does not offer on-site food services.

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The top 3 reasons schools choose Ordo over Yay!

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Menu price

It’s important for schools to consider the participation rate and order rate of their students. If buying lunch at school is too expensive, students won’t eat and parents will voice their dissatisfaction. That’s why Ordo offers menus for schools at a competitive average price, while the average price of a menu item on Yay! is roughly $9–and most items won’t include sides, making daily meals a costly endeavor for a family. For Ordo, affordability and nutrition are our top priorities.

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Reimbursable meals

Relatedly, schools with significant numbers of students on free or reduced lunch programs will be unable to use Yay! as their food service provider. Ordo’s meals qualify for reimbursement under the NSLP, SBP, and CACFP. Additionally, our super intuitive software make managing compliance paperwork much easier for schools–from tracking participation rate to cloud storage for production records.

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Appropriately-sized portions

As Ordo serves a wide variety of schools from preschools to private boarding to public, our team has crafted menus for children of all ages. We offer meals that are age-appropriate in terms of portion size, resulting in lower waste and proper child nutrition.

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When weighing these two programs, it's clear that Ordo provides a comprehensive, flexible, and affordable option tailored for schools of all sizes. By focusing on fresh, kid-friendly meals that meet national nutrition standards, Ordo has become the fastest-growing school food program in America.

Interested schools can reach out to Ordo’s school partnerships team here.