How Flexible Food Wells Help Students Get the Most Out of Lunchtime 

July 7, 2025

School lunch programs serve two critical purposes: feeding students and giving them much-needed time with friends.

As one of their most important meals of the day, students deserve hot lunches that are actually hot and cold items that are actually cold. Students can be notoriously picky eaters — the wrong temperature can make them decide to skip eating lunch altogether.

And considering it’s the biggest block of time during the school day that your students get to socialize with their friends and peers, every minute they are stuck in a lunch line is one they aren’t getting much-needed interpersonal interaction.

But with flexible, dependable and efficient food wells, your staff can create a welcoming environment where students feel confident they can grab meals quickly and make the most of lunch.

Add flexibility to your serving line

Is your school looking for ways to expand its menu? Hot/cold wells will boost your foodservice’s flexibility. For example, because each well is independently controlled on LTI’s  QuickSwitch you can:

• Switch between hot, cold and frozen wells in an hour or less
• Place hot and cold wells side by side, sitting flush with the countertop for better presentation
• Create groups of hot wells and cold wells for better serving flow

“The [Quickswitch’s] temperature control availability is awesome! The option to heat, cool or freeze makes menu planning so much easier and better. I still can’t believe it,” one Georgia school foodservice professional said.

Give students more time to socialize with their friends

When you account for how long it takes students to walk to the cafeteria, wait in line to grab their food and sit down to eat, they may have a few minutes to catch up with their friends — if they’re lucky.

An inefficient food well can ultimately cause your cafeteria staff to waste time preparing food and even slow down service.

“As much as kids crave hearty meals, they also crave meaningful time with their friends, especially during this digital era,” said Audrey Casey Pearson, Chief Brand Ambassador for LTI. “That’s why serving quickly is essential — and staff can do that with flexible food wells.”

With independently-controlled and convertible food wells that switch temperatures quickly, your staff can:

• Eliminate the need for time-consuming water-filled wells
• Minimize the risk of leaks and dangerous spills
• Create a safer environment to move with agility and confidence
• Focus on other tasks and create an efficient workflow
• Adapt to changing menus quickly

The result is more efficient serving, which should help keep the line moving so your students can have more non-screen interaction with their friends.

More Resources

How can you get more out of your serving system? Visit our K-12 page or access our in-depth educational guide, “The Impact of Transforming Your K-12 Cafeteria: How Beautiful Serving Counters, Mobile Grab-and-Go Carts & Flexible Serving Systems Inspire More Meal Participation.”

If you have any questions, contact the LTI team and we’ll reach out to you with the answers.