What are scramble cafeteria systems?

A *scramble cafeteria* system is one in which students self-service their meals from a variety of pre-prepared dishes displayed in a servery which usually runs across the full width of the servery. They then assemble their meal on a tray to be carried to a table.

One of the big advantages of this system is that it enables a large number of student to be fed in a short space of time as there is no need for queuing and payment is often made via a pre-paid card. Because food choice can be quite limited it is more suitable for serving lunches which are part of a school day.