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New App Available to Track Lunch Account Balances

(by Don Meador, Allen County Schools, Public iRelations Director)

   

   Parents and guardians of students in the Allen County School District have another alternative to keeping track of their child’s breakfast/lunch account balances. The Allen County School District is now using the My School Bucks application for smart phones and tablets.

 

   “This is just another tool for parents to be able to see the extras their child is buying at lunch,” explained Allen County Schools Food Services Director Robin Herrington. “This will help parents to see when their balances are low and when they need to put money into their child’s account.”

 

   All Allen County students can receive breakfast and lunch at no cost as part of the United States Department of Agricultural Community Eligibility Provision. According to the USDA website, the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) is a non-pricing meal service option for schools and school districts in low-income areas. CEP allows the nation’s highest poverty schools and districts to serve breakfast and lunch at no cost to all enrolled students without collecting household applications. Instead, schools that adopt CEP are reimbursed using a formula based on the percentage of students categorically eligible for free meals based on their participation in other specific means-tested programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).

 

   However, students in Allen County are charged for “seconds” or “extras” of smart-snack items such as ice cream, water, fruit, or snacks. If a student desires the extra, he or she uses money that a parent has placed in their account to make to purchase extra servings of menu items or to purchase compliant snacks. 

 

   The My School Bucks app will allow parents the ability to track their child’s lunch activity and account balance as well as provide the parent with additional information about their child’s food selection. For example, on days when a child eats lunch, $0.00 is reflected on the app. If the student elects to bring lunch from home and therefore does not go through the lunch line, no lunch information is shown. If a child decides to purchase an extra, the purchase is reflected on the app. 

 

   “A parent can see what extras their child has purchased,” Herrington added. “Parents can also set a low-balance alert. Once the account gets below a certain amount, it will send you an email telling you that the child is almost out of money.” 

 

   The new app also permits parents to deposit money into their child’s lunch account. However, the deposit service comes with a fee---a charge imposed by My School Bucks.  

 

   “Checking your child’s lunch activity, their balance and seeing the extra’s they have purchased, is free,” Herrington said. “However, if you are making a deposit for more than one child (even if located in different schools) you are only charged $2.49 if you deposit all money in one transaction.

 

   Herrington also notes that the service is set up to deposit money into the child’s account at three times per day---6 a.m., 10 a.m., or 6 each evening. For example, if a parent chooses to make a deposit using the My School Bucks app and uses the service at 10:30 in the morning, the deposit would not be reflected on the child’s account until 6 that evening. 

 

   Parents who do not wish to use the app for deposits can still add money to their child’s account by sending money to school with their child---money that is deposited into the child’s lunch account

Parents can also call the cafeteria manager at their child’s school to check a balance. In addition, the school district is refining a phone reminder system that will alert parents when a child’s balance status is low.

      

   The free My School Bucks app can be downloaded from the App Store, Google Play, or at myschoolbucks.com. Parents will be prompted to create an account and add their child or children.