8505 - STUDENT MEAL ACCOUNTS 

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) requires school food authorities to establish and publish written administrative guidelines and procedures for meal accounts and meal charges. 

The purpose of this policy is to ensure compliance with federal reporting requirements of the USDA Child Nutrition Program, as well as provide oversight and accountability for the collection of outstanding student meal balances. 

It is the responsibility of parents or guardians to prepay for school meals; send payment with their student; provide a breakfast or lunch from home, or complete an annual application establishing eligibility for free or reduced-price meals. Food & Nutrition Services is unable to use state or federal funds to forgive student meal debts and has established guidelines to help families manage meal accounts. 

GUIDELINES:

1. Parents are required to establish an online meal account at www.myschoolbucks.com for monitoring their student’s meal account balance and to set up automatic low balance reminders. Payments into student accounts may also be made using MySchoolBucks App. There are no transaction fees for this service and it may take up to twenty-four (24) hours to post to the student’s account. Please note: Middle and High School students are encouraged to use their school assigned device or smartphone to check their own meal account balance prior to meal services. 
2. Parents are encouraged to pay in advance for meal purchases. 
3. When a student in the lunch line has no lunch money, they will not be denied a full-reimbursable school breakfast or lunch. The meal will be charged to their meal account. Parents will be responsible for payment of all meals provided. 
4. No student will be able to receive or purchase a la carte items if they do not have money in their account. 
5. Adult charges are never allowed. 
6. The point of sale system is designed to prevent direct identification of a student’s meal status.

MEAL CHARGES: 

In addition to the parent self-monitoring their child’s meal account in MySchoolBucks, the following steps will be taken to communicate with families regarding their account whenMeal Charges are incurred:  

1. Middle and High School students will receive a friendly reminder at the cash register when their meal account is in need of funds. 
2. The automated email system will notify parents/guardians on every Wednesday Tuesday’s & Thursday’s of any outstanding negative balance in the student’s meal account. 
3. If notices do not result in payment, parents will receive one courtesy phone call reminder from the school’s Food & Nutrition Manager. 
4. Letters requesting payment will be mailed to households from Food & Nutrition Services Central Office bi-weekly monthy once the account reaches negative $25.00 $30.00. 
5. Principals will receive a weekly report via email that provides the name and amount owed by students in their building. 
6. If a student is without meal money on a consistent basis, the Principal, counselor, and/or social worker may investigate the situation more closely and take further action as needed. If financial hardship exists, parents and families are encouraged to apply for free or reduced price lunches for their child. Each school handbook shall contain detailed instructions for parental assistance. 
7. All accounts must be settled at the end of the school year. Letters will be sent home approximately the first of May to students who have any negative balance with payment required by May 31.
8. At the end of each school year the District Business Office will reimburse the Food & Nutrition Service Department for charges that were not collected. 
9. The District Business Office may pursue additional collection efforts. 

FREE & REDUCED MEAL ASSISTANCE: 

Families must reapply each school year for free and reduced price meal benefits. Applications are submitted online at https://www.nafcs.k12.in.us/ org on the food services department page. All information provided is confidential. 

Families are encouraged to complete an application for Free or Reduced-priced meal benefits anytime during the school year if they find their personal income situation has changed. 

MYSCHOOLBUCKS: 

Manage your child’s NAFCS Meal Account online by using Myschoolbucks.com, an online school lunch account management tool. With MySchoolBucks, you can set up a low-balance email or texts alerts to remind you when your student’s account gets below a level you choose. If you prefer, you can set up an auto-refill when your student’s account drops to a level you choose. No money is ever charged to your credit card without your approval and there are no transaction fees. 

MySchoolBucks is fast, easy and very convenient to use. Visit www.Myschoolbucks.com to add money to your child’s meal account, or you can send cash or check (in any dollar amount). Cash or checks sent with your child to the cafeteria will be credited to your child’s personal meal account. If using checks, please make payable to your school cafeteria. Write your child’s first and last name and student ID# on the check to be sure the money is deposited into the correct account. Myschoolbucks is also available for iPhone in the Apple® App Store and Android Google Play Store. Please note: Middle and High School students are encouraged to use their smartphone to check their own meal account balance prior to meal services. 

DEBT COLLECTIONS: 

1. The School Board understands it is required to collect all monies owed to it by patrons, employees, parents and students, including money owed through student meal accounts and other extracurricular accounts. At the end of each school year any unpaid meal account debt will be pursued for collection pursuant to School Board Policy 6153 before it is determined to be uncollectible (bad debt). 
2. Uncollectible debt is bad debt; bad debt will be written off as an operating loss 
3. This type of operating loss may not be absorbed by Food & Nutrition Services Fund 
4. The bad debt must be restored using non-federal funds (i.e. Corporation Funds). Once delinquent meal charges are converted to bad debt, records relating to those charges will be maintained in accordance with the record retention requirements in 7 C.F.R. 210.9(b)(17) and 7 C.F.R. 210.15(b).

 
REFUNDS: 

1. Any remaining positive funds in a student’s meal account will be carried over to the next school year. 
2. Students who graduate or withdraw from the corporation and have $10.00 or more left in their meal account will be notified via email by Food & Nutrition Services at the end of each school year and given the option to submit a “Refund Request Form” to receive a refund, donate it to “Angel Lunch Fund”, or transfer to a sibling’s account. If no response is received within ten (10) days, the student’s meal account will close and the funds will no longer be available. Unclaimed balances will be transferred to Food & Nutrition Services Angel Fund. 

DONATIONS: 

1. In an effort to accommodate the needs of students, Food & Nutrition Services “Angel Lunch Fund” has been established to assist in providing funds for students who have reached the charge limit. 
2. Donations are accepted by check payable to: NAFCS Food & Nutrition Services 
3. To be eligible for donations from the Angel Fund account, families must have a completed application for free/reduced meals on file with the food service office. 
4. The allocation of these funds is solely based on availability and there is no guarantee that angel funds will be used on a student account. 

POLICY COMMUNICATIONS: 

This policy shall be communicated to all staff and families at the beginning of each school year and to families transferring to the district during the year. It can also be found on the Food & Nutrition Services
website at https://www.nafcs.k12.in.us/  org on the food services department page. 

Any questions regarding these procedures, please contact Food & Nutrition Services at 812-542-4703.

Revied 7/13/20
Revised 11/18/24
Revised 4/14/25
Proposed Revision 4/13/2026

New Albany-Floyd County School Corporation