HOW CAN I MAKE DEPOSITS TO MY CHILD'S ACCOUNT?
Prepaying for breakfast, lunch and ala carte items is a safe, efficient way to pay for your student’s meals. You may pay by check or cash. However, if paying by check, please include your student’s name and ID# in the memo section of your check. If paying by cash, please include an envelope or piece of paper with the same information. You may also make a payment to your student’s account online at ParentOnline. This is a secure, online site for payments made on student accounts with Visa or Mastercard. Payments may be made anytime of day, but credit card deposits are processed and added to the student accounts once each afternoon. As such, payments received after 2 p.m. each school day will be credited on the second business day. There is no additional cost for this service.
Cash or check deposits may be made at anytime the cafeteria is open for business. However, to better serve you and insure that money is on your student’s account prior to meal service, please make payments in the morning.
WHAT IS MY CHILD'S ACCOUNT NUMBER AND WHERE CAN I FIND IT?
Your child's account number is their student ID#, which is the 6 digit number assigned to the student upon enrolling at Stafford MSD. This number is unique to each student and will belong to your child throughout their entire time at Stafford MSD.
You may find this number on a student's report card. You may also contact the campus office or Fuel Cafe office to request your student's ID number.
WHAT HAPPENS IF SOMEONE USES MY CHILD'S ACCOUNT?
Student meal account numbers are their student ID numbers. This number should be kept confidential and should not be shared with other students. If the number is used by someone other than the legitimate holder, the register will notify the cashier that the number has already been used for the purchase of a meal that day. This does not include ala carte items. If this should happen, the student or parent should contact the cafeteria manager to take the necessary steps to rectify the situation. Upon notification of fraudulent ID usage, a flag will be placed on the students account to alert the cashier to verify the students identity before allowing any purchase.
WHAT HAPPENS TO MY CHILD'S MONEY AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR?
If your child has money left on his/her account at the end of the year, the money will be available on the first day of the following school year. Account balances, whether there is a credit or debt, follow the student from year to year.
WHAT IS THE DISTRICT POLICY ON CHARCHING?
The child nutrition department will allow students to charge up to two reimbursable breakfasts and two reimbursable lunches. Once this charge limit is reached, the cafeteria will provide the student with an alternative meal consisting of toast and milk for breakfast or a cheese sandwich and milk for lunch. Students are not allowed to charge ala carte items, nor will they be allowed to purchase ala carte items if they have a negative account balance.
When a student's account balance is low, the cashier will provide a notice to elementary students and remind secondary students at the register that their funds are running low. Parents are also encouraged to monitor student account balances online at ParentOnline.
CAN I GET A PRINT OUT OF WHAT MY STUDENT HAS EATEN?
The computer system used to track meals is capable of producing reports that show what your child has eaten and any funds deposited to their account from the first day of school. Please contact the cafeteria manager or visit ParentOnline if you would like to view your child's account information.
HOW CAN I LIMIT ALA CARTE PURCHASES THAT MY STUDENT MAKES?
Ala carte purchases may be restricted by the day or number of extra items per day. If necessary, ala carte purchases may be restricted altogether. Please use this form and submit to the cafeteria manager.
HOW CAN I GET A REFUND ON MY CHILD'S ACCOUNT?
Food service refunds are granted in special circumstances. Refund requests are only granted to students who withdraw from SMSD, graduate from SMSD, or have been approved for free or reduced price meals after making a deposit to their account. Parents are the only individuals who may request the refund by using this form. Refund requests are only granted if the account balance exceeds $5.00. Account balances less than $5.00 must be spent in the cafeteria or a deposit made to the account so that the balance exceeds the $5.00 limit.
WHAT CAN BE DONE FOR MY CHILD WITH A FOOD ALLERGY?
If your child has a food allergy, or other medically diagnosed dietary need, special meal considerations will be given. Parents must submit the special meals form that has been completed and signed by a recognized medical authority. The medical authority can be a doctor, nurse, or physician's assistant. Once completed, a copy must be submitted to the school nurse and the cafeteria manager.
WHY DO STAFF AND VISITORS PAY MORE FOR MEALS THAN STUDENTS?
The Child Nutrition department receives federal reimbursement for each student meal served in the district. We do not receive federal reimbursement for meals sold to school staff or adult visitors and are required to charge more for these meals to cover our costs. The price of a school meal is significantly less than what people pay at a restaurant for the same type or amount of food
WHO ADMINISTERS THE STAFFORD MSD SCHOOL NUTRITION SERVICES?
The Stafford MSD child nutrition department is overseen by Jason Edwards, Director of Child Nutrition. Stafford MSD participates in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program which are administered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). In addition to the USDA, the Child Nutrition Department follows the regulations set forth by the Texas Department of Agriculture, local health departments, and the Board of Trustees.
HOW DO I APPLY FOR FREE OR REDUCED MEALS?
You must complete a Stafford MSD Application for Free or Reduced Meals and submit to the child nutrition department for review and approval. Applications are mailed home with each student at the beginning of the school year. At other times, you may contact the Fuel Cafe Office (281-261-9289), the cafeteria manager, or your school's front office to receive a copy of the application.
HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE FOR MY APPLICATIONS TO BE APPROVED?
USDA and TDA regulations provide child nutrition departments up to 10 operating days from the time the application is received in the nutrition office to process an application and determine eligibility. The SMSD Child Nutrition department prides itself on our service to our customers and aside from the first two weeks of school, applications are normally approved the same day or the following day after it is received. Sometimes, delays will arise when information is unclear or is missing from the application and we are unable to reach the applicant for clarification on reported information.
DO I HAVE TO FILL OUT A NEW APPLICATION EACH YEAR?
Yes. A new application is needed at the beginning of every school year. Applications are sent home with students on the first day of school. Applications are also available at every campus office, cafeteria, and the Fuel Cafe office located in the Middle/Primary School Cafeteria.
If you were approved for free or reduced meals at Stafford MSD at the end of the school year, your status will be in effect for the first 30 days of school or until we receive a new application, at which point the new status will take effect.
WHAT DOES OFFER VS SERVE MEAN?
Offer versus serve (OVS) was established in 1975 when Congress mandated that students in high school would not be required to accept offered foods they did not intend to consume. At the middle and elementary school levels, the policy is optional and it is up to each individual district to decide whether they wish to extend OVS to those levels. Stafford MSD Child Nutrition has chosen to extend OVS to include all grade levels.
The five components of the meal include:
Meat or Meat Alternate
Fruit
Vegetable
Bread or Grains
Milk
As long as the student takes three of the five items, the meal will be counted as a complete meal and eligible for reimbursement.
IF I TAKE FEWER THAN 5 ITEMS, WILL I PAY LESS FOR MY MEAL?
No. The purpose of the offer vs. serve program is to reduce plate waste and allow students a choice in what they wish to have for lunch. The student may take all components if he/she desires. As a result, there is no reduction in price. Meals that contain less than the three required items do not qualify for reimbursement. Therefore, the cost of the food and preparation of the food must be covered by someone other than the governement. To cover these costs, child nutrition charges these items back to the student and may result in a higher price than if the student chose to take 3 of the 5 offered items.
HOW MUCH TAXPAPER MONEY IS USED IN THE CHILD NUTRITION DEPARTMENT?
The Stafford MSD Child Nutrition Department and Fuel Cafe is a self sustaining operation. No funds from the Stafford MSD General Fund are used in the operation of the food service department. In fact, the Child Nutrition department relieves some of the financial burden to the general fund for utility costs by absorbing the department's share of those utility costs. Child Nutrition receives all of their funding from the federal government in the form of reimbursements and cash payments made by customers.
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