RHMS Cafeteria News

    Food Services

    Division of Food and Nutrition Services

    Purchasing School Meals
    The school cafeterias use a computerized cash register system. Every student in Montgomery County schools has an account to use. All students have a PIN (personalized identification number). To access the account at mealtime, a student enters his/her PIN on a keypad. Once the account is accessed, all students use the system in the same way. When a cashier rings up breakfast, lunch or a la carte items, the total amount of the sale is deducted from the prepaid balance in the account. When a student owes money or does not have enough on the account, the student may pay with cash at the time of purchase.

    Deposits into the account can be made by any student. The system is programmed to know which students are eligible for free and reduced price meals. A student’s status is always confidential. Students eligible for reduced price meals may prepay or pay with cash at the time of purchase.

    Advantages of the School Meals Account

    • School meals are convenient, economical and healthy. Today’s families are busy and a school meal account provides a quick option for providing a well balanced meal.
    • Funds deposited on a student’s account eliminate carrying lunch money every day.
    • All purchases are tracked and an account history can be requested if there is a need to check how money is being spent.
    • Money can be placed on the account to ensure that a child does not go without a meal if lunch money or a bag lunch is forgotten at home.
    • Students can benefit educationally by learning how to manage their own account balance.

    How to Make Prepayments

    • Any amount can be deposited into the student’s account. Meals and a la carte items are deducted from the account only at the time of purchase. The school meals account is not a credit system and checks are the best way to make a deposit. Write the student’s name and PIN number of the front of the check and make it payable to the school cafeteria. Checks can be given to the cafeteria manager or cashier. Prepayments made prior to mealtime helps keep serving lines running smoothly. Returned checks will be subject to a $35.00 service charge.
    • Prepayments can be made monthly, weekly or daily. Mid-week is a good time to add money to the account.
    • If you have more than one child in school, you can write a check for all your children who attend the same school. Be sure to write each student’s name and PIN on the check so that it can be properly credited. Please indicate the deposit amount for each student next to the name.

    Check Acceptance Policy 
    Checks used to pay for school meals must contain an address, phone number and student pin number. Returned checks are subject to recovery for the face value and Maryland State allowed fee of $35 through an electronic debit or paper draft to the same account. Your payment by check constitutes your acceptance of these terms. If you have any questions concerning our check acceptance policy, please call CHECKredi at 1-800-239-1222.

    Account Balances  
    At the start of the school year, account balances from the previous year follow the student to the school in Montgomery County where the student is enrolled. Any money left on the account from the previous year will be available for the new school year. Students returning to the same school keep the same PIN. When a student enters a different Montgomery County school from the last year, the student receives a new PIN.

    If a student transfers to another school in Montgomery County during the school year, the student or parent should notify the cafeteria manager so that any account balance can be transferred to the new school. When a student transfers to another Montgomery County school, the student receives a new PIN. After transferring, check with the cafeteria manager to find out the new PIN. 

     MySchoolBucks.com is a new service for parents to make prepayments to your child's cafeteria account for breakfast, lunch and a la carte meals via the Internet with a credit/debit card. This service is offered as a convenience for interested families. By creating a secure online account, parents can manage their child's account.

    Deposits into the account can be made by any student. The system is programmed to know which students are eligible for free and reduced price meals. A student’s status is always confidential. Students eligible for reduced price meals may prepay or pay with cash at the time of purchase.

    Benefits

    • Easy:  Enrolling and funding is simple and completed online.
    • Convenient:  Once your account is established. You can check balances, view purchases and fund your child’s account from your computer.
    • Secure:  Your personal and payment card information is protected by the most advanced internet security.
    • One Time: With the recurring payment option, money will always be in your child’s account.  When a low balance is reached, money is automatically deposited. 
    • Low Balance E-Mail Notification:  Parents can receive an e-mail message when their child’s account balance is low. 
    • Next Day Availability:  Prepayments will generally be available at the school the next day.

    How to Enroll

    • Go to My School Bucks and click on “Enroll Now.”
    • Create an account for yourself and your children.  You will need the student’s school, grade, birth date, and student ID number (not their PIN).
    • Provide credit or debit card information.
    • Select the amount you wish placed in your child’s account.  Select the Automatic Pre-Payment option, if desired.

    Important
    There is a $1.95 convenience fee for each payment transaction.  All fees are displayed at the time of payment.  There is no cost to set up an account and check your child’s spending history or receive low balance notifications.  Neither the school nor the Division of Food and Nutrition Services receive any income from providing this service.    Fees are associated with processing online credit/debit card payments.  This service is optional - schools will continue to accept checks and cash for meals in the cafeteria. 

    Support 
    Call the MySchoolBucks toll-free customer support center at 1-800-479-3531 for assistance with enrollment or questions about your account.  myLunchMoney.com support staff are available Monday-Friday from 8:00 AM -7:00 PM EST.  You can also e-mail them at mlmsupport@sl-tech.net. 
    For more information, click here to refer to Frequently Asked Questions in English or Spanish.