Online
Home Access Meals Program Debit Card System
Parents should monitor the student's meal account
to maintain a positive balance. Accounts may
be monitored through the Parent
Home Access Portal. Links to this site are available on each school's webpage or the Barrington Community Unit School District Home Page. If using Parent Home Access, you will need a user ID (your student's ID number) and password.
- If you need a
user-id/password, please contact the school secretary
in your student's K-5 building, the registrar at
either Middle School or Jeanne Seidel at the High
School.
You do not need to
use a debit/credit card to access your student's
information. You may view the activity on their Meals
Program account at any time regardless if you choose
to make a deposit online or not.
- You may also add
cash or check to your student's account. Please
send the money to your student's school cafeteria,
where it will be deposited into your student's
account. Once a deposit is made, it is immediately
available for use by your student.
Please remember that
the lunch program is a debit system, not a credit
system. If your student's balance is negative, please
take care of the situation as quickly as possible.
We never turn a student away from the lunch line,
but if the balance reaches a negative $7.50 limit
and the parent/guardian has not made an attempt to
clear the debt, an alternative lunch (i.e. peanut
butter & Jelly sandwich or salad of the day) and milk will be provided. This lunch is
provided to those students who have honestly forgotten
to rectify their Meals Program account on a one-time-only
basis.
It is recommended that positive account balances be carried over to the following
year for returning students. If a student is graduating or leaving the district,
account balances can be transferred to a sibling or refunded upon written
request by the parent/guardian. Please direct the request for a refund to Mary
Harrington at The Administration Center.
The District participates
in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). The
NSLP is a federally assisted meals program operating
in public, private non-profit schools. The program
was established under the National School Lunch Act
and provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or
free lunches to children who qualify for the program
at each school. It is administered at the federal
level by the USDA and at the state level by the Illinois
State Board of Education.
All children enrolled at a participating school may purchase a meal through
the NSLP. Children from families with incomes at or below 130 percent of
the poverty level are eligible for free meals. Those with incomes between
130 and 185 percent of the poverty level are eligible for reduced-price meals,
for which students can be charged no more than 40 cents. Parents must complete
an application and the application must be reviewed and verified in order
to qualify for participation in the free/reduced meal program.
Children from families with incomes over 185
percent of poverty pay full price, though their
meals are still subsidized to some extent. The
District sets
its own prices for full-priced meals, but must operate its meal services
as a non-profit program.
When selecting a meal, the District must offer free and reduced-priced
lunches to eligible children. An eligible child must select three components
in order
for the meal to be reimbursable. The components must include three
of the following items: milk, meat or meat alternate, vegetable and/or
fruits, and
grains and/or breads. The District is reimbursed for each complete
(three components) meal served to an eligible child. Reimbursement
rates are applied
based on the child's eligibility: paid full-price, reduced-price,
or free. If a child who is eligible chooses to take only one or two components rather
than all three, he/she will be charged the full price for each component
rather than receiving the free or reduced price. Additionally, if a child
chooses an a la carte item, it is also an extra cost and the child will be
charged accordingly. Please remember, if your child is eligible, he/she must
take all three components when obtaining their lunch for the day in order
to avoid any additional charges to his/her meal program account. Please contact Laura
Pera, at The Administration Center for further information regarding this program. |
