A new way of buying school lunch

ST. MARYS - Paying bills online has become the easy thing to do, and now schools are making it possible for parents to do the same for their children's lunch fees.

They are also giving them a way to monitor that their children aren't filling up on cookies or other junk food.

"The parent doesn't have to worry about the kid losing their money bringing it in," St. Marys schools food-service Supervisor Donna Kentner said. "They can track from home instead of coming in or us printing something out. It is a convenience."

About 10 percent of St. Marys families use their charge cards online to put money in their children's accounts. They also monitor what foods are purchased.

St. Marys pupils scan what they call their "credit cards," when they go through the lunch line. The money is deducted from the account.

Shawnee schools wants a program in place by next school year, food-service Supervisor Sally Allen said.

"That is the way that our world is going now," she said. "So many people pay their bills online and it would be just one step easier for parents to be able to put that money on their child's account the night before and not have to worry about it when they are in a hurry in the morning."

Elida schools began an online program in January and it has received increasing interest since, said Mariah Ross, food-service supervisor. Along with paying online, parents can get alerts when their child is running low on money. It is also a good budgeting tool, Ross said.

"The parents know more as to how much they are going through," she said. "They can say, ‘You're eating approximately $3 a day, so I need to up what I'm giving you.'"

Most schools already have a way for parents to prepay for meals, but it takes going into the school. Some parents pay weekly, while others pay monthly or even by the year, said John Music, assistant food-service director for Lima schools. It is very popular both with parents and staff.

"It helps us keep more track of it," he said. "So if the parent calls and say they don't know what happened to the money, we can say, ‘Well, he bought 20 cookies last week.'"

Such a call will sometimes lead to parents requesting that their child not be able to purchase extras or a la carte items. That block on such items will come up when a pupil scans his or her card or punches in an identification number. Things such as food allergies can also be put in the system, said Mary Jo Williams, director of special services at Ottawa schools.

Several schools allow parents to block certain items. Shawnee has had four such requests this year, Allen saying it could be for financial or nutritional reasons. Parents of children with health issues, Kentner said, may be more likely to want to check on their children's diets.

Music says it is a way to make sure pupils aren't just buying things like ice cream and cookies, but says it is also done for financial reasons.

"If you have a couple or three kids, it can get expensive through the year, so they want to keep as close of tabs as they can on it," he said.

Schools welcome parents calling to see what their child is eating. Some will print off the information for them. Williams said she occasionally hears from a parent who wants to make sure their child is eating.

Officials say it is much easier when employees don't have to worry about dealing with money. It is a huge timesaver, Allen said, and cuts down on paperwork.

"It is much easier for our gals," Kentner said. "Not dealing with a lot of money on the lines when they are trying to get the kids through the line."