Division of Food & Nutrition Services > Meal Payments/FARMS

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. At high schools with photo identification systems, the student passes his/her student ID card through a card reader. 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.
• 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 a fee of $25 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.
• If your child will be returning to a MCPS school, any remaining balance will automatically carry-forward to the school your child will attend next school year. If your child will NOT return to a MCPS school next year, you should request a refund or, you can request a balance transfer if you have another child currently enrolled in a MCPS school. Send refund and balance transfer requests via email to DFNSHelpDesk@mcpsmd.org.

Online Prepayments

 MySchoolBucks instructions in PDF format:

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MySchoolBucks is an optional service for parents to view recent purchases and 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.

We have been informed that Heartland has unilaterally changed the My School Bucks Terms of Services for the 2019-2020 school year. This unilateral change appears to have been prompted by a lawsuit against the company that operates My School Bucks, titled Story v. Heartland Payment Systems, LLC, currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Montgomery County Public Schools is actively working with the company to have this issue resolved.

Payments to student accounts through My School Bucks is an option and not a requirement. Checks can be made payable to the school cafeteria and submitted to the cafeteria manager. The check funds will be placed on student accounts for immediate use and the checks will be deposited in the bank the same day.

Send refund and balance transfer requests via email to DFNSHelpDesk@mcpsmd.org.

Benefits

• Easy: Enrolling and funding is simple and completed online.
• Convenient: Once your account is established. You can check balances, view student 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 automatic 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 www.myschoolbucks.com and click on "Sign up today!"
• Create an account for yourself, and add your children. You will need the student’s name (exactly as it appears on their report card), school, grade, birth date, and six-digit student ID number (not their PIN).
• (OPTIONAL) Provide credit or debit card information, if you would like to make prepayments to your child's cafeteria account.
• Select a Meal Payment Option to make a prepayment, or select your child's name to view recent cafeteria purchases.

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 1-855-832-5226 for assistance with enrollment or questions about your account. MySchoolBucks support staff are available Monday-Friday from 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM EST.

School Cafeteria Account Balances

If your child will be returning to a MCPS school, any remaining balance will automatically carry-forward to the school your child will attend next school year. If your child will NOT return to a MCPS school next year, you should request a refund or, you can request a balance transfer if you have another child currently enrolled in a MCPS school. Send refund and balance transfer requests via email to DFNSHelpDesk@mcpsmd.org.

Free and Reduced-Price Meals

Students may qualify for free or reduced-price meals based on household size and income. They may also qualify if they are receiving Food Supplement Program (FSP) or Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) benefits.

Families may apply for meal benefits by completing an Application for Free and Reduced-Price Meals for the current school year. New this year: For faster processing, households may apply online at MySchoolApps.com. A paper application is sent home with students at the beginning of the school year. Blank applications may also be picked up at any MCPS school. All students in the family should be listed on one application only. If students received meal benefits last year, a new application must be submitted this year. If an application is submitted online, please do not submit a paper application also.

Return completed applications to any MCPS school or the Division of Food and Nutrition Services in person or by U.S. Mail.

Division of Food and Nutrition Services
Montgomery County Public Schools
8401 Turkey Thicket Drive
Gaithersburg, MD 20879

A notice will be mailed home for your child if you are approved for meal benefits or do not qualify for meal benefits. Please keep this important document for your records and use throughout the school year.

Students may also apply for meal benefits at any time during the school year.

Please click here to apply online. 

Household Application for Free and Reduced-Price Meals 2020-21

Please check back in mid-July to apply for Free and Reduced Meals for the 2020-2021 school year. If you have any questions, please call 301-284-4900.

Meal benefit eligibility from last school year will remain current only through the first 30 scheduled school days OR until a 2020-2021 application is processed.

• FOR FASTER PROCESSING APPLY ONLINE. Households who apply online should not submit a paper application.
• Please complete paper applications in black ink (not pencil).
• If you are NOT applying for meal benefits, discard the paper form.
• If you ARE applying for free or reduced-price meals, first, last name and middle initial are required.
• Please provide birth date, grade, and school to expedite processing.
• Use ONE application (online OR paper) for ALL students in the household—including Pre-K, kindergarten, and foster—even if they attend different schools.
• If any child you are applying for is homeless, migrant, or runaway, please call your child's school or contact the MCPS Homeless liaison at 240-740-4511.

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Montgomery County Public Schools serve breakfast and lunch every school day. If your total household income is the same or less than the amounts on the Income Chart below, your child may qualify for free or reduced-price meals.

The following students may be eligible for free meals:

• Students in households participating in Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC)

The following students qualify for free meals:

• Foster children
• Students certified as homeless or runaway
• Students enrolled in the Migrant Education program
• Students enrolled in the Head Start program
• Students in households receiving Food Supplement Program (FSP) or Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA)

Income Guidelines 2020-21