Online Payment Information Letter

With current national attention being focused on children's health and wellness issues, Wilmington School Food Service is excited to provide parents a convenient, easy and secure online pre-payment service to deposit money into your child's school meal account at any time. This service also provides parents the ability to view their child's account balance through a web site called My School Bucks.

Parents will also have the ability to print out a copy of their child's eating history report. This history report will show you all dates and purchases he/she has made at lunch within the past thirty days. Please understand, this system will allow you to view it if they purchased lunch, but not specifically what they purchased.

We are very excited to offer these new services, and are confident this new system will benefit you, your child and our District. However, if you choose not to take advantage of the online prepayment service you may continue to make advance payments via check, which should be made payable to the Wilmington Food Service. Please write your child's full name on the check.

If you have any questions about these new services, please feel free to contact my office at 978-694-6064.

Access the online prepayment system

www.myschoolbucks.com

Things to know:

• If you have more than one child in the District you can handle all online pre-payments from the same online account.
• Payments may be made through an existing PayPal account or with a major credit or debit card.
• In order to use the online pre-payment service, a small convenience fee for each transaction will be assessed to cover the bank fees. The convenience fee is $2.75 per deposit transaction (this is subject to change). Parents placing money into multiple meal accounts will only be assessed the $2.75 fee once per deposit transaction. Wilmington Public Schools will not profit from the use of this site.
• You will not be able to view your child's history at the time of signup. This option will be available after a full day of school from the time you register.

First time users

• You will need your child's Student ID number. Instructions for finding it in Aspen are in the "Find your child's Student ID number" section below.
• Go to the Food Services page on the district website to access the link for MySchoolBucks OR go directly to www.myschoolbucks.com
• NOTE: Your child's transaction history report will not display information during the initial account set up process.

Accessing your account if you were using mynutrikids.com previously

• Go to the Food Services page on the district website to access the link for MySchoolBucks OR go directly to www.myschoolbucks.com
• Enter your existing mynutrikids.com username and password.
• Click Log In.
• Verify your child(ren) linked to your account

Find your child's Student ID number

To find your child's Student ID number, you can do one of the following.

• Log in to Aspen with your parent/guardian account. Click on the Family top tab, then the student's name. The Local ID field will be in the top left section.
• Call the food service office and request this information at 978-694-6064 (please do not email).
• If you have access to a previous Account memo, it will be listed there.

Create a Family Account

• Go to myschoolbucks.com.
• Click Sign Up and enter the required information.
• Click Finish to complete the initial registration process.

Add Students to Your Family Account

• When you log in you will be taken to the homepage.
• Click MyKids from the main menu OR from the blue navigation bar above.
• This is a listing of the students in your account. It will be empty on your first visit to the site.
• Click Add Child and enter the required information.
• Click Add (next to your child's name) to continue.
• Click Add Child to repeat the process for additional children.
• NOTE: Your child's transaction history report will not display information during the initial account set up process.

To Make a Payment

• Click Make a Payment.
• Click Cafeteria Meal Payments.
• Select or enter a payment amount for each child.
• Click Add to Basket.
• Click Check Out Now.
• NOTE: You may fund up to $120 per child, but you may pay for all of your children on a single transaction.
• mySchoolBucks has the following payment methods available for use:
  
  • Visa ®
  • Mastercard ®
  • Discover ®
  • Electronic Check

FAQs

Our department has gradually implemented a computerized Point-of-Sale payment system for all schools since 2004. To help parents better understand the payment system, here are some questions that are asked frequently.

Why do we need a computerized system? How does it work?

The computerized system helps to efficiently process students through the serving line and provide confidentiality. Every student has their own personal lunchroom account based on their ID number. Students can access their accounts on the PIN pads at every register or by swiping their cards. It is strongly recommended that all students remember their PIN numbers (grades 4-12), since it will make the lunch lines move faster.

What are some features of the system?

Parents have the option of requesting daily spending limits and other purchasing restrictions such as one lunch per day and snack/dessert limitation.

What if my child is eligible for free or reduced lunch?

Parents will be notified by mail if approved for free or reduced lunch. The child's meal eligibility status will also be entered into their account. The information is securely contained within the system to maintain confidentiality at the time of service, and the meal will be processed just as it is for all other students.

Should I put money in my child's account, and how?

We request that parents deposit money into the child's account in advance to facilitate lunchroom service. You do not need to be concerned with giving your child the exact change every morning with prepaid accounts. However, students may still pay cash at the time of purchase. You may also pay for lunch on line, if you have established an on line account for your child. There is a fee of $2.75 per transaction to do this. You may view the activity of your child's account without making payments as well. We recommended that parents mail checks to their child's school rather than sending cash. You can send in prepayments at any time. Students can make prepayments in the cafeteria in the morning upon arrival at school. If your child purchases lunch regularly, monthly payments are encouraged to prevent negative balances from occurring. We do not allow charging except for lunch. Any unused funds will remain in the account for future use. When sending in payments, please include the student's name so it is deposited into the correct account. Checks are to be made payable to Wilmington School Food Service.

How do I know if I have a negative balance? Or how can I inquire the account balance?

You may call your child's school to check your child's account balance. You may view your child's account on line, free of charge. In addition, every two weeks account balance memos will be printed and sent home with your child, if your child's account contains less than $10.00 if your child is grade 4 and 5. Kindergarten through grade 3 will receive a memo if their child's account has less than $15.00. Middle school and High school students will be reminded at the register.