DPS Food and Nutrition Services has procedures for charging meals when students do not have money in their school account nor a School Meal Benefits approved application, unpaid meal balances and refunds as well as ensuring eligible children are certified for free or reduced-price school meals.
A complete Breakfast will be offered free of charge to students during the 2022-2023 school year.
Lunch prices for students who do not qualify to receive free or reduced price meals are as follows:
Elementary (grades ECE – 5) $2.60
Middle School (grades 6 – 8) $2.75
High School (grades 9 – 12) $3.00
Second entrees and any a la carte items may be purchased with cash or using a student’s MySchoolBucks account. Adult meals are available for $3.00 for breakfast and $4.50 for lunch.
All DPS families are encouraged to complete a school meal application to receive other benefits, including fee waivers, P-EBT, and additional funding for your child’s school.
Additional items from the daily menu, as well as selected other foods, juice and water beverages that comply with the USDA Smart Snacks in School standards may be purchased as an a la carte item to compliment school meals or meals brought from home.
All extra purchases require funds to be available (in My School Bucks or cash) at the time of purchase.
Student prices are less than adult prices because the school receives federal and state reimbursement money for each meal served to students that meets regulatory requirements. No reimbursement is available for adult meals. Adults may purchase a meal or individualized items and do not have to follow the same meal pattern as students. Adult portion sizes are the same as students.
Because hunger is an impediment to learning, no child shall be denied a school meal because of an inability to pay. Children will be offered a school lunch that meets the United States Department of Agriculture nutrition standards for school meals and is the one offered to all other students.
Note: Families are required to pay any unpaid meal amounts accrued for lunches served to their children
To ensure that households are aware of negative account balances Food and Nutrition Services will:
All communication regarding unpaid meal amounts will be directed to parents or guardians. Any household with a negative school lunch account balance will be contacted by school staff by email, phone, or letter home to provide information on how to apply for free or reduced-price school meals or to add funds to the school nutrition account (myschoolbucks.com).
Families who submit a school meal benefit application are responsible to make a full payment for lunch until the application is approved.
Balances remaining in a student’s account at the end of the school year will carry over to the next school year. If the student moves to a new building, the balance will transfer. If you would like to have the money refunded please click here to submit the refund request electronically.
