Lunchroom

A well-balanced, hot meal is served daily in the lunchroom. Students who wish may purchase lunch up to two weeks in advance on Monday and Tuesday morning or through the Lunch Pre Pay Plan. Link to Pre Pay

http://www.lunchprepay.com/Redirection.aspx We encourage students to eat a well-balanced meal.

Applications for reduced price or free lunch will be sent home on the first day of school. Extra forms are available in the office.

Students who bring their lunch from home may purchase one extra item from the line. Students who wish to buy an extra item in the cafeteria should have written permission from the parent. Milk can be purchased separately. Please do not allow your child to bring bottled or canned drinks to school.

Students are expected to keep the lunchroom clean and orderly.

Note: Parents are asked not to bring take-out food for themselves or their child when they come to have lunch.

New Policy Beginning 2/4/2013

Please Pay Off Lunch Account Balances

YOU SHOULD KNOW: Beginning February 4, 2013, Buncombe County students who buy school lunches will no longer be able to purchase a full meal on credit if they have charges of $10 or more in their child nutrition account. Students whose accounts are over $10, and who do not have lunch money with them, will be offered a cheese sandwich and milk, with a $1 dollar charge applied to their account.

A recent USA Today article acknowledged the new reality of national numbers showing that “more children are getting into school lunch lines without being able to pay, creating a financial burden for school districts.” Judging from the mounting charges in lunch accounts of Buncombe County students, that is equally true here.

At the end of the 2011-12 school year, a “bad debt” of $30,000 had to be written off at the taxpayer’s expense, because parents did not pay off student meal accounts. After a fresh start in the 2012-13 school year, as of December 1 student meal accounts are already in arrears by over $18,000, despite the fact that 55% of BCS students receive lunch for free or at a cost of only $.40 for a reduced-price meal. This is all the more surprising given that this year ALL students attending Buncombe County Schools have the opportunity to enjoy a free breakfast every day.

So what is a school system to do? Children need to eat lunch--that's a given. Parents who need financial assistance are strongly encouraged to apply for the federal free and reduced price meal program. The application is available at each school, or on line at BCS Lunches. Parents with outstanding accounts are contacted by phone each week with their student’s individual balance (though sometimes phone numbers are not correct in the system). Parents are urged to not only bring their accounts up to date, but also to consider depositing money in a student’s account ahead of time—each pay day for the upcoming weeks until the next payday, perhaps. This can be done in two ways:

(1) Parents can send a check payable to the school with the students name and ID number in the memo line.
(2) Parents can use LunchPrepay.com to use an online payment system (see directions below). Note that there is a $10 registration fee to use this service, and a $1.95 charge per transaction. Although there is a charge to use this service, it has many benefits...please see the Q & A below for more information.

Because of the mounting number of delinquent accounts, beginning February 4, 2013, Buncombe County students who buy school lunches will no longer be able to purchase a full meal on credit if they have charges of $10 or more in their child nutrition account. Students whose accounts are over $10, and who do not have lunch money with them, will be offered a cheese sandwich and milk, with a $1 dollar charge applied to their account.

It is unfortunate that this step is necessary, but at least students will not go hungry, and hopefully parents will either seek and receive financial assistance through the free/reduced meal program, or keep their student's meal account current.

About Web Prepayment system for school meals:

With LunchPrepay.com you never have to worry about lost lunch money again. LunchPrepay.com is a secure, easy and convenient way to apply funds directly to your student's account online. You can even check the account balance and keep an eye on what your student is buying! As an added convenience, parents can receive a Low Balance notification email alerting the parent that the student’s account will need another payment applied soon.

LunchPrepay.com has been designed to make it easy for you to know exactly what information you need to provide and to guide you through the process.

Membership

$10 Membership fee (one-time only)
Deposit money with ease using your debit or credit card
Flexibility to deposit money into multiple student accounts with one payment
View Account Balances
View 90 day Meal History
Low Balance Notification via email

To learn more visit www.LunchPrepay.com to register, you simply need your student’s district student Id #. If you do not have this number you may obtain it from your student’s school.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What is my student’s Student ID?
The Student ID is the same as the NCWise number assigned by Buncombe County Schools. It is usually printed on report cards and correspondence that you receive from the school. Please contact your child’s school if you do not know the number.

Why are there fees for this service?
The fees cover the costs of maintaining the secure web site and the cost for processing credit card payments. Most web sites use revenue from advertising and sales to maintain the website. There is no advertising on LunchPrepay.com and your information is never sold to anyone, therefore, fees are necessary to allow you the convenience of online payments.

How long from the time I register as a New User can I make a payment?
This process usually takes less than a day. Students must be “verified” before we can accept payments. This can usually be done instantly; however, in some cases it can take up to 24 hours. Once this process has been completed, you can make payments directly to your student's account at www.LunchPrepay.com.

Why is the verification process necessary?
This is the way we make sure that your payment is credited to the correct student’s account. We check for a match on the student’s last and first name, school, and student ID number. This can usually be done instantly; however, in some cases it may take up to 24 hours.

What if it has been more than 24 hours has gone by and my student has not been verified?
If it has been more than 24 hours, please contact the Child Nutrition Department at (828 255-5927) for assistance.

How long does it take for the payment to show at my student’s school?
Generally, all payments are applied within 24 hours.

How do I know it is safe to enter my credit card information on www.LunchPrepay.com?
LunchPrepay.com has 128 Bit Encryption provided by Verisign, which is the most trusted name in online shopping. All information submitted is protected by our secure server, which automatically encrypts your personal information so that it cannot be read while traveling over the Internet.

What do I do if I do not see all my students listed on the payment screen?
If all the students you have entered do not show up on the payment screen, it is possible the information you supplied could have been typed incorrectly. Please go to the Manage Student page and check the student’s first and last name, school, and student ID. Correct any errors and save your changes. This student's information will be available as soon it is verified.

What does the service cost?
A one-time fee of $10.00 is charged to set up your account. Each transaction will have a processing fee of $1.95 to handle the associated banking fees for credit card transactions.

You will always be provided with the cost information before any payment is processed.
One online payment can be split among all of the students attached to your account, with no additional cost.

What does the registration fee include?
The registration fee gives you access to your student’s lunchroom balance and meal history, and offers e-mail notification when the account balance drops below a limit you have set. It includes all the students in your family who attend a Buncombe County School.

What does the processing fee cover?
The payment fee covers the fees that the credit card company charges for processing the transaction.

Do I have to pay a separate registration fee for each student?
No, one registration fee covers all the students in your family who attend a Buncombe County School.

How do I set up a low balance notification?
Go to My Account – Manage Profile and enter the Low Balance amount. Check Send Notifications. You will receive an e-mail when the balance drops below the amount you set.

How do I find out what my student has been buying for lunch?
Go to My Account – Meal History and click on student name.

What if I forget my user name or password?
Click on “Forgot User Name/Password?” on the LunchPrepay Login screen. Send us your registered e-mail address and we will send you a return e-mail with your information.

What if I cannot remember the e-mail address I used, or it is no longer available?
Contact www.LunchPrepay.com for assistance.

What if my student transfers to a different Buncombe County School during the school year?
We will transfer any existing prepaid balance to the new school automatically. After your student has enrolled in the new school and before you make your next payment), go to Manage Students and change the school name.

What happens to balances left over at the end of the school year?
In Buncombe County Schools, funds remaining on your student’s account carry over to the coming school year.

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New Policy Beginning 2/4/2013