School Nutrition

MEALS FOR 2024-25 SCHOOL YEAR

Effective starting for the 2024-2025 school year, meal costs will be as follows:

We recommend all families fill out a Free and Reduced Price Meal Application to see if your student is eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Approval is based on income and family size. The online application is quick, easy, and secure. It is important to fill out this application as soon as possible, so that benefits can start by the first day of school. If you filled out an application last school year and were approved, your benefits carry over until September.

• Please note: School ID is NOT a required field. You can apply just using the student’s first and last name.
• Use the website for meal applications only- do not make any payments or view menus on the SchoolCafe site.

Paper applications available upon request. Please contact Erin Johnson at [email protected] if you need more information.

How Does My Child Get TMS Breakfast / Lunch?

Breakfast is served daily with no pre ordering needed. Just show up!

Lunch MUST be pre ordered each day in homeroom.  Students order lunches by following their classroom teacher’s meal ordering procedure, first thing in the morning.  They will indicate lunch choice to their teacher or use the google form to select school lunch (either regular or vegetarian) that day.  Some teachers may request that parents send in the order for their kids, depending on the age (i.e., Kindergarten).  Students who want school lunch will come to the cafeteria serving line to receive lunch prior to sitting with their classmates.

Tardy students must have a parent or guardian text the front desk with their lunch order.  Text (678-249-0327) and include:

1. Student name
2. Regular or vegetarian lunch

For the first few days of school, to make things easier for everyone, TMS will have plenty of lunches on hand while students adjust to the morning preordering procedure.

Menus are posted in classrooms, the front office, the cafe, online on the TMS website, and in weekly newsletters so you will always be informed of what school meal options are.

Students can order just milk (1% white, skim chocolate, or 1% lactose-free white).  Milk will be billed to student’s account at $0.50 each.

How Do I Pay for Breakfast or Lunch?

Please pay for all cafeteria purchases in advance.

• Use TMS’s payment portal, Schoolpaymentportal.com, to pay by credit card or ACH withdrawal. Or,
• If preferred, you may send in cash or check marked “Nutrition Department.”

It is recommended that everyone set up an account in the portal- even if you don’t plan to use it for payment. It is quick and easy to set up your student’s account. With the portal, you can make payments from your computer or mobile device and set email notifications for when your balance falls below a designated point.

Please note: the portal charges a service fee per transaction:
• $1.50 for ACH for under $500.00 transactions (the fee increases by a dollar for every $500.00 additional), or
• $1.00 + 2.3% for credit cards (a $20.00 credit card charge would be assessed $1.46 in fees).
This fee covers the cost of credit card/ACH processing. Therefore, it is recommended to purchase lunches in batches, such as $20.00 or more, to minimize the impact of this charge.
You will not be charged any fees if you pay TMS directly by cash or check.

As always, email the TMS Nutrition Department ([email protected]) with any questions or concerns. We look forward to serving the students this year!

If You Wish to Apply For Benefits- Follow These Instructions

Online application is quick, easy, and secure. Benefits Application. Doing so qualifies you for 1 volunteer hour per household!

1. NOTE- use the website ONLY for meal benefit applications- do NOT pay on this site or view menus on this site.
2. If you don’t already have an account, go to the bottom and type “Dekalb” in the school district pull-down menu.
3. Create New Account- select “I’m a Parent” and click “Next”
4. Create ID and password and a security question. Click “Create My Account”
5. View Household letter for income guidelines; click “Next”
6. Click “Save Applicant Information”
7. Click the box to agree to terms and conditions.  Click “Next”
8. Click “Dashboard” on upper left corner.  Hit “OK”- you will not lose progress
9. Select “Add Student” and enter student information and click “Search & Verify.” (First and Last name is all that is required- if you wish to fill out other fields, you may do so).
   • Select “Museum of Avondale Charter 0640” (if you do not see our school listed, repeat Step 8 to make sure you are on the Dashboard page).
10. Hit “Search and Verify”
11. If the information that pops up is correct, click “Add This Student.”
12. Once you have added all children in the household, click “Apply for Benefits.”  Note: This system is for applying for benefits ONLY. Do not make any payments to this account as it is not part of TMS’s lunch ordering or payment system. Do not view menus as it is not TMS’s menu.
13. Fill out household information and when complete, you will see your meal benefits status- qualified for Free meals, Reduced-Price meals, or Denied (Full-Price meals).
14. To check application status, Use the “Eligibility Info” menu on the Left and select “My Applications.”

Please note that there are 2 portals with separate functions:

–SchoolCafe is Dekalb’s site for filling out meal applications for free or reduced-price meals. DO NOT make payments or view menus on this site, as those apply to Dekalb County Public Schools.

–Schoolpaymentportal is TMS’s meal tracking and payment site. Please use this site for electronic payments to your student’s meal account.

Paper applications are available, if needed, by contacting the TMS Nutrition Department. All families are encouraged to apply for benefits, even if you think you do not qualify. Refer to this chart for income qualifications.

Please contact Erin Johnson at [email protected] if you have any questions.