School Nutrition

MEALS FOR 2026-27 SCHOOL YEAR

Effective starting for the 2026-2027 school year, meal costs will be as follows:

		Student Meal Price			Adult Meal Price
Breakfast		$2.50			$3.00
Lunch		$4.50			$5.00

To track your child’s meal activity and pay electronically for meals, use the TMS online portal, SchoolPaymentPortal.com. This portal keeps families fully informed of student lunch activity and payment history.

We recommend all families fill out a Dekalb County Free and Reduced-Price Meal Application to see if your student is eligible for free or reduced-price meals (step-by-step instructions are at the bottom of this webpage). Approval is based on income and family size. The online application is quick, easy, and secure. If you received benefits last school year, those will expire in September.  You MUST reapply by September every year to avoid a lapse in benefits.

The application for the current school year (2026-27) usually opens shortly before the first day of school- keep checking the Dekalb School Nutrition website often. It is important to fill out this application as soon as it becomes available, since approval can take 1-2 weeks.

• 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.  Those do not pertain to The Museum School.

• If your student attended The Museum School last school year (2025-26) and you filled out an application which was approved, those benefits carry over until September (for the first 30 days of school).

Paper applications available upon request. Please contact Erin Johnson at tmslunch@themuseumschool.org if you need more information.

How Does My Child Get TMS Breakfast / Lunch?

Breakfast is served daily from 7:30-7:50 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. Students who want school lunch will come to the cafeteria serving line to receive lunch prior to sitting with their classmates. Any student who needs a meal will receive one, even if they forgot to order, however, preordering helps manage inventory and keeps the lunch line running smoothly.

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 or skim chocolate).  Milk will be billed to the student’s account at $0.50 each.

How Do I Pay for Breakfast or Lunch?

Please pay for all cafeteria purchases in advance, either electronically or with cash/check.

• To pay electronically, use TMS’s payment portal, SchoolPaymentPortal.com, to pay by credit card or ACH withdrawal.
• 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.  With a portal account, you can see your student’s meal activity, and if desired, 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 (tmslunch@themuseumschool.org) with any questions or concerns. We look forward to serving the students this year!

 

If You Wish to Apply For Meal Benefits- Follow These Instructions

Online application is quick, easy, and secure, using Dekalb County’s Free and Reduced-Price Meal Application. Doing so qualifies you for 1 volunteer hour per household!

1. NOTE- use the website (SchoolCafe) ONLY for meal benefit applications- do NOT make a payment 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). This information may not be available for a few days while the application is being processed.
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 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 TMSlunch@themuseumschool.org if you have any questions.