The Martin County School District is giving families even more flexibility and choice in their child's cafeteria purchases through new features now available in MySchoolBucks.
After months of collaboration between the District's Food and Nutrition Services team and the MySchoolBucks vendor, families can now choose whether their student is permitted to purchase à la carte food and beverage items using funds from their meal account.
The new setting, labeled "Allow À La Carte Purchases" on the app and “Meals and a la carte” on the website, can be turned on or off through the MySchoolBucks website or mobile app. This gives parents the ability to decide whether their child may purchase items beyond a standard reimbursable school meal.
A standard school meal includes the required meal components established by federal nutrition guidelines. À la carte purchases include many individual food and beverage items that are sold separately from the standard meal. To help families better understand the difference, the District has created a brief informational video explaining what is included in a standard meal and what may be considered an à la carte purchase.
Families looking for even greater control can contact their child's cafeteria manager to request:
Daily spending limits
Weekly spending limits
Restrictions that prevent à la carte purchases on specific days of the week
Parents can also monitor purchases by reviewing their student's transaction history through MySchoolBucks. If they decide to change their student's à la carte purchasing permissions, they can update the setting at any time. Changes take effect with at least 12 hours' notice.
"Our families have told us they want more choice and greater flexibility when it comes to managing their students’ cafeteria account, and we listened," said Superintendent Michael Maine. "This new feature gives parents another way to make decisions that are right for their child. It's one more example of our commitment to providing families with the options and support they deserve."
The District encourages all families with MySchoolBucks accounts to log in and review their student's cafeteria settings before making any changes. The District also encourages families to review Nutrislice with their students to make meal decisions at school a little easier.
For additional assistance or questions, please reach out to the Food & Nutrition Services Department at (772) 223-2655 or via email at AskFNS@martinschools.org
View the video detailing what a standard meal is:
View the tutorial to update settings in the MySchoolBucks App:
View the tutorial to update settings on the MySchoolBucks website:
Bonus video–watch tutorial on how to view purchase history: