Kids Health Notes

Review: MealPayPlus, prepaying for school lunch online

by Grace on March 30th, 2008

Ever had a day when your child forgot his school lunch money or you forgot to write him a check? Or maybe the money was bullied out of him and he had to go without lunch the whole day.

Or how about this scenario: you suspect your child has been eating chocolate chip cookies for lunch everyday this week (it’s his favorite!), but he won’t admit to it.

I had a chance to review a product called MealPayPlus that takes care of the scenarios above instantly.

MealPayPlus is an online prepayment system that allows a parent to deposit a certain amount into their children’s school lunch money. It automatically deducts the amount of lunch that your child eats from the cafeteria. Once the credit goes below a specific amount, the system either informs the parent, or with an automatic replenishment feature, deducts the money from your bank account. You can either call a number or log into the website anywhere you are, anytime of the day.

Cool isn’t it? You never have to worry about your child going without money for lunch.

But the beauty about MealPayPlus goes beyond that. With children and teenagers battling diabetes and obesity due to unhealthy food choices, it’s more important for parents to be on top of what our children eat. MealPayPlus keeps track of what your child has purchased in school, including snacks and a la carte items. You know exactly what your child has been eating for the past 30 days! What’s more, you can even ban specific foods from your child’s lunch, whether for diabetic issues, food allergies or diet.

Sweet huh? No pun intended.

Take a look at this sample purchase history.

I was given a demo of the software and found it really easy to use. You can manage all your children under one account, and you have the option of getting an email to tell you if your balance is low under any child’s name. The purchase history is updated nightly so by next morning you know if your child ate nutritious food the day before.

Check the current list of school districts that offer the MealpayPlus service in the “availability” section of this site. If your school district is not signed up yet, you will have to contact your Board of Education and request the district sign up to use the MealpayPlus service.

Next up is my interview with a school district food service supervisor who has been one of MealPayPlus’ original client.

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