The easiest, most convenient, and effective way to deposit money in your student's lunch account is through the Campus Parent Portal. If you have not established a Campus Parent account, please refer to this document for instructions.

• From the Campus Parent Home Screen, there is a button for adding funds to your cart. It is typically located in the upper right corner of the page.

• You are also able to view your student's account balance from the Home Screen as well. If you have multiple students in the district, each student's respective balance will be displayed on each of their thumbnail images.

• You may also refer to the Accessing & Paying Lunch Balances in Campus Parent document linked here.

Alternatively, you may also still send cash or check to school with your student. Deposit envelopes are available in each building's office. Students may leave their deposit envelope with office staff to be turned into the cafeteria, or students may directly deliver the envelope to cafeteria staff in the meal line.

Any money left in the student's account at the end of the school year will be available on the first day of school the following year. The funds will also advance to another school in the district as your child progresses through North County R-1 Schools.

Students may charge up to $12 on their food service account. Once that amount is reached in negative account charges, the student will not be allowed to get the prepared meal listed on the menu. As an alternative, he or she will be provided a cheese sandwich and milk at no cost to the family until the negative balance is paid and/or paid ahead.

If you need a refund of a leftover or overage balance on your food service account due to a move out of district, graduating student, etc., please contact the Food Service secretary at 573-431-3300, ext. 1016. You may also contact Ms. Lori Kohm at 573-431-3300, ext. 6007.

Alternatively, if a family has another student still enrolled in NCSD, the leftover funds from the departing student's account may be transferred to that other student's balance.

In the Campus Parent Portal, choose the "More" tab on the left side of the screen. In the new menu that opens, select the "Meal Benefits" option and begin the application process as prompted. New applications must be submitted for each school year. Please do this on or after August 1 prior to the new school year. When initially registering a new student in NCSD or when completing the Annual Verification & Update process, parents/guardians should receive an email reminder to complete a new application.

Please click here for visual instructions on how to submit your Meal Benefits application in the Campus Parent Portal.

If you have not set up your Campus Parent Portal account, please follow the steps in this document to do so.

To understand why an application is denied, it is important to know how the application is reviewed. Applications are approved based on federal criteria in three different areas:

1. Direct Certification automatically qualifies a student for free meals. Parents may also fill out an application and list a SNAP benefit or Temporary Assistance number on the application to qualify for free meals. 

2. Foster children who are placed in a home by the state will qualify for free meals. 

3. Income/household size must be evaluated for all other eligibility. 

If the application does not meet federal income guidelines, or if the application is not correctly completed, then it may be denied. If there is a question, parents are encouraged to discuss the situation with either the director of food services or the food services secretary named above.

Federal guidelines require all sponsors of the National School Lunch program to conduct income verification on a pre-selected percentage of all applications on file by October 31 of each year. Applications at the administration office are randomly selected for verification by using district-approved procedures. Within a specified time period, parent/guardians must provide adequate documentation to substantiate income. If information is not provided, the students will lose free/reduced meal benefits.

If your student has a food allergy, please contact your student's building nurse to give notification of the allergy. Each building's nurse is named on the building's homepage. You may click on the nurse's name to send an email, or you may call 573-431-3300, choose the appropriate building, and select to speak with the nurse. Each building's page is linked below.

• North County Primary

• Parkside Elementary

• North County Intermediate

• North County Middle School

• North County High School

During the checkout process (at the point of sale [POS] station/register in the cafeteria), an alert or flag may be added to your student's account to notify the cashier of any allergy or special diet. Questions should be directed to the school nurse.

Please check out the flyer linked HERE for nutrition information! Should you have any questions, please reach out to the Food Service Dept. at the phone number or email addresses above.