Dear Families,
The beginning of the school year is fast approaching, and our Whitsons School Nutrition team is excited to provide nutritious, well-balanced meals to the Dighton-Rehoboth Regional school community. Universal free school meals for all students in Massachusetts has been extended for the entire 2022-2023 school year. This means we can offer all D-R students one breakfast and one lunch per day at no charge.
Free lunches will follow National School Lunch Program (NSLP) guidelines. One free lunch includes a serving of grains, meat/meat alternate, fruits, vegetables, and an optional 8oz low-fat milk. Students must take a serving of fruits or vegetables as part of their meal in order for it to qualify as free. Additionally, individual entrée and side items are not free on their own, and students will be charged a la carte pricing for these items.
Although one lunch per day is free, it is still extremely important all students check out at a cafeteria register to account for their free meals and purchase a la carte items. Checking out at a register ensures accurate reimbursement of free meals so funds spent are returned to the non-profit program.
ACCOUNT INFORMATION & PAYMENTS
Account payments can be made through MySchoolBucks.com using a debit/credit card or electronic check. We will also be accepting cash and check payments (CHECK ONLY at Beckwith Middle) at all cafeteria registers. Please make checks payable to “Dighton Rehoboth Regional School District” and include your student’s full name in the memo line.
A MySchoolBucks account also provides you with the ability to view account balances, receive low balance alerts, set up automatic recurring payments, and view a history of purchases made on the account. Please note that there is a $2.75 convenience fee for each deposit transaction made through MySchoolBucks.
Once you have created a MySchoolBucks user profile, each student will need to be added individually to your account using their student ID number included in this letter. Follow these steps to get started:
- Download the app or visit MySchoolBucks.com and click on “Sign Up Free”.
- Create a user profile with your email address, establish a password, and set up your security questions.
- Add a student to your account using the student’s name, date of birth, and/or student ID number.
Students must save their PIN and should not share it with anyone else. All students will be required to enter their PIN to receive their daily free lunch (at no charge to their account) and to charge additional a la carte items. We recommend regularly monitoring student account balances and transactions through MySchoolBucks, and notifying the Food Service Director of any unrecognized transactions as soon as possible using the contact information provided at the end of this letter.
Please be aware, students with negative or zero balances will not be allowed to charge a la carte items (including 2nd lunch) to their account. This means they will be allowed to take their one free lunch per day, but will be prevented from taking any additional items not included as part of free lunches.
At the end of the school year, any remaining balance will automatically roll over to student’s account for the next school year.
SCHOOL MEALS & MENUS
Our interactive menus can be found online at www.fdmealplanner.com. Interactive menus provide you with nutritional and allergen information including the ability to build an entire meal using specific options offered. For questions regarding food allergies, dietary requirements, or general program information, please contact our Food Service Director, Jennifer Viens, at 508-813-4818 or viensj@whitsons.com
FREE & REDUCED PRICE SCHOOL MEALS
A new application needs to be filled out for each school year, even though meals are free, as additional benefits may be available to your family if you qualify.