Food & Nutrition Services Information
Welcome to the Food and Nutrition Services department! We are eager to serve the students of Dickinson Independent School District nutritious and well-balanced meals each and every school day. All fourteen campuses prepare fresh meals on-site each day for students and staff.
The Food and Nutrition department operates under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the National Breakfast Program (SBP). Both of these programs are administered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on the federal level and the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) on the state level. The Dickinson Independent School District's Food and Nutrition Services program is a self-supported program operating on self-generated funds and paying all expenses independently. The Food and Nutrition Services department does not utilize local property tax funds for its operational expenses.
Free & Reduced Meal Applications Online
Dickinson ISD requests all households to complete the Free and Reduced-Price Meal Benefits Application online from any computer, smartphone or device connected to the internet, before each school year. Paper applications can be requested. Click here for the ONLINE FREE & REDUCED MEAL APPLICATION 2025 - 2026 SCHOOL YEAR
Important Update: Lunch Money Now is Moving to PaySchools Central
Dickinson ISD is transitioning from Lunch Money Now to PaySchools Central, a modern, cloud-based system designed to provide a more secure and user-friendly experience for managing schools meals.
Redirect in Place
Parents who attempt to access the old system will be redirected to PaySchools Central.
Create Your Account
Parents and guardians are encouraged to register at https://www.payschoolscentral.com or through the PaySchools Central mobile app. Once registered, families can:
- Add their student(s)
- Manage school meal payments in one convenient place.
Please note: PaySchools Central is for meal payments only. It does not process school fees, event tickets, or Free and Reduced-Price Meal applications.
What You Need to Know
- Once logged in, follow the steps to add your student(s) using their Student ID number. For privacy reasons, PaySchools cannot provide this information - please contact your school if you do not have it.
- Your student's current meal balance will transfer automatically.
- You will need to re-enter payment information and set up any auto-pay preferences.
- PaySchools Central offers detailed meal activity reports so you can see what your student is purchasing.
- The Pay Schools Central App is available in the Apple App Store and Google Play.
- There is no cost to create an account or view information.
- Standard payment processing fees apply to online transactions.
Prefer to Pay in Person?
Payments can still be made with cash or check at any campus. Please include your student's full name and ID number on all checks.
Insufficient Checks
Checks returned for insufficient funds will not be accepted for future payments. Cash, money orders or using PaySchools Central will be the only payment options.
Please note: FNS staff will not accept checks during the last two weeks of the school year.
Pricing for the 2025 - 2026 School Year
Lunch Paid student lunch prices:
Elementary (grades PreK-3) - $2.50
Middle School (grades 4-5) -$2.50
Junior High (grades 6-8) - $2.75
High School (grades 9-12) - $3.00
Breakfast will continue to be offered free of charge to all students under the Universal Free Breakfast program provision, regardless of household income.
Adult Meal Pricing [Teacher/Staff]:
Breakfast: $3.50
Lunch: $5.00
New Meal Charge Policy for 2025-2026 School Year
A new Meal Charge Policy will go into effect for the 2025-2026 school year. This policy can be found in the Quicklinks section of this page.
The meal charge policy must be communicated in writing to all households at the start of each school year and to households transferring to the district during the school year. This charge policy will be included in the ‘letter to households’ about the free and reduced program. The district will send out weekly reminders when a student’s account balance is negative. An automated email will be sent daily when a student account is negative. Nonprofit School Food Service resources may not be used to cover costs related to Bad Debt arising from uncollected student meal accounts and the Dickinson School District will be responsible for paying those delinquent accounts.
The parent/guardian is responsible to repay any charges that have accrued before the end of the school year and for charges made prior to application approval.
Revisions to the Charge Policy will be updated and posted online at Dickinson ISD website as TDA/USDA makes available.