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.
Dickinson ISD Meal Benefits Applications for the 2024-2025 School Year are NOW OPEN. Dickinson ISD will begin accepting online Free & Reduced Meal applications beginning August 1st, 2024. Click here for the application.
Lunch Money Now (LMN)
We encourage all parents to set up a LMN account to view your student’s meals and snacks eaten daily. It is a convenient way for parents to receive not only an email but also a text that your student’s balance is low or has reached a preset dollar amount. Parents with students on the Free and Reduced meal program can also utilize LMN. It allows parents to set up recurring payments to your student’s account and view account balances. Visa, MasterCard, and PayPal can be used to make deposits on the secure (SSL) site and are available on the student’s account within an hour of the transaction. There is a small $2.50 charge per transaction and multiple students can have money deposited in a single transaction. Parents and guardians who prefer to make their payment in person may do so at any school campus with a scheduled appointment. This year there will be an option to donate to “Feed All Kids” on Lunch Money Now each time you make a deposit in your student meal account.
Pricing for the 2024 - 2025 School Year
Lunch Paid student lunch prices:
Elementary (grades PreK-3) - $2.25
Middle School (grades 4-5) - $2.50
Junior High (grades 6-8) - $2.75
High School (grades 9-12) - $2.75
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
Insufficient Checks
Checks returned for insufficient funds will not be accepted for future payments. Cash, money orders or using Lunch Money Now will be the only payment options.
District Meal Charge Policy
A new Meal Charge Policy will be implemented for the 2024 - 2025 School Year. This policy was approved by the school board on July 22, 2024, and 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.