Recently, I
received questions concerning the expenditures on some of our boys’ meal plans.
After consulting with the food service staff and investigating a number of
specific cases in which a family thinks that their meal plan payment from first
semester is prematurely depleted, I think I figured out what’s going on.
For
reminders, there are two meal plans at MUS: Regular and Plus. The Regular plan,
paid either by semester or annually, costs $426 first semester with 78 meals
covered, $866 annually with 167 meals. Second semester costs $486 for the
Regular plan, but I don’t yet know exactly the final number of meals. It will
be a few more as we meet for more class sessions Second Semester. The Plus Plan
costs $527 first semester, $1072 annually. Second semester costs $602 for the
Plus Plan. Most people purchased either a semester or an annual plan at the fall
book sale.
A Regular
plan pays for one meat, one vegetable, one side (salad or dessert or chips) and
one drink.
A Plus Plan
pays for all of the same, plus one addition item of any one category.
The plans
cover a finite number of lunches, and each time a subscribing student goes
through the lunch check-out line, a meal is deducted. Simple.
U-Cards
identify a student as a way of protecting the family’s investment and
accounts for the activity.
Now here is
where it gets arguably complicated. Students get hungry and exercise their free
will according to what signals emit from their tummies. They choose items
a-la-carte, independent of and in addition to their subscribed plans. When not
paid for in cash, these items are paid for by a separate individual student
debit account. No funds transfer out of the meal plan account for a-la-carte
purchases. Therefore, when Junior drops by the cafeteria for breakfast or
chooses a snack at lunch which falls outside of his plan, his debit card is
charged. When a food service cashier says, “You have an additional item,” or,
“You don’t have any money,” what they are saying is “Your extra food choice today is
in addition to your plan. You have to pay for it or return it.”
If Junior
pays cash, case closed. If Junior says, “OK,” then the cashier debits his debit
account. If Junior hands the cashier a $20 and wants the money to go on his
account, it goes into his designated debit account, and the transaction is
recorded. On the off chance that Junior is frugal and desires to eat only the items stipulated on his plan, when notified of his discretion, he will get out of line and return the extra item, get back in line somewhere in the rear of the mob and again patiently await his turn at the cashier.
These accounts run out quickly as a significant number of the boys purchase food a-la-carte. These are the accounts under
scrutiny by any parent investigating why their son’s account is being reported as
low. The meal plan covered by either the semester or annual payment is not a factor in these
discussions.
So there it
is. A-la-carte purchases go against either a debit account which requires
constant replenishing, or a-la-carte purchases are paid by cash. It’s kind of
like the way one would use a checking account in contrast to a savings account.
The debit account acts like a checking account, and it’s function is to satisfy
Junior’s breakfast and snack choices outside of his contracted plan. The meal plan is the savings account designed for
a set number of lunches which remains untouched in dollars being withdrawn, diminished only by the
daily lunch plan transactions Junior initiates. A student has a finite number
of meals per semester on the plans, and what he does not use at semester’s end
is his loss, so he should be vigilant as he nears the end of each semester.
I hope this
helps. Please calls the school’s Food Services Director John Nicholas at
260.1330 or email him at john.nicholas@musowls.org
if you have a particular question about your son’s meal plan.
