Back to Child Nutrition

Meal Payments

All Students Eat Free!

As of December 1, 2023, all students in the Ithaca City School District are eligible to receive one free healthy breakfast and one free healthy lunch at school. This will continue for the next three years as part of the Community Eligibility Provision under the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program. 

If you utilize MySchoolBucks for meal payments, you no longer need to add funds to your account (and please remember to turn off auto-pay!), unless your student wishes to purchase a second meal or food items à la carte.

Staff may still use their MySchoolBucks accounts to pay for school meals. All pricing remains the same for adults.

Learn more>>

The Child Nutrition Program accepts two forms of payment for school meals:

  • Check (payable to ICSD Child Nutrition Program)

  • Credit Card (via MySchoolBucks*; Visa and Mastercard accepted)
    *There are no credit card fees on this platform.

MySchoolBucks: Online School Meal Account Program

SchoolPay is inactive and the district has switched to MySchoolBucks. We are excited to make the change to this new platform. It will allow for ease of use and will eliminate fees associated with credit card payments. 

Create an Account 

To create a MySchoolBucks account, visit this link and follow the steps below:

  • Download the app or visit the MySchoolBucks homepage 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.

  • Now you’re ready to make payments!

Add Funds

Once you’ve created a MySchoolBucks account, you can deposit money into your students’ account. To add funds, click on the green "Make a Payment" button on your homepage. On the next page you will be prompted to select a payment amount or you can add your own amount in the “Other” field. If you haven't done so yet, you will need to add a credit card to your account. Click continue to visit the review page, and then click "Fund Now" to complete your purchase.

Low Balance Email Notification and Automatic Payments

Email notifications are managed through your account settings. To turn on low-balance emails, click on your name (blue circle with a white figure in the upper right-hand corner of your MySchoolBucks account). In the drop-down menu select "My Students". Once the page loads, click "Edit" in green next to your student’s name.

To manage auto-payments, select “Setup AutoPay” from the meal payments options page. During the setup process, you can set up payments to occur when the account balance falls below a specified amount or on a set schedule. When the payment settings have been entered, click “complete setup” to enable the settings.

Click here to view additional FAQs.

Please reach out to Beth Krause, Director of Child Nutrition, if you have any additional questions.