Lugoff parent Lavoy Carter noticed his son Jordan’s lunch money was disappearing quickly last school year.

Carter later found out Jordan was buying his lunch, then treating friends to additional food.

Starting in October, Carter and other Kershaw County parents will have a new way to monitor their kids’ lunchroom habits.

The district is joining hundreds of other schools statewide in using software that allows parents to track online the food that their children are buying. Parents can even put restrictions on what their children are allowed to eat and pay for lunches online.

At a time when children’s health is in the spotlight – and many schools are enacting state-mandated nutrition and physical education policies – the system is welcome news for parents.

The convenience appeals to Carter, whose children attend Lugoff-Elgin High, Lugoff-Elgin Middle and Blaney Elementary. “When you’ve got three kids at three different schools, it’ll be nice to log on to a site and pay there.

“I won’t ever have to worry about them (kids) charging a lunch because I’ll be able to look online and see if they’re in the hole.”

Sally Gardner, nutrition and school food service coordinator for the Kershaw County school district, said the new software, called LunchBox, gives parents more control.

“We want parents involved in the school eating process,” she said. “Their feedback is very important to us.”

The district also will be able to track inventory, order food online, accept applications for free and reduced-price meals – in English and Spanish – and analyze nutrition.

Starting Tuesday, students buying lunch will enter a four-digit code, assigned by the district, into a key pad when they’re ready to check out at the cash register.

The cashier will see the student’s name, picture and lunch account balance on a screen. If a child forgets his code, the cashier can look it up, Gardner said.

The inclusion of a child’s picture is important because it ensures that only that student can use the access code, she said.

Parents won’t be able to monitor lunch account balances or add food restrictions online until October, Gardner said. In the meantime, parents will be notified of account balances through an automated voice mail service.

Many parents say the system’s benefits will be worth the wait.

Elgin resident Melissa Rowell said it will be much easier to monitor the eating habits of her daughter, a Wateree Elementary student who is lactose intolerant.

“This will make it easier because I can place her eating restrictions online instead of having to follow up with all of her teachers,” Rowell said.

The software is in use at more than 3,000 schools nationwide and in 10 to 15 S.C. school districts, said Doug Boals, a vice president for Kentucky-based Data Futures, which produces LunchBox.

“There are other systems out there that will do the same thing as LunchBox,” said Vivian Pliant, director of food services and nutrition at the state Education Department. “Districts have to weigh their own needs with student population.”

Kershaw County is paying $145,000 to install the software system at its 18 schools, Gardner said. The system will cost roughly $2,300 a year to maintain.

SCHOOL DAYS, AGAIN

About 109,000 public school students in Richland, Lexington and Kershaw counties start school in the next two weeks.

Started Friday

Lexington 3 – Batesburg-Leesville

Today

Lexington 2 – Cayce, West Columbia

Tuesday

Richland 1 – Columbia, Lower Richland

Richland 2 – Blythewood, Dentsville

Lexington 1 -Lexington, Gilbert, Pelion

Lexington 4 – Gaston-Swansea

Kershaw County

Aug. 17

Lexington-Richland 5 – Irmo, Chapin, Ballentine

Reach Riddle at (803) 771-8435.