Students at the Salem, Ark. high school need to only punch in their ID number at the start of the cafeteria line in order to eat lunch. The program, called Etrition, includes a terminal at the start of the food service line which eliminates the need for diners to pay cash and receive change from a cashier.

For elementary students, the teacher in each classroom takes a count of how many students plan to eat that day and passes the information, via a touch screen, on to the cafeteria.

Parents can use the Salem School Web site to post money to their student’s account.

Under the older system, an employee scanned a student’s ID card to electronically collect the payment for meals. According to Superintendent Ken Rich, Salem went with the new lunch software because the previous system was no longer supported by the manufacturer, making it difficult to get technical help when needed.

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