Is it More Affordable to Buy or Pack Your Child’s Lunch?

Have you heard about the school in Chicago that won’t allow students to bring a lunch from home? In a Chicago Tribune news report, the school’s principal said she made the policy six years ago because too many kids were bringing chips and soda for lunch. I have no idea why a policy that old is making headlines now, but let’s use this opportunity to see which option is cheaper: buying it or brown bagging.

Public school lunches are subsidized by the government. They are the same everywhere in the United States. Elementary school lunches are $2.25 a day or $11.25 a week. Lunches at secondary schools are $2.35 a day or $11.75 a week. If you compare that to eating fast food, it’s pretty affordable. How does it compare to home, though?

Let’s say a child eats a basic ham and cheese sandwich, a piece of fruit and a cup of yogurt for lunch every day. For elementary age kids, don’t forget the juice box. Two weeks of supplies costs roughly $18.50:

One pound of deli meat: $6

One package sliced cheese: $2

Bread: $2

Two packs of yogurt cups (6 count each): $5

Bag of apples (12 count) : $2.50

Juice boxes (10 count) (100 percent juice): $3

That comes to about $2.05 – a savings of $.20 cents a day or $1 a week for elementary kids. Of course, I don’t like to give my kid the same lunch every day. I like him to have a variety of healthy choices. Is that costing me more money?

On a typical week, he gets a homemade “lunchable” on two different days. That’s two pieces of ham, two pieces of turkey, one slice of cheese and whole grain crackers. One day a week (sometimes two), he gets a soft taco – beans, meat and cheese on a whole grain tortilla. Every once in a while, I throw nutrition out the window and give him boxed macaroni cheese. He always gets fruit, yogurt and either juice or water. If I were to buy all of these things every week, just for lunch, it would cost me about $2.50 a day. However, I’m smart with his lunches.

I don’t buy supplies just for lunch. I incorporate his lunch needs into our dinner menu. Most of the ingredients in the soft taco are left overs. In fact, a lot of his lunches are left over from dinner: spaghetti with sauce, stir-fry and even homemade potato soup make it to the lunchbox occasionally. I have a kid size thermos bowl that fits in his lunch box, and I feed him healthy, warm meals for less than I could buy them at school.

It requires more time than writing a checking, but I’m saving money and my child is eating healthy.

What are some ways you save money on lunches for your children?