Homemade Meals vs. School Lunches

I would like to ask you a question today, which is better school lunches or lunches from home? To me there is a big difference in quality and price. Today I would like to give my opinion on the home cooked meals vs. school lunches. If you are on a budget and are considered low income you should take the school lunch program because you can qualify for reduced price or even free meals.

School lunches can be good but also very pricey. My child is in High School and the school lunch program cost almost $3.00 dollars a day. The one thing I found out is the quality of the food is not that good and the amount of food they give them is not enough. If they want more of anything it all cost extra and that ads up. If she ate lunch at school every day I would be paying over $20.00 a week just for lunch for my child. This adds up to over $ 80.00 dollars a month. To top it all off my child doesn’t even like the food half the time so I’m wasting my money.

So today I will show what I do for my child for lunches and how I save a lot of money in the process. I still put a little money in her school lunch account for emergencies and if she has to stay after school for anything. Most of her meals, snacks and juices come from home packed by mom every day.

I decided, if I was going to do this right I needed a nice insulated lunch bag for my child. I found a very nice one for under $10.00 dollars on clearance which had a nice ice pack included in the bag.

Let’s start with juices. My child loves to drink Propel, but at $1.50 a bottle in the vending machine at school that gets very expensive. So I found a cheaper way to give her Propel. I found little packets of Propel in the grocery store to make in your own bottles for only 20 cents a bottle. For variety I also give her juices, Powerade and milk.

Next let’s talk about snacks. Snacks can be very expensive if you buy them in a vending machine. At over 50 cents a bag I decided to buy them myself. I buy boxes of 50 chips and spend about $13.00 dollars. So,  I spend about 25 cents a bag instead. Buying bigger quantities is always cheaper and last a little longer. I also buy big bags of chips when they are on sale and put them into zip lock bags for a snack for lunch. Here are a few things I give my child for snacks. I buy pudding cups, string cheese, yogurt,apples,oranges and bananas.  Packing these snacks is easier and cheaper than buying them from a vending machine.

Now it’s time for the main meal. There are so many things you can make and pack for lunches at a fraction of the price. I buy pizza’s and pack her some after baking it in the oven the night before or early in the morning. She likes TV-dinners, tuna, canned spaghetti, summersausage,peanut butter and jellie, bologna, sliced deli meats and more. There are so many different things you can try for lunches or make yourself that will fill your child up. School lunches are ok, but the serving sizes are not enough for most children.

I also give my husband a bag lunch every day. I pack him last night’s supper or make him salads or fresh homemade soups. Buying this from a gas station or restaurant can cost your over $10.00 dollars a day. Making lunch at home and bringing to the office is much cheaper and healthier.

Eating healthy and saving money is my ultimate goal here. Packing lunches and giving my family a home cooked meal shows I care. My child likes taking her lunch every day to school and likes the comments she gets from her friend’s . Her friends all say they wish they could have a lunch like hers. Saving money on lunches only takes a little time and effort and your family will thank you for it. Plus your check book will thank you too.  Experiment with different foods you child might like and save money in the process. I hope you like my saving tips on school lunches from Suzie Homemaker.