School Lunch Help

[PottersMom]

I don't have any kids, but my sister has 4 (soon to be 5!!!)- 3 of them are in grade school age. As you can imagine in a family that size, money is tight. Right now she pays for school lunches for all 3 kids, but I thought one of the ways I could help her out, (with both time and money) was to pack her kids lunches for the week, and drop them off for her on Sundays.
Can anyone tell me about how much they spend for school lunches per week? (no drinks) I was hoping to feed all three for about $20/week. Also, ideas for things that can be made ahead would be great.
Thanks!

 

[Pixiedust34]

What a good idea and generous thing to do for your sister!

I can't help you with how much lunches usually cost, but here's a link

http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/family/specialfeature/backtoschool_food_sf/

that has some school lunch ideas.

 

[dizzi]

I don't have any kids, but my sister has 4 (soon to be 5!!!)- 3 of them are in grade school age. As you can imagine in a family that size, money is tight. Right now she pays for school lunches for all 3 kids, but I thought one of the ways I could help her out, (with both time and money) was to pack her kids lunches for the week, and drop them off for her on Sundays.
Can anyone tell me about how much they spend for school lunches per week? (no drinks) I was hoping to feed all three for about $20/week. Also, ideas for things that can be made ahead would be great.
Thanks!

WOW! How nice.....
I wish my kids would pack their lunch!
We pay $60 for each kids lunch and we have 2 in school.

Well to do it cheaply you will have to forfiet, the prebagged items like single size servings, unless you find a good deal on something...

and also i would imagine it also depends on how nutritious you want it to be.

Unfortunatly soemtimes the exchange of nutrition and cost is not great!

But here are soem ideas!

Most of these items to be put in baggies
Small tiny tiny carrots
skinny pretzels
ritz crackers
fruit snacks
cheeze its
celery
grapes
bananas chips
cereal...this is an awesome snack or for lunch no milk needed
graham crackers

also for the main course.....
peanut butter and jelly snadwiches can be made in advance and frohzen until night before!
lunch meat sandwiches


Oh gosh lunches are so hard to pack!!!!!

GOOD LUCK

 

[HeatherC]

You can definitely feed 3 kids for $20 a week...probably less.

I have 3 kids and make their lunches every day. While it is a pain, our school lunches are so unhealthy that I feel it is worth it.

This is what I usually buy for the week, but I do try and add different things and mix it up along the way.

Whole Wheat Bread - about 2 loaves a week for lunches.
3/4 lb smoked turkey breast
3/4 lb. ham
tuna- luckily 2 of my 3 like this and it's healthy for them.
pasta salad with added veggies, meat or tuna
peanut butter and jelly
a hearty soup in a thermos....something I make for dinner like pasta fagioli, chicken stew, etc..

Then they all take a piece of fruit like an apple, clementine, banana.

Also a protein like a yogurt or cheese stick
Then I put in one or two cookies, pretzels, cheez its, etc. for a snack.

That's pretty much our standard lunch fare.

I also find that it is MUCH cheaper to buy a big bag of something (like pretzels, goldfish) and portion them out in ziplocs. Those snack pack things don't go far and are really expensive. (I do buy them if they are on sale though.)

Hope this helps give you some ideas.


Heather

PS I just realized that if my kids bought lunch every day that would be $30 a week or $120 a month! Yikes!

 

[dpratt68]

Lunches cost $10/week for my oldest and $8.75 for the younger. I have had them bring for the month of december and have enjoyed the savings. You can definitely feed 3 for less than $20. What a generous person you are!!!!

 

[HeatherC]

Just wanted to add that leftover pasta can be made ahead and put in a thermos. The Barilla Plus stuff is very healthy and relatively cheap for a meal...and it fills them up.


Heather

 

[MrsPooh]

It will really depend upon how picky the kids are and how worried you are about nutrition.

We try to be healthy but at the same time I figure that my kids eat healthy when they are at home so I figure that one meal a day that is not as healthy won't kill them.

As far as unhealthy...
My oldest went through a stage where she wanted pizza every day. On Sunday I would make a frozen pizza, cut it and put it in individual ziplock bags. I could refridgerate or freeze them and pull them out in the morning for lunch.
At another time she really wanted the Lunchables that everyone else was bringing. She wanted the pizza kind but I found that she was only eating the shredded cheese and the pepperoni and throwing the rest away. I bought a bag of shredded pizza cheese and a package of pepperoni and measured out a serving of each into ziplock bags and put them in her lunch. She was happy and it was much cheaper than the prepackaged food.

Now we do a few other things.

I buy the individual serving packages of fruit. At Aldi they are reasonably priced and healthy. My dd gets one every day. I also send either celery or carrot sticks along with a small container of ranch dressing. I purchased little "souffle" cups with lids at Sams for this purpose and we've been using the same box for years.

Cheese/Sausage and crackers is also fun.

For awhile I made little "ka****s" using toothpicks and putting pieces of lunchmeat and cheese cubes on them. She thought they were great but if you've got a kids who might try to stab someone with it then those wouldn't be so great.

I've found that I can make most of the lunch components up on Sunday and put them in ziplock bags and they will stay very fresh all week. I'm not a fan of pre-made sandwiches so I ususally do make those in the morning but when we do things like the ka****s, cheese/sausage/crackers or other similar items then I do them all ahead of time too.

You are awesome for doing this. What a wonderful thing.

 

[mum4jenn]

Have they looked to see if the qualify for reduced or free lunch at school? These days there is nothing to be ashamed of. We have many families that have several kids that qualify. Most schools have computers and all the kids do is punch in a number and no one except the cashier knows if they are free, reduced or full pay.

 

[kath1210]

That really is a nice idea!

To answer your question about cost, in our area, the basic school cafeteria lunch costs $2.40 per day. They also offer a la carte items, which can add up to much more - I think my son spends about $3 per day.

I know packing would be cheaper, but they really seem to have very nutritious lunches in our schools. They just started this a couple of years ago. Plus, my son goes to a technical high school (for pre-engineering) and they have a cooking program for the students. They supposedly have the best-tasting lunches in the county!

 

[momof1princess]

please, have your sister check into the free/reduced price lunch program. you'd be surprised how high the income limits are, and it could REALLY help her family out. i don't know about your sister's children's school, but the lunches here are really nutritious, and with a new baby coming, it would save her tons of time if the older kids could get a hot, nutritious lunch at school. oddly enough, my family of 3 qualifies for my DD to get reduced price lunches (.40 per lunch), so it couldn't hurt to check!

 

[PottersMom]

Wow- thanks for getting back so quick everyone!
I am not sure if they are already getting reduced price lunches now. I know she is paying a lot of $$ monthly for the school lunches- my guess is that the regular lunch here costs $2.50 and the reduced price is $2.00. I guess. I know it's a lot higher than when I was in school, and I'm pretty sure it costs more in this area than in the "average" school district. We have a very distinct divide between the "haves" and "have nots" in this community. (It's a resort area).
I pack a lunch for work, so I buy a lot of the things I would be putting in their lunches anyway- but my sister would rather throw herself in front of a bus than make a meal. (As a result she wastes money on food.)
So anyway, i thought if I could do it for around $20/ week I would give it a try.
As far as the nutrition thing goes- I would like to see them eat healthier- she feeds them a lot of fast food and the like. But I know in my heart of hearts that they will probably end up trading any healthy creative snacks I send- so what are ya gonna do?

 

[nzdisneymom]

What a wonderful sister you are! School lunches here are $1.75 for elementary (includes milk). Milk by itself is 50-cents, so I figure if I can pack a lunch for less than $1.25 then we're good. I have him go ahead and buy milk at school. The lunch-program has just changed so you have to get a main choice, a veggie, and a fruit -- he was skipping the veggie and getting two fruits, so now that he's required to get the veggie and only one fruit, he's throwing more away than he's eating. But that wasn't your question

My older son packs a lunch every day. Some things he packs are:

pb crackers
pb/j sandwich
yogurt / go-gurt
fresh fruit
tortilla chips and salsa
tortillas
shredded cheese

You may want to invest in some non-disposable containers for putting the prepared foods into. I bought some Tupperware sandwich boxes when the boys were in preschool (8 years ago!) and they are still sturdy and holding up well. They also have some "snack cups" which are perfect sizes for a serving of grapes or carrot sticks, etc. Things will be easier to store in the frig when they are in sturdy containers vs. plastic baggies.

 

[mum4jenn]

Those are some expensive school lunches!!! Here full price is $1.25 and reduced is .40. With prices like that they might not be a part of the Federal School Lunch Program. You could probably look up the school system website and find out for sure about reduced lunch prices and if they are a part of the federal program.

 

[wahoostampingirl]

You may want to invest in some non-disposable containers for putting the prepared foods into. I bought some Tupperware sandwich boxes when the boys were in preschool (8 years ago!) and they are still sturdy and holding up well. They also have some "snack cups" which are perfect sizes for a serving of grapes or carrot sticks, etc. Things will be easier to store in the frig when they are in sturdy containers vs. plastic baggies.

I agree with others that you can do this for under $20, but I just want to mention that depending on the kid, you might want to go with baggies. My ds has a bad habit of throwing away the plastic containers. The price of lunch goes up when I have to keep buying new containers!

 

[CEDmom]

I pack my DD8 lunch everyday. She doesn't like much for what her school serves even though from the menu it looks pretty good. Also the lunch period is pretty short so this way she has more time to eat.

Anyway, she takes leftovers in a thermos several days a week. Most of the time it's pasta based but I use Barilla Plus so she's getting protein and fiber in it. She also likes soup. With that she gets fruit and a little treat. I usually throw in crackers or pretzels in case she's really hungry.

I think it would be tough to make lunch ahead for an entire week since stuff is likely to spoil or go stale. Unless of course you go with prepackaged items which won't save much money anyway.

 

[bigbabyblues]

My DS likes to take those pouches of Tuna for part of his lunch, there are a few kids in his class that do the same.

Also, carrot sticks (or baby carrots), string cheese, grapes, crackers, sandwiches, yogurt, applesauce.

 

[spaceacewannabe]

No kids here, but as a teacher with limited time (and many other things I'd like to get done during my lunch), I've come up with a few things myself.
One thing I recently discovered is that refried beans (out of a can) are delicious cold. I add lettuce, tomatoes, and black olives to make a little shell-less taco. It's easy, tasty, and, other than the sodium in the beans, pretty nutritious.
I have some pickles that are packed in small containers that I haven't tried yet---but they seem fun and easy.

Kashi bars are delicious but a little pricey (and might be too high in fiber for a kid---a friend's daughter discovered that with Fiber One bars the hard way).

Anything you would normally eat as leftovers works. A lot of stuff is better cold than you'd expect.

 

[Julia M]

I don't know how picky the kids are, but here are some ideas:

GoGurts (buy at Costco, and freeze)

I buy (you could make) pizza dough at Trader Joes. I make little mini pizza shells, and then buy pizza sauce. Then with grated cheese, it's like a pizza lunchable. I bought little souffle cups and lids at Smart and Final, so the pizza sauce goes in there.

Also, I make homemade jello and pudding (It frequently goes on sale 3/$1 at Walgreens-the jello I mean) and put it in the souffle cups.

You can also make your own lunchables with crackers, and cheese and meat slices (usually cut in 4's works)

Kids also like oyster crackers (as a funny size)

I also used to put peanut butter in souffle cups and sent pretzel sticks for dipping. (our school is peanut free now)

Baby carrots would last well, prepackaged in ziplock bags.

Julia

 

[shortbun]

Devil's Advocate here: some kids really HATE to pack because of where they have to sit in the lunch room or not being able to sit with their friends. Some kids really LIKE hot lunch at school and would feel bad about missing their favorite lunch. I think your idea is lovely and generous. Just make sure your sister's kids are going to enjoy it too!

Also: because you are packing a week ahead for these lunches, you will have to be very careful about what will get soggy or stale or old(like bananas). My son doesn't like his lunch nearly as well if it's been packed and refrigerated-says it makes the bread funky-so he packs himself every morning.

 

[mickeyfan2]

Also: because you are packing a week ahead for these lunches, you will have to be very careful about what will get soggy or stale or old(like bananas). My son doesn't like his lunch nearly as well if it's been packed and refrigerated-says it makes the bread funky-so he packs himself every morning.

This was my first thought too. A lunch meat sandwich made on Sunday and ate on Friday might have spoiled but would definitely taste gross. A PB&J needs to be made that morning.

Maybe a better idea is to buy her jars of peanut butter and jelly and a loaf of bread (if they like PB&J) and drop that off.

Also the reduced school lunch is a great option to check into.