Food on the Table

With back-to-school excitement comes back-to-school expenses. Between fresh school supplies and new outfits, the start of another school year can be a costly time for many parents. To add to these expenses are school lunches. With rising prices around the country, there’s never been a better time to have your kids ditch the cafeteria lines in favor of a homemade lunch. Use these tips to kick off the school year with frugal lunch savings.

Make your own goodies

Making homemade snacks and desserts is healthier and less expensive than buying prepackaged goodies. Whether you put together something as simple as bite-sized veggies and peanut butter, or you take the time to bake an entire loaf of zucchini bread, these lunch extras will go a long way. You’ll have more control over the flavor and nutrition, all while spending less money for more food.

Avoid individual packaging

When buying packaged foods, go for the bulk. Keep various sizes of plastic containers in your kitchen to turn inexpensive bulk food into kid-size lunches. Large bags of chips are cheaper than individual lunch-sized bags and can last for weeks by being repackaged into small containers. That goes for crackers, yogurt, cans of fruit and pudding, too.

Use the reusable

Though brown bagging it makes for easier clean up, it means throwing money away everyday. A one-time investment in a lunchbox ends up saving you in the long run. Instead of plastic sandwich bags, use plastic containers. Forget water bottles and juice boxes that can’t be used more than once and go for reusable drink containers. By avoiding paper and plastic that will only end up in the trash, you end up helping your wallet and the environment.

This post is linked to Frugal Friday on Life as Mom.

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