Slash school lunch costs in half: Easy ways to feed students for a few dollars a day
From $6 to $3 a day: Simple school lunch swaps that save big without sacrificing nutrition
From $6 to $3 a day: Simple school lunch swaps that save big without sacrificing nutrition
According to the Culinary Center of Kansas City, an average packed lunch runs about $6.16 per day, which means over $1,100 for the whole school year. But culinary experts explain there are ways to cut that price in half without sacrificing nutrition.
Catie Wiley is a pastry chef at the center. She showed KMBC 9 some tips and tricks for saving without sacrificing nutrition. She said there are ways to build a full lunch box with a sandwich, a fruit, a veggie and a snack for about $3.
The store-bought lunch kits run about $4-$5 each. Wiley shares you can build a homemade version for about $1 per serving.
Another way to save is by batch-baking on Sundays, ahead of the school week, so you have mini whole-grain muffins or granola bars on the go for the busy mornings before school starts.
We all know specialty, allergy-friendly foods can be expensive as well. But Wiley explains that sun butter and jelly roll-ups, gluten-free and nut-free snacks can cost less if you make them from whole food ingredients yourself, as opposed to buying the prepackaged version.
Lastly, leftovers reinvented for lunch the next day and bulk-bin/dollar-aisle power snacks can also be great cost-saving options, Wiley said.
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