Lunchtime staples from deli meat to fruit to snacks are all up in price this school year, and parents are feeling it.
"It is very much expensive," said Kyre Barbour, a parent navigating the balance between cost and convenience.
The average packed school lunch now costs $6.33 — up 2% from last year, according to Deloitte. A simple lunch with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, baby carrots, an apple, cookies and milk runs about $4.89.
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A trendier option — like a chicken quesadilla with mango, salsa, brownie and juice — can top $7.
How to make school lunches healthy and affordable
Lindsay Malone, a nutrition instructor at Case Western Reserve University, said one big myth is that pre-packaged snacks with healthy claims on the package are actually good for you.
"Usually if a food is screaming at you from the aisle that it's healthy, that's sort of a flag that you probably want to take a closer look at the label and see what's actually in the food that you're buying," Malone said. "Most granola bars on the store shelves aren't that far away from what's in the cookie aisle. Lots of sugar, refined grains, oils."
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She suggests buying simple ingredients as a better option for both your wallet and your child’s health, like carrots, peppers or mini cucumbers.
"For a granola bar, looking for things like oats, dark chocolate chips, maybe a little bit of honey," Malone said.
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She also recommends using containers with separate compartments and getting kids involved in the process.
"Assigning vegetables or fruits or a main dish to each one and then letting the kids play a role in picking out the types of foods that they're going to bring," Malone said.
Parent Emily Olson said planning ahead has made a significant difference for her family of three kids.
"We actually just make a lot of our own homemade things," Olson said. "Shopping in bulk and making extra that we can freeze."
Experts and parents alike say the strategy is straightforward: use leftovers, buy favorites in bulk and make homemade versions of popular snacks to help cut costs without cutting corners, so you don’t waste your money.
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