School Lunches

I am always looking for great ways to give my kids healthy and fun lunches. This year is no different. As I looked at the option of buying school lunches this year, I realized that it would cost $35 per week to feed four kids. That doesn't sound too bad. The school even offers breakfast for $1 per day (probably just a bowl of cheerios or a doughnut). The combined total for lunches and breakfast would be around $55 per week. I had been wondering if I could actually do better than that on my own. Of course with all of the free time I have been allotted I could actually start making my own sandwhich bread, cookies and other fun treats to fill up the lunch boxes. The possibilities are endless especially when you look at the fun containers that can keep food hot or cold for extended periods of time. I could actually just start sending leftovers with the kids and really save both time and money. There was no way I could even think to suggest this idea to my eager little school goers.

This week I set off to see how far I could stretch the breakfast and lunch money. I knew I would be able to easily feed breakfast and lunch to 4 kids for under $55. I decided to make it a challenge for myself. I couldn't start without being properly prepared so I picked up 4 copies of the Sunday paper and studied the ads. I surfed a few helpful internet sites and read some bulletin boards before spreading the paper across the kitchen table and clipping away with my scissors. I made a rough outline of my plan of attack, used my calculator to figure out the math and then set out to find the bargains.

I first visited CVS where I scored a great deal on peanut butter and several non-grocery items. My total there was $67 but I paid just $7. The best part is that when I checked out, I was rewarded with $28 in CVS currency for my next shopping trip!

My next stop was Publix grocery store. I had been following the ads closely and I picked up the rest of the food that we could use for breakfast, lunch and after school snacks. My total at Publix was $98 but I paid just $25.

I headed for home so I could set it all out and snap a quick photo before the kids got off the bus. You can see the fun items I picked up. Not everything is visible so I'll give a quick run down of some of the bigger items: eggos, cookies, milk, butter, fruit gushers, muffin mix, bread, goldfish, ragu, skippy, granola bars, tater tots, lysol, starburst, tylenol, advil p.m., colgate, venus razor, ban deoderant and crest whitening strips. Most of these items were in multiples except for a few of the non-grocery items.

So far I have spent $32 out of pocket on my "beat the school" challenge. I did get $28 back from CVS but I will use that toward another fun week of saving.

I am going to use the non-grocery items to put together a fun care package for our neice Katie that she can use for her first week at Utah State. It is so fun to get packages!