Would you pay for a packed lunch?

[chicaguapa]

I've just bought a book on hiding vegetables in kids meals and in there was a mention about a company which provides packed lunches for your kids at school. I'm really interested in taking out a franchise as the set-up costs are really low and I need something to do at home.

Would you PAY for a packed lunch instead of a school dinner and having to make it yourself? Or is it just a fad thing?

[CountessDracula]

No, I don't think I would. Isn't the whole point of a packed lunch that you make it so you know what is in it and what your kids are eating?

Maybe on the odd occasion if I was too busy

[earlgrey]

I would, but it would have to be tailor-made for my faddy eaters. Might make that a bit of a headache. They do have the same thing in their packed lunches every day, though. Even so, don't know how viable it would be. The only reason they have PLs is because they won't eat what the school offers, so might you be looking at 100 lists of Marmite, no butter, butter, no chocolate, etc etc?

[JackieNo]

They do them at our school - balled 'brunch bags'. There's a choice of sandwich fillings, plus various other choices, some healthy, some not completely healthy. DD likes having them (has them twice a week, dinners the other 3 days) because she can then sit with her friends who are having packed lunches.

[chicaguapa]

You can tailor make them for fussy eaters so I think they've got all that covered. This is the \link{http://lunchboxes4kids.co.uk/\website} and I hope it doesn't class as advertising as it's just for info. I live nowhere near their area and have nothing to do with it.

[geekgrrl]

well, one of the school meal options at our primary school is a sandwich - dd1 chooses this quite frequently, so theoretically, when she has a sandwich and a yoghurt for pud, she's having a packed lunch-type meal. So yes, I suppose I already pay for this kind of thing. I'd imagine that it could be quite popular.

[earlgrey]

Yes, I would.

[geekgrrl]

having just looked at the prices though, I'm not so sure. I pay £1.54 for a school lunch, so wouldn't want to pay £2 for the same thing.

[dinosaure]

No.

[Aero]

No - although I like the idea, but £2 for a sandwich, and apple and a drink is a bit steep tbh. Happy to continue making up lunches for my lot for the moment. Sorry.

[CountessDracula]

Hmm i would also not use it because it isn't organic (I know the fruit is) - I would rather feed dd as much organic food as possible really

[earlgrey]

Would it go in their own lunch bags? Could you specify some C''p, if your child wanted it?

[MrsBadger]

have looked at this before - I might be willing to pay the £2 if that got them exciting organic heathy creative lunches with crudités, pasta salad, homemade muffins, tropical fruit, etc etc, but even I can sling together sandwich+fruit+water for a lot less than £2.

What I really wish they'd do is deliver lunches to busy working mums (and non-mums) who dash out the door at 8am and are then tied to their desks - when my sister (stressed out city exec) confessed she never ate lunch because she was too busy to leave the office I tried to find a way to get lunches to her, and it was nearly impossible.
Now there's a franchise worth opening...

[CountessDracula]

Errr, couldn't she get a collegue to pick her up a sarnie?! Her assistant/pa/sec?

[earlgrey]

Sorry, have changed my mind. Even getting up at 6.00am has to be better than spending £6.00 a day on a packed lunch.

[earlgrey]

Good grief, MrsB, even in provincial Oxford, 9 years ago, we had sarnie people coming round our desks ....

[Bugsy2]

Nice idea but definitely not for me. Takes me less than 3 mins to make my children's packed lunch & costs less than £1.50 for each of them. Doubt very much that a company could do it cheaper.

[earlgrey]

Bugsy, I may be on MN in the morning more than I ought to be, but just wondered what takes you 3 minutes and costs £1.50?

[MrsBadger]

re my non-lunching sis - my hope was that a lunch could be arranged to just arrive, requiring absolutely 0 effort/ input on her part.

I think it's the culture of being 'too busy to lunch' as much as actual workload - musn't show weakness by admitting you've got too much to do, must always be completely in control rather than being perceived as 'needing help' ie someone else to fetch your sandwiches.
They're competitive juniors in the wretched male-dominated power-hungry finance world. And they don't let sandwich ladies into her offices as they're a 'security risk'.

Have recently solved problem by giving her wodges of M&S tokens for b'days so she buys lunch at 7am on the way into work.

[chicaguapa]

You'd probably pay more for a packed lunch for yourself too! If you're used to buying sandwiches from the deli or supermarket.

[Bugsy2]

Ok:
I do the following types of sandwiches:
ham
cheese
tuna
egg
I also bung in one or two of the following:
mini pepperami
chopped raw carrot sticks or cucumber sticks
raisins
flapjack or other cake
and a yoghurt drink.

I use less than one loaf of bread a week, I buy multipacks of ham, cheese or tuna, multipacks of yoghut drinks etc etc
I have costed the lunches out & they work out at just less than £1.50 depending slightly on what variations of the above I put in.
Also takes me less than 3 mins to make, unless I am mashing egg mayo!!!

[earlgrey]

Bugsy, how old are your children?

[SueW]

I would have to be seriously cash rich and time poor to even consider sending DD in with this. Not that it's an option cos her school provides good school lunches anyway. :)

But the cost of putting together the boxes in the express menus listed on the website is less than a quid - and they are asking more than double that.

[chicaguapa]

I'd pay someone a quid to make a packed lunch every morning! If only so I didn't have to think of what to put in it so DD didn't end up with cheese sandwiches and a yogurt every day.