Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think these lunches are too expensive?

188 replies

EssieTregowan · 16/02/2017 12:54

My two teenagers are currently spending around £5 a day on lunch from the school canteen.

It's a cashless system and unfortunately £5 is the minimum you can set the limit to.

We've said they're not allowed to buy drinks from now on and take water in, so that should help a bit, but I wondered if I'm being tight. We can sort of afford £200 a month on lunches but it means making cutbacks elsewhere.

Do we need to just suck this up, or is this crazy money? It's only recent as DD was taking a packed lunch until a couple of weeks ago and DS has for some reason started eating more at school.

How much do your secondary lunches cost you? Is this about right or am I raising a pair of gannets?

OP posts:
NotCitrus · 16/02/2017 13:53

Can you include their packed lunch budget as part of their pocket money? My nephews had that and amazingly got very good at getting the bargain multipacks of crisps/choc bars/drinks and making their own sandwiches.

Freddorika · 16/02/2017 13:56

Another one who can see what dd is buying. She has a drink, a jacket sweet potato and sometimes a cereal bar or piece of fruit. It averages out at roughly 3.50 a day. Sometimes I make her chicken salads to take in with her.

BagelGoesWalking · 16/02/2017 13:56

My DD17 still takes packed lunch. Sometimes on Fridays she'll have the fish and chips which is, I think, £2.50 (all main meals are) but she would still take an apple, water and a snack from home.

notangelinajolie · 16/02/2017 13:59

£4 to £5 a day - sounds like my DD's school. It's cashless, they pay by thumbprint. Water is 70p and the other drinks cost £1 to £1.30. 2 drinks a day cost min £2 before she has eaten anything. It is very easy to spend £5 a day. They are allowed to bring their own drinks/food in but not allowed to go into the canteen with them, so this means eating alone in form room when I literally don't have the minimum £10 needed to top up her card.

Slimmingsnake · 16/02/2017 14:01

Same at my kids school...however we are vegan ,so no chance of any food at school.its packed lunches for us...but one of my friends has this problem with her son...but she gives in constantly to him...no way would we be dishing out a fiver a day..not a chance in hell even if we weren't vegan it would be packed lunches all the way

unlucky83 · 16/02/2017 14:03

DD gets £10 a week but they are allowed out of school.
So most of them go to a supermarket (although there is a chip van etc nearby too ...Hmm). The supermarket is a good walk away - I worked out it is at least 1.5 miles there and back -so they get exercise as well as cheaper food!
We don't have parent pay - they pay with a card they top up in school with cash and she stopped doing that after a month or so of starting school.
Apparently the canteen serves things like Pizza and chips for £2.70 - so it isn't cheap or particularly healthy anyway. When she started she said what she missed most was primary school lunches and playtime...
Now she takes medicine that is an appetite suppressant any way so doesn't really eat until it wears off - in the evening at home. But buys things like big bags of washed lettuce or carrot batons to snack on - as well as crap like big bags of sweets/crisps...
She actually spends most of lunch money on bus fare as she misses the free school bus and so has to pay...(and I do end up giving her £5 or so more a week to cover that... )

BarbaraofSeville · 16/02/2017 14:04

That sounds like a good plan NotCitrus. They have pocket money to include lunches and whatever agreed extras, games, whatever. They will soon realise that paying canteen prices instead of supermarket/pound shop prices for drinks and snacks will wipe out any hope of affording 'things'

I mean do you all spend £3 on your own lunches? Does no one eat packed lunched anymore? Everyone in my office does

I was wondering this. Obviously the proliferation of places like Greggs, Subway, McDonalds and all the ready made sandwiches in supermarkets etc suggests that there are a lot of people buying a lot of lunches. But if you do it every day, even cheaper places adds up to quite a lot.

And for most people, it isn't going to be affordable within their budget, or they will have to miss out on other things - remember most people aren't as affluent as the average Mumsnetter, and even a £3 meal deal/school lunch each day for a family of 4 would be over £200 pm or around £3k per year, whereas packed lunches will cost maybe a third of that?

I generally take leftovers most days, but will have a bought lunch on average once a week, although my employer buys a lot of these because I can claim expenses when working away from the office. Most of my office does similar. Not many have a bought lunch every day. If I was buying lunch every day, it would be more unhealthy and I would definitely notice the hole in the budget.

Original poster
EssieTregowan · 16/02/2017 14:08

Thanks everyone. It is ParentPay but the lowest daily limit you can set is a fiver.

I think I'll start topping them up with £15 each weekly and see how that goes. We always have plenty of stuff they can take in to bulk it up.

OP posts:
Screwinthetuna · 16/02/2017 14:10

Wow, £5 a day on lunch in school is ridiculous. I'd be giving them a packed lunch

Idratherbeaunicorn · 16/02/2017 14:12

Are they buying things at morning break? I would've thought £3/£3.50 a day would be plenty?

ChipmunkSundays · 16/02/2017 14:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ExConstance · 16/02/2017 14:18

Fortunately for me my sons both decided eating school lunches was very uncool from age 11 and made their own packed lunches.

mumontherun14 · 16/02/2017 14:20

My son gets £3 cash a day. He usually goes down to the local town at lunch time and this gets him a roll and a snack and a drink. I also top up the cashless card £10 and that usually lasts him 2 weeks and lets him get a snack at breaktime in the school. So that works out at £4 a day. I think it is a lot - I know a lot of parents send in pack lunches and only let them have paid for lunches a few days. On ours the £5 is the minimum top up but they defeintly don't have to spend it each day. A hot lunch in school is less than £3 and the breaktime snacks are less than £1.It is a lot when you start to add it all up and when you have more than one at the school.

cushiemoy · 16/02/2017 14:20

My teens get £10 week each in total, covers lunch, pocket money etc. Up to them how they spend it, so one takes lunch most days, the other buys hers but never spends more than £2.50 incl a drink.

ChocolateButton15 · 16/02/2017 14:22

I would just top up 15 a week then pack lunch when it's gone. Or make them take pack lunches twice a week.

Redpony1 · 16/02/2017 14:22

I work at a uni, we get 3 course lunch for £2. I normally take packed lunch but sometimes i treat myself.

£5 a day seems a lot!!

HellsBellsAndBucketsOfBlood · 16/02/2017 14:23

I work in a secondary school.

Cheapest thing to buy overall is a small juice carton at 50p.

Most expensive drink is £1.20, drench, j20, ice tea that sort of thing.

Most expensive food item is a large hot pasta pot, at £2.15. very popular.

Cheapest hot food item is a portion of chips at £1.05.

The "meal deal" is £2.10, main meal and either hot pudding or small drink.

TwentyCups · 16/02/2017 14:24

I would move them onto packed lunches that's really expensive!!

TwentyCups · 16/02/2017 14:25

I'm just thinking you could make sandwiches for about £1 for them both, £200 a month really is crazy I'm shocked it's so much.

Lules · 16/02/2017 14:26

redpony your uni is considerably cheaper than mine! A nasty cheap sandwich is about £2.50- 3 and a hot main course between £4-5.

BarbaraofSeville · 16/02/2017 14:31

Drinks can really add up. Even bottles of water can be a pound each or more. A couple of them a day is a tenner a week, just on water Shock. I try to carry water in a reusable bottle to avoid having to buy it as I really hate paying shop prices for bottled water and I don't really drink fizzy pop or juice.

Birnamwood · 16/02/2017 14:32

At our school they can have a meal deal for £2.40 (sandwich/pasta/takeaway style hot food + a cake or crisps + a drink) or they can have a full hot meal + hot pudding for the same price. Small drinks are 50p, large £1. At break they can buy bacon/sausage cobs, cheese on toast, sausage rolls all for under £1 each.

Either you dc's school is very expensive or they are eating a shit load of food! £3 / £3.50 a day would feed them well at our school

AlexanderHamilton · 16/02/2017 14:39

You can usually ask the school to set a lower daily limit. At ds's school it's a £5 default but you can request it's set to £3

They are probably spending so much because they are going off menu & having more separate snack type stuff.

At ds's school there is a meal deal for £3.35 which includes a main, a drink & a cookie. But separately drinks are £1 - £1.20, pasta is £2.30 & popcorn chicken & fries £2.80 plus bakery items at approx £1 each.

PickledCauliflower · 16/02/2017 14:42

It is far too expensive. I would also advocate packed lunches and taking their own drinks in.

JeffreySadsacIsUnwell · 16/02/2017 14:43

Between the two of them, their lunch money could buy a M&S Dine in for 2 (with wine!!!!) every day...maybe that's what they're doing? Grin

And actually, as everyone knows, those Dine in for 2s stretch massively... That rotisserie chicken isn't quite a MN chicken that feeds the five thousand but it definitely does a family of four!

I'd give them a food allowance, let them pool resources and make themselves nicer food to take. Who knows, they may suddenly discover the value of sibling teamwork too, and only have to prep lunches on alternate days...