School packed lunches

[TheMummy1417]

I’m interested to know what others pack for school lunches & whether they think they work out cheaper or more expensive than paying for school dinners?
I have 2 primary aged children. 1 is on packed lunch for dietary reasons, the other, by choice. One would qualify for FSM as is KS1, but he prefers a packed lunch. I get that school dinners are cheaper for those entitled to free meals, but for those of us that aren’t, do you feel you spend £2.50 a day per child to provide them a lunch?

I spend nowhere near that and always manage a balanced lunch box, but I do feel it gets a bit boring, although the kids never complain & always eat it all! My eldest is in a SEN school & anything goes - they are happy to warm food etc. but for my youngest they don’t even allow warmed food in a flask.

just looking for ideas and opinions x

I've never added up the cost, but fuck me packed lunch is a faff, so my dc have school dinners. They are free as KS1, but even if I had to pay I would.
If I have to do a packed lunch it's normally a ham wrap, some fruit, a cheese string or babybel, some sort of grain bar, screen or something, and maybe a few breadsticks. The dc are very unadventurous and happy with that.

I hate doing packed lunches, however the only benefit is I have a fussy eater and I can see what they have eaten.

I do a ham wrap or roll, a cereal/grain bar, fruit and a baby bell plus a carton of apple juice. I find he doesn't eat much as he's a slow eater so is always desperate to go out to play.

Meat/cheese/jam sandwich
Fruit
Cheese chunks
Veggie sticks
Crisps or bar/cake or some sort

I've never priced it up, but I'll try some rough estimates. Mine both have cucumber (10p), mini sausages or chorizo (40p), some fruit (30p) and 2 biscuits (5-10p), a yoghurt drink (50p). Then one has a cheese sandwich (50p) and the other has a jam sandwich (15p) or a cheese dipper (50p). So less than £2.

It’s my most hated task and ds (11) usually makes his own now. He has never eaten a school dinner in his life, always refused them (don’t blame them, they look minging at his school). His older sisters used to have pizza on whatever day that was but packed lunches on the other days.
He has a sandwich, and then a combination of 4 other things, one has to be fruit and one has to be veg and the other 2 can be either some cheese, a jelly, some crisps, a yoghurt, a pepperami, little cake or some biscuits, just standard packed lunch stuff.

My child has school dinners.
I'm not someone who cooks a lot. It gives me peace of mind she can have good meals.

At holiday club in the holidays she has packed lunch. Each packed lunch she has 2 tuna Mayonnaise sandwiches and some fruit and yoghurt. Not just one, two. And she often eats both to be fair.

In my mind, it's worth the money paid

Yes that’s what I tend to do too. A main, fruit, veg, then one or 2 other bits. I despise packing lunch too. But one is too young and the other had a learning disability, so it’s mummy’s job 😱
I just feel that maybe I am short changing them on lunch since people seem to say they can’t pack a lunch for the price of the school ones. I feel like I can & it is more balanced, albeit not a hot meal, but the ones I’ve seen from school, look grim so it’s no surprise a packed lunch is preferable!

I can do a really varied and nutritious lunch that I know my DC will eat and enjoy for less than £2.50. Tbh I don't particularly rate the offering at their school. Portions are pretty meagre, not much veg, small amount of protein, dessert every single day etc. It is a bit of a faff but it's a significant part of their diet over the week and for me I'd rather know they've eaten something decent.

I quite like doing lunchboxes! They've got really cool lunchboxes with lots of compartments and lidded tubs to add in a nice variety.

For my own sanity and so I don't have to think about it all the time, I has a rota which Gowan something like this:

Monday cheese in sandwiches or with crackers.
Tuesday marmite bagel
Wednesday chicken wraps (using leftover chicken from roast diner Sunday)
Thursday fish sandwiches - can be salmon or tuna
Friday jam sandwiches

One child had crisps and cucumber and carrot crudités and the other had full-on salad (this consists of chopped crunchy lettuce, tomato and cucumber).

Both have a chocolate bar, whatever is on offer (this week Cadbury mini-finger packets or chocolate mini-rolls).

Both have a price of fruit, either clementine, blueberries or strawberries

I have it all kept in a plastic fridge box and whack it out on the table to wash and cut it all in one go, rather than hum and har with the fridge door open wondering where everything is...

I buy the cheapest value bread and wraps, essentials tuna and malt extract instead of marmite.

Luckily they like the cheapest crisps. Fruit I try to choose the BOGOF or reduced items and have to top-up shop a few times a week to keep it fresh.

Comes to £13 just over a week, with top ups for fruit

I can't make one cheaper, but I have kids with various allergies and sensory issues around food as well. At home, my trickiest child to feed will either graze or eat a hot meal so having to find safe and allergy friendly foods that are packed lunch friendly is hard work! If I could feed my kids "normal" packed lunch food then I think it would be cheaper.

Mine are at secondary now, they have the choice of school meals or PL and they usually choose PLs except for one meal a week when it's one of their favourites at school. DS15 has peri peri chicken (lots) which I cook in a batch for 3 days, with rice. Plus fruit, cheese cubes and an unpeeled carrot (!) his choice! DS2 usually chooses a tuna wrap, carrot sticks and dried apricots, and both will have a treat like a Kit Kat and a drink such as mini orange juice. I have no idea which is cheaper. They spend around £5 on school lunch so there's probably not much in it.

(NB I make them the night before so it's not much of a faff).

Never added up before! 3 dcs, 8 (he’s dairy intolerant), 14 & 16.
across a week between them it’s probably 2 loaves equivalent, 1/2 tub flora, pack ham, 2 pack chicken, half pack cheese older 2. Pack tomatoes, 2 cucumber. Couple of peppers. Pack grapes, bananas, apples, juice pack, snack bars. Roughly £28. Just over £8 each then.