School Lunch: Early Lessons In Frugality And A Little Bit Of Compromise

Goofball started attending kindergarten this month and lunch has been quite the new adventure.  We shelter our kids from consumerism as much as possible.  We don’t watch much television, except for football games and limited specials like the Thanksgiving parade.  Instead, the kids watch old cartoons on YouTube or Disney movies.  They don’t see commercials for toys or prepackaged food items.  When they are exposed to things like advertisements, we explain their purpose.  My children will gladly tell you all about how the commercials are “trying to get you to buy stuff.”  However, there was nothing we could do to stop Goofball from being introduced to a plethora of new, expensive lunch options in the cafeteria.  All of a sudden, he insisted on tagging along for grocery shopping with a long list of non-frugal requests.

What did Goofball want?  He told us about Gogurt (the yogurt in the long, skinny packages), fruit snacks, pudding cups, cheese sticks, chips, Lunchables, and juice boxes.  Not only are most of these items unhealthy, they also cost quite a bit of money.  I don’t know how more non-frugal you can get than Lunchables.  Isn’t it just a couple slices of cheese, deli meat, and crackers for $2.00 or $3.00?

We’ve found a way to appease Goofball without spending too much money on these “special” lunch options.  Instead of buying packs of individual pudding cups, we make up a big batch of pudding and use small Tupperware containers.  I even got to bring some in my lunch the other day (benefit of having a school-age child).  We purchased a neat, reusable drink container that has a freezer stick in it.  Goofball gets to drink cold, chocolate milk with his lunch instead of a sugary juice box. This is the one he’s using, no problems with leaks so far.

We make him sandwiches with homemade bread, add some carrots, fruit, and maybe a granola bar (we buy those in bulk with Amazon credits earned through Swagbucks).  Goofball was fairly content with those lunches, but we gave in on one item . . . the cheese sticks.  It’s funny, I don’t even think he knew they existed before kindergarten.  He really, really wanted them and I’m not sure how we could make homemade ones.  So, we compromised and purchased some generic brand cheese sticks for the little guy.

I’m quickly learning that school can be filled with drama.  On the very first day that Goofball got to bring a cheese stick in his lunch, one of the other kids actually stole it from him!  I couldn’t believe it.  We splurge on one special treat, that he’s so excited to eat, and it’s enjoyed by some little punk.

Woes of lunch theft aside, being a good parent does not have to be expensive.  Convenience is expensive.  There are so many companies that will take your money in exchange for making lunch packing just a little bit quicker.  The easiest way to save money on school lunches is to ask whether you can make something yourself.  Instead of just tossing some pre-packaged items in a lunchbox, think about different options.  You can get a lot of it ready the night before so that there isn’t too much work in the morning.  Ultimately, I’m pretty sure that Goofball doesn’t feel deprived.  He might be disappointed that he can’t have unhealthy items like potato chips, but I’m hopeful that we’re raising him not to care about the fancy packaging.  We’re honest with our kids and explain that we’re trying to save money, so that it can be used in a better way.  Goofball understands that we’re not spending on “silly things” so the family can afford go on our “big road trip.”  He seems happy with his lunches and we are pleased that are frugal and fairly nutritious.  Now, if we can just make sure he gets a chance to eat everything . . .