What's for lunch mom? The age old question for parents of school aged children never seems to resolve itself. What can I put in the school lunch box? Why won't my child eat what the cafeteria serves? Today that question takes another spin as parents inquire how to make cheap school lunches their kids will eat. Plunging paychecks, frugal grocery shopping trips, and higher costs in groceries have caused many to rethink the costs which go into little things like packing a lunch and the impact wasting food has on the overall grocery budget.

To make school lunch at a low cost, couple the lunch items with things being made for dinner or for lunch to send to work with the parents. Buying items in bulk or making them from scratch in stead of package mixes is almost always less expensive. Always be aware of grocery costs, sales items, and available coupons. Knowing these items can help cut the cost of those special cookies you like to stick in the lunch box but avoid because of their high cost.

Cheap school lunches won’t be money well invested if the child will not eat what is sent. It is important to involve the child in school lunch planning to be sure the food will be eaten to help them get through the day with the extra nutrition. Here are some tips for making cheap school lunches.

Kids love finger food. Grabbing a small bit of something and moving on to the next time lets them experiment with many items. Sending in several items may seem complicated but it isn’t. Make finger foods which can be frozen ahead and packed in lunch sized portions. Think of thinks like pigs in a blanket, cheese ball spread, mini quiche, pepperoni and cheese skewers. Buy the items and make ahead enough quantity to fill several lunches for each child. Stocking up on freezer bags allows this to be possible. For those items which need to be reheated, defrost in the refrigerator the night before and reheat, wrapping in foil before packing the lunch box. Other finger foods like celery sticks, bread sticks, pretzels and dips, or raisins and carrots are good choices for cheap lunch foods. http://community.stretcher.com/forums/p/5946/60416.aspx

Fruit pieces and vegetable sticks with dips make good inexpensive lunch items when they are in season. Out of season, these items are costly. When fruit is out of season try combing a coupon with a store sale to get individual cups of fruit in its own juice to send in the school lunch. When apples are in season applesauce can be made ahead and frozen in small containers to enjoy at lunch with cheese and crackers or with a peanut butter sandwich. A sandwich is a low cost meal in many cases and can be spiced up for kids enjoyment by buying a shaped sandwich cutter.

Thermoses were common lunch box additions years ago but lost their popularity. Search for a quality lunch box thermos and send in your child’s favorite dinner meal item as a left over for lunch. The thermos will help keep it warm. If your child is a chicken noodle soup lover, soup is one of the least expensive meals to serve. Fill a thermos, seal it up and don’t forget the spoon and the crackers. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the thermos can also be used to keep items cold. Chilled fruit salad with a yogurt base might be a good cold lunch choice taken in thermos.