Search Results for: blog is it cost effective to bring a school lunch

A Recipe for Healthy School Snacks

We are a brown bag family. When it comes to school lunches, we prefer to send our schol-age child with a homemade lunch, and he prefers that, too. Our reasons for providing him with a home made lunch are: it is less expensive, I can better control the nutrition and steer away from colors and preservatives, there is a short amount of time to eat lunch and he doesn’t want to spend part of it waiting in line, and he is always hungry after a school lunch–complaining that there is not enough food. A typical lunch brought from home may … Continue reading →

Farm to (2) School Programs Offer Organic, Locally Grown School Lunches

Although most school districts are trying hard to offer healthy fruits and vegetables, the reality is that there are so many high-fat, nutritionally poor choices available to your student. And even when nutritionally rich choices are available, they usually aren’t free of pesticides, additives and hormones. Increasingly, farm to school programs are allowing schools to serve students with rich, healthy meals that can be organic and grown locally. Using small local farms, organic bakeries, and stores that provide locally grown food, the schools can take advantage of higher quality and less processed food, while supporting local producers. Think of pizzas … Continue reading →

The Danger of MegaSchools

There is a dangerous trend recently toward megaschools, schools that contain a large number of students at one school, anywhere from 500 to 2,000 students in one building. My own school district is considering doing this with our elementary school, and it scares me to no end. Megaschools can be convenient for school districts for a few reasons. A flux of incoming students can lead to overcrowding, and creating a new megaschool would address the problem, leaving room for further expansion. It is also usually more coast effective to create and maintain one megaschool than it is to renovate and … Continue reading →

Dealing with School Fundraisers

If you have school-aged children (or even children in pre-school), be prepared for an onslaught of fundraisers coming in to your home this year. From $15 rolls of wrapping paper to $25 tubs of cookie dough, the items for sale are not cheap. And the fundraising companies and schools are making it harder than ever to opt out or get away without paying a small fortune during the year. With diligent use of our resources, we can buy an entire week’s worth of groceries for the cost of one overpriced frozen dinner option. We have a policy at home that … Continue reading →

Is It Cost Effective to Bring a School Lunch?

When planning out whether our eldest child will buy lunch or bring lunch to school, the cost involved is one factor. Last year, he brought lunch most of the time, and was allowed to buy a lunch for a special treat or as a reward for good behavior. With the cost of groceries increasing, I have been wondering if it still cost affective to have homemade lunches. I like the idea of packing a lunch, for a few different reasons. The first is that since my child is still young, I can have a bit more control over what he … Continue reading →

Does “Bully Education” Really Work?

Schools all across the country are making concerted efforts to deal with the very real issue of bulling. But are these efforts having an impact? Is your child less likely to be bullied today than he might have been five years ago? The experts are divided on the issue, and some recent research suggests that the answer could be no. Earlier this week, we were driving by a local school. There, right next to the playground was a huge sign declaring the area to be a “No Bully Zone.” I’m not sure why the sign was there. Was it to … Continue reading →

Frugal Living Month in Review: August 2008

With August passed, it will be hard to hold on to summer, but fortunately, we have a lot of memories of the “dog days.” We also have lots of great articles about saving money, something that is pretty important these days. Take a look at what was posted in August. August 1st Frugal Living Month in Review: July 2008 July went by so quickly for us! There were so many fun and frugal activities and events for us to explore, from a science camp to free movies and sand sculpting. I hope your July was equally fun and frugal. Summer … Continue reading →

Frugal Living Week in Review: August 25th Through August 31st

Food and back to school are the two things on my mind this week. I e-mailed my son’s teacher ahead of time to ask about additional supplies that she might need for the classroom. She said that she usually asks parents for antibacterial wipes and tissues, two things that I was able to buy in bulk at our last warehouse shopping trip to save money. Take a look at all of the articles that were posted this past week. August 25th Saving Money at the Shore 3 We just got back from our vacation this weekend, and we are now … Continue reading →

Saving On Gas With Prices On the Rise (part three)

Continuing the article Saving On Gas With Prices On the Rise (part two), I’d like to focus on some more fine points to save us all money in the gas department. Gas prices are literally jumping everywhere, almost daily. It’s impossible to keep up and pretty soon we might all be destined to never leave our homes (slightly kidding!). Hopefully that won’t happen, but for now, it’s a reality we need to take into consideration. The following are the rest of the great tips I have for saving money on gas! If you have children who ride the bus to … Continue reading →