School Lunch vs Packed Lunch Cost Calculator
Buying the school lunch and packing one are both perfectly good choices — this page just does the math. Enter your district's lunch price and your own ingredient costs to see per-week and per-year totals for each kid and for your whole household. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Your household
School lunch
Packed lunch
Result
| Per school week | Per school year |
|---|
How the totals change with 1–4 kids
| Kids | School lunch / yr | Packed / yr | Difference / yr |
|---|
What this calculator counts — and what it leaves out
The school-lunch path is your per-meal price times school days. The packed path is your four ingredient costs times school days, plus lunch gear spread over the years it lasts. A school week is counted as 5 school days, and weekly figures are the yearly total divided by the number of school weeks, so the two always agree.
What's left out of the math?
Your time — shopping for, making and cleaning up after packed lunches isn't free, and neither is the morning line at the register. Food waste cuts both ways too: bought trays come back half-eaten and packed sandwiches come home untouched, and neither is counted here. À-la-carte extras, milk bought separately, and bulk-buying discounts are also out of scope. If those matter to you, they may matter more than the dollar gap.
Why do school lunch prices vary so much?
Each district sets its own price, usually somewhere between $2.50 and $4.50, often with a lower elementary price and a higher secondary one. Reduced-price meals are federally capped at $0.40. Your district's nutrition-services page will have the exact figure — use that here.
What about states with free school meals for everyone?
A growing number of states — including California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico and Vermont — now serve school meals to all students at no charge, regardless of income, and more are considering it. FRAC keeps a current list. If that's you, set the price per meal to 0 and the calculator will treat school lunch as free.
Which choice is "right"?
Whichever works for your family. Cost is one factor among many — time, picky eaters, allergies, what actually gets eaten — and plenty of families do a mix of both. This page has no stake in your answer.
Are there affiliate links on this page?
No. There are currently no affiliate relationships or sponsorships here; nothing on this page is trying to sell you a lunchbox. If that ever changes, links will be clearly disclosed.
Is anything uploaded?
No. The page is fully client-side; your numbers never leave your browser.