How to save more than $1000 this year on school lunches

DIY lunch boxes can add up to serious savings. Photo / 123RF

Buying pre-packaged school lunch box snacks like cheese and crackers, yoghurt and sultanas instead of doing it yourself can end up costing more than A$1000 ($1102) over the year, according to Mozo.com.au.

The comparison website has crunched the numbers to find price differences between individually portioned snacks at the major supermarkets and DIY home-packed versions can be up to 278 per cent more expensive.

"Parents might be surprised by the true cost of convenience, with prepackaged cheese and crackers costing more than two dollars per snack compared to putting sliced cheese and crackers into a ziplock bag," Mozo director Kirsty Lamont said in a statement.

Mozo's analysis, which compared unit pricing of a single pre-packaged item with the same volume of a larger-sized package, found savings per portion of A$2.21 for cheese and crackers, A$1.04 for yoghurt and 71 cents for canned fruit.

The cost of convenience (all prices in Australian dollars). Photo / Supplied

Over the whole school year, the savings on cheese and crackers alone add up to A$453. And every penny counts these days — a similar analysis by Mozo in 2017 put the cheese-and-cracker premium at A$431, while in 2016 it was just A$312.

"Prepackaged yoghurt was also found to be expensive with popular pouches of yoghurt costing over a dollar more per snack than spooning the same amount into a reusable container," Lamont said.

"Over the course of a school year the savings really start to add up, with A$146 saved by spooning fruit salad into a leak proof container and A$213 saved portioning out yoghurt yourself, rather than reaching for yoghurt pouches at the supermarket.

"Other easy savings could be made by investing in a small drink bottle and pouring in some juice each morning, which could save nearly A$100 over a year for kids who would otherwise drink a popper a day. Putting a handful of dried fruit into a ziplock bag would save parents who splashed out on fruit mini packs up to A$47 a year.

"There are now plenty of affordable reusable containers, lunch boxes and bottles to choose from, including reusable easy to clean pouches for liquid substances like yoghurt, while dry items like crackers and sultanas can be easily be popped into a small container or snaplock bag that can be reused each day."