Green Child Magazine Back-to-School 2014 | Page 13

Waste-Free
Lunch Savings

$417.60

Per Child
Per School Year

By packing a reusable, waste-free lunch, parents could save an estimated $2.32 per child per day,
which comes out to a total of $417.60 per child per school year. That’s well over $400 that could go
back into your family’s budget for bills, groceries, and more!
Below you will find two tables that summarize our calculations, and for more details on our
research, please visit our Lunch Savers guide.

Kid’s Lunch & Snack Costs Per Day
Lunch Item

Disposable Cost
Reusable Cost
Individual Disposable Cost Individual Reusable Cost
( Individual )
( Individual )

Yogurt container/Yogurt in a reusable
container

$0.99

$0.66

Apple juice box/Apple juice in a
reusable bottle

$0.75

$0.58

Apple, sliced

$1.14

$1.14

Sandwich (turkey and cheese)

$2.90

$2.90

Prepackaged snack/Packed snack

$1.12

$0.97

Carrots and dip

$2.00

$0.44

1 Plastic spoon/1 Reusable utensil

$0.30

$0.00

1 Paper napkin/1 Cloth napkin

$0.20

$0.00

2 Plastic Baggies/2 Reusable baggies

$0.60

$0.00

Total Lunch & Snack Cost Per Day

$9.01

$6.69

SAVINGS ON PACKING A REUSABLE LUNCH & SNACK PER DAY =

$2.32
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