Tag: school dinners

Revealed:Cheapest supermarket to get your child’s packed lunch essentials

Aldi has been crowned as the cheapest supermarket to pick up your child’s packed lunch essentials from.

Consumer finance experts at CashLady.com conducted research into the prices of key packed lunch essentials consisting of fruit juice cartons, yoghurts, fruit, crisps and all the ingredients to make a delicious ham and cheese sandwich.  

The supermarkets were then ranked from one to nine in terms of their value for money, with one being ranked the cheapest and nine being ranked the most expensive. The items included in the costings included:  

  • Bread 
  • Cooked Ham 
  • Cheese 
  • Tomato 
  • Lettuce 
  • Banana 
  • Crisps 
  • Yoghurt 
  • Fruit cartons 

If you’re looking to whip up a balanced packed lunch for your child, to keep them fueled throughout the school day, the research has revealed that Aldi is the best place to shop.  

At Aldi, for just over £7, you can get all the packed lunch essentials to feed your child for a week- that’s £1.46 per day. 

However, ranked as the most expensive supermarket is M&S, where the same packed lunch essentials will set you back over £18, followed by Waitrose at a costly £14.85. 

Supermarket Price  Ranking 
Aldi £7.32 1 
Tesco £8.23 2 
Sainsburys £8.33 3 
Asda £8.43 4 
Lidl £8.52 5 
Morrisons £11.48 6 
Co-op £14.10 7 
Waitrose £14.85 8 
M&S £18.55 9 

Commenting on the findings, CashLady.com’s Consumer Finance Expert, Dan Whittaker said: “There’s a lot you may be needing to budget for, from school uniform and stationary supplies to packed lunches. Plus with the cost of living crisis upon us and energy bills about to soar, there’s no better time to save where you can.

“We’ve crunched the numbers to find the cheapest supermarket for packed lunch essentials so that you can serve up your children delicious, nutritional lunches whilst still keeping to a strict budget.”  

Top chef inspires city’s school cooks

greenawayTop Edinburgh chef and restaurateur Mark Greenaway took time away from cooking award-winning food to encourage the city’s school cooks to use and experiment more with fresh, seasonal and Scottish produce last week.
He was speaking at a Food for Life seminar in the City Chambers, organised by the City of Edinburgh Council and Food for Life Scotland, to launch the latest school menu – developed to meet the Soil Association’s Bronze Food for Life Catering Mark standards.

With the help of Food for Life Scotland, all Edinburgh schools are working towards the bronze standard, ensuring that more meals are freshly prepared using seasonal produce.

Achieving the prestigious award will make Edinburgh the first Scottish Local Authority to serve Catering Mark awarded meals in all school levels.

Mark was joined by Environment Convener Councillor Lesley Hinds to commend all those involved in the Council’s bid, and to celebrate the important work that school cooks do in helping to nurture and nourish the capital’s school pupils.

Cllr Lesley Hinds said: “I’m sure Mark’s input, together with implementation of the Food for Life Catering Mark will help our school caterers build on the great work they already do in our schools using fresh, seasonal and Scottish produce. As a Council we have a strong commitment to sustainability and to providing fresh nourishing and locally sourced food across our facilities.

“Currie Community High School and Buckstone Primary School already have the bronze award and we need to keep up the momentum to achieve our goal of Edinburgh being the first local authority in Scotland to achieve this across the whole school sector.”

Mark said: “It was fantastic to see so many of the city’s school cooks in one place, sharing their experience of cooking and hearing about the changes being made to the menus which will allow them to serve more fresh and seasonal produce in Edinburgh’s schools. I think Food for Life Scotland has the potential to make a significant difference to food culture in schools and beyond, which will benefit all of us over time.”

Food for Life Scotland is working closely with City of Edinburgh Council as part of the Edinburgh Food for Life Partnership, a partnership between the City of Edinburgh Council, the University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian which aims to embed a culture of real food change across the capital.

Three City of Edinburgh Council care homes already have the Bronze award – Clovenstone House, Marionville Court and Ferrylee.

Picture: Chef Mark Greenaway is joined by school cooks (left to right): Michelle Johnston (Ferryhill Primary), Julie Young (Currie Community High School), Jackie Montgomery (Dean Park Primary) and Lorna McKenna (Liberton High School).