What’s in the lunchbox? Parents weigh taste, cost and ease this school year

Excitement is filling classrooms as students trade summer stories and meet new friends, while parents juggle the challenge of keeping lunches both satisfying and affordable. A new survey offers a peek inside the lunchbox, showing how many families are choosing to pack meals from home.

Balancing flavor and finances

Deloitte’s 2025 Back-to-School Survey found that 42% of caregivers of school-aged children plan to pack lunches. Nearly half of parents expect those meals to cost more than they did last year. 

Among those waiting to see the impact on their grocery receipts, 31% are switching from name brands to store brands, while 27% plan to choose a less expensive main lunch item. Another 22% said they are opting for shelf-stable options that won’t spoil as quickly as fresh produce. 

From PB&J to quesadillas: a closer look at the menu

Deloitte used data over the course of three years to look inside the brown bag lunch and how prices have changed. The lineup went beyond the classic peanut butter and jelly to include a chicken and avocado quesadilla for a modern touch, a salad option for the health-conscious and the quick convenience of meat, cheese and cracker kits. 

On average, these lunch choices now run about $6.15 a day, according to Deloitte. That’s roughly 3% more than at the start of last school year, just above the pace of food-at-home inflation. The uptick outpaces 2024’s flat prices but falls short of the sharper 6% jump families saw heading into the 2023 school year.

What the numbers say about lunch costs

When it comes to the lunch line, money often plays a role. The price of a school-provided meal can vary by grade level and region, but at roughly $3 on average, it’s less than half the cost of packing one. Some families pay nothing at all, which shifts the equation. When lunch is free for everyone, parents are 90% more likely to say their child eats at school.

Still, the savings aren’t enough to keep every lunchbox closed. About 42% of students bring food from home, a share that tends to climb with household income. The reasons vary: 69% of these parents say home-packed lunches win on flavor, 63% believe they get better value for the money and 52% like to give their kids variety, even if it costs more. 

Food prices show mixed trends in July

In July, the overall food index held steady after climbing slightly over the previous two months, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Dairy prices rose 0.7%, led by a 1.9% jump in milk, while meats, poultry, fish and eggs increased 0.2% overall — beef was up 1.5%, but eggs were down 3.9%. 

Over the past year, food at home has climbed 2.2%. For example, the bureau reports meat, poultry, fish and eggs rose 5.2%, driven by a 16.4% increase in eggs.