As if school supplies, book rental and new clothes weren’t painful enough to the pocketbook, millions of families may have to pay more for breakfast and lunch as students return to class this fall. In certain districts, the lunch price may be close to $5 a day—almost double what it was in 2017, according to Time magazine. And in a recent study, the School Nutrition Association found that 97% of lunch programs cited difficulty with rising expenses.
These challenges come at the same time that government meal exemptions granted during the pandemic, which allowed all kids to eat for free, are expiring. Everyone is hungry for change, especially cash-strapped parents and guardians, and there is an affordable, healthy, humane, sustainable solution: vegan food.
According to research from Oxford University, going vegan could reduce our food expenses by up to one-third in the U.S. Take the vegan classic, peanut butter and jelly on wheat bread: A PB&J costs only $0.45 on average and is packed with protein and complex carbohydrates, making it the most budget-friendly sandwich of all, as reported by Business Insider. The possibilities don’t end there, though: baked potatoes, hummus with cucumber slices, tofu or pasta salad, bananas or other fruit, and pretzels are all affordable vegan foods suitable for lunchboxes.
