Save Time & Money on School Lunches

Kicking off a new school year can be challenging for both parents and kids, especially when your child will be spending a full day at school.Lunchtime shouldn’t add to the stress of the transition from summer chaos to the routine of the school year. My oldest son, Connor, will be starting first grade. He is beyond thrilled to be spending the entire day at school, but he is especially excited to be able to eat lunch in the cafeteria.I know that school lunches can really add up throughout the year, and I was afraid of the extra expense. In order to save money I knew we would have to pack his lunch as often as possible.I decided to not only making packing a lunch fun, but I wanted to include Connor in the process.To stay within the budget, we headed to our local Save-A-Lot in McKeesport because I knew it would be the best place to get the most food for my money. We could get all of the food options he likes to eat at the right price.Connor was so excited to pick out the items that we will be including in his daily lunches at school.We came up with a list of his must-have items and the lunch options that I wanted to include to make sure he was getting a healthy, balanced meal.In an attempt to avoid morning chaos, I came up with an organized system where I could prep the lunches and give him a variety to choose from while still including him in the process.For this, I needed small containers to keep the items organized and easy to store. I was excited to see that Save-A-Lot was a one stop shop for this entire experience.I bought the containers, the food, and the bottled water and Connor found the name brands he loves all in one place.The organization system that I developed is so easy to follow.On Sunday evenings I prep for the entire week. Mornings are hectic enough at my house with three little boys so this is the perfect morning timesaver.I place all the containers on the counter and I select a few meal options that I know he likes to eat so that I can fill each one with a few different food choices.I then cut veggies and fruit and bag them separately and put them into the containers.The rest of the bins are filled with items like string cheese, crackers, go-gurt, and cookies. Each morning I will set them out for him to choose an option from each container so that he can pack his own lunch.This is a great experience for both of us.Not only does it make our mornings easier, but Connor enjoys being independent in making his own lunch for school.I was really happy with the amount of money that I saved and will continue to save throughout the entire school year. You can also save time and money on your kids' school lunches this year by finding the closest store near you.We’ll be shopping at Save-A-Lot for the rest of the school year.Plus, 2 lucky people can win a $25 gift card for Save-A-Lot to help you save money on your kids' school lunches this year. Enter below! This giveaway runs until 8/20/16 at 11:59pm EST.a Rafflecopter giveaway You can also enter to win a giveaway from Save-A-Lot for $100 gift card and an iPad Mini 2! Here's what you need to do:#1 - SNAP IT: Take a photo of your back-to-school lunch, breakfast or onthe-go snack#2 - SHARE IT: Upload your photo Here or on Instagram, Twitter, orFacebook#3 - TAG IT: Make sure to include #PackNSnap to qualifySweepstakes runs from 7/27-9/7

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Save-A-Lot. The opinions and text are all mine.