Healthy packed lunches of wholemeal bread and fruit are on average 45% more expensive for parents to put together than less nutritious versions with chocolate spread and crisps, research has suggested.
The Food Foundation charity said items for an unhealthy packed lunch were cheaper overall at five major supermarkets, arguing that this demonstrates the barriers parents face when trying to feed their children a good diet.
Tesco came in as the cheapest place to get food for a healthy packed lunch, the charity said, at a weekly cost of £8.56 as of this month.
Morrisons was the most expensive retailer, with the price of a healthy packed lunch per week coming in at £11.72, although this was down slightly from £11.80 in October.
The equivalent cost at Sainsbury’s was £10.47, Aldi was £10.08 and Asda was £9.18.
iStockThe charity said its research showed the largest price rise in recent months was at Sainsbury’s, where it calculated customers would have to spend 9% more than they did at the start of the academic year in September (£9.61) for the same packed lunch.
Unhealthy lunches for the research were made up of white bread with chocolate spread instead of wholemeal with cheese, flavoured yogurt rather than a plain, unsweetened version and snacks such as crisps as opposed to the four portions of fruit and vegetables incorporated into the healthy lunch.
Items for an unhealthy lunch bought from Aldi cost almost half as much as for a healthy one – at £5.68 compared to £10.08, according to the research.
A Morrisons spokesperson said they are “committed to working hard to keep prices down and competitive for our customers without any compromise on quality”.
They said they were “disappointed” in-store options such as the supermarket’s Savers bread, humous and Wonky Carrots were not chosen as part of The Food Foundation’s research.
The other supermarkets and the Government have been contacted for comment.
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