Depending on the items you choose, your child's lunch sandwich could cost more this school year than it did in 2024.

That's according to a new report from Deloitte that shows the overall cost of homemade lunches is on the rise. The average cost for a packed lunch is now $6.15, according to Deloitte, up nearly 3% from $5.99 last year. Just under half of the parents polled by the survey said they expect their child's lunch to cost more this September than it did in 2024.

The reason for the price increase, as the Deloitte report points out, is because the cost of groceries has climbed in recent years. Parents are now paying more for staples like whole milk, which is up 7.8% from a year ago, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data for July, as well as for bananas, which are up 7.2

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