Counting the cost of packed lunch versus buying out
Takeaway or brought from home? Stuff investigates the lunch habits of workers and students.
Kiwis love spending their money on food, but not always at the supermarket.
Despite declining food costs, New Zealanders are cooking at home less, instead choosing to allocate more of their budget towards eating out. Consumer spending specialists Marketview reported the convenience of takeaways as a driving force for this behaviour.
However, budgeting services warn costs ditching the sandwiches can easily spiral.
Time seems to be the biggest factor in people buying their lunch.
Christchurch now has more than 950 dine-in premises, more than before the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes. While some have struggled for survival, Hospitality NZ South Island territory manager Amy McLelland-Minty said the hospitality scene was "on the rise".
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University of Canterbury associate professor of marketing Sussie Morrish said it was important hospitality businesses noticed trends and lunch seemed to have picked up as a particular trend.
Some like the convenience of buying their lunch out, while others like the cost savings of making their own.
A survey of 250 Christchurch businesses, schools and tertiary institutions found nearly half of the respondents ate out for lunch at least once week. New cafes Unknown Chapter, Portershed and upscale food court Little High were listed among people's favourite spots to go.
McLelland-Minty said all cafes and restaurants in central Christchurch seemed busy during lunch times.
Black Betty café manager Simone Reddell said the cafe was always packed from 11.30am to 1pm, with an even split of students from nearby Ara polytech and workers who tended to order from their brunch menu, where costs ranged from $8 to $22.
Budget services say taking your own lunch could spell big savings.
Wednesday lunchtime was especially busy for The Pantry cafe on Ara's campus as that was when students got paid, waitress Justis Tauvale said.
During the lunch period at the University of Canterbury, the eateries are filled with lengthy queues of students and staff.
McLelland-Minty said as Christchurch's cafe market was competitive, businesses were using tactics like free wi-fi or special deals to entice customers inside their doors.
The ability of new eateries to customise items was an asset for them, Morrish said, as seen in the rise in innovative food options for almost any diet.
Morrish believed customers looked forward to seasonal menu changes and were now "attuned to eating fresh and healthy" food.
Those surveyed said eating out instead of packing lunch was more convenient, provided variety and was a good excuse to get outside and socialise with colleagues or friends.
Nourish Nutrition owner Nicola Fraher said a packed lunch should not be a restriction to getting out of the office.
"If you have half an hour for lunch – you can eat your sandwich then go for a walk."
In terms of spending, those who bought lunch out typically spent under $20 a week. One person said they usually spent $5 on a "fresh bun or a muesli bar", but could just as easily spend $100 a week eating at restaurants.
Christchurch Budget Service manager Dave Marra believed buying the occasional lunch was fine, but the cost of eating out regularly quickly added up: a couple of coffees and sandwiches could leave people spending more than $50 a week on food, he said.
"The quickest way to save money is to stop buying lunches."
Most who ate out said they did not have enough time to prepare lunch.
Lachlan Jenkinson said he tried to bring sandwiches and leftovers from home, but got busy and instead ended up buying lunch two to three times a week.
Student Hasitha Dulanjana said he was too lazy to cook. He spent about $30 a week on lunch – more if he stayed late to study.
Fellow student Chamila Galauda Gedara tried to take filling meals with her, saying everything near Ara was expensive.
Fraher said while lunch "often goes in the 'too-hard basket', it doesn't have to be too difficult". A good place to start is a wholegrain bread sandwich with a small amount of protein, and lots of vegetables to fill you up.
For those surveyed who brought their lunch from home, sandwiches with a variety of fillings and leftovers from dinner were the most common.
Fraher believed taking lunch was a good option as it helped people keep to a regular meal pattern, and meant they could choose healthy ingredients. She said the key was to be prepared – she suggested making lunch the night before, or preparing food in the weekends and freezing portions for the week.
- Stuff
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