It’s an age-old debate: to bring or to buy. School lunches have a total smaller calorie count than home lunches because of the items being portioned out, however the food has more cholesterol and preservatives than fresher items that students may bring from home.

Look at the graphics to find out exactly how the two options stack up to each other and to see the total healthy daily intakes for calories, fat, carbohydrates, and other nutritional components.

*an average school lunch from the home line was used that had chicken fingers, a dinner roll, an apple, and chocolate milk. An average home lunch was analyzed that had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, an apple, and three different kinds of grain bars.*