Rich Products recently shared the results of a 2024 back-to-school survey, which highlights a growing preference amongst families for planning quick and healthier meals at home this school year. The survey, which polled parents of children ages 5-17, revealed consumers are shifting to more at-home meal occasions, prioritizing convenience, health and price when it comes to meal preparation.

The family-owned food company’s findings present an opportunity for retailers to make at-home meal preparation easier and more affordable for families, with schools across the country back in session.

“With the new school year upon us, our Strategic Insights team wanted to better understand how family food behaviors and buying habits are evolving, so that we can help our customers respond to new preferences,” says Nick Czajka, manager, strategic insights innovation, Rich Products. “As parents shift to more at-home meal preparation, there’s a huge opportunity for retailers and foodservice operators to make meal prep easier, without sacrificing health and price. For retailers, this might mean a focus on larger or value packaging sizes. For foodservice operators, this might mean driving renewed excitement through promotions and coupons, as consumers plan to reduce their commercial spend.”

Below are some of the key trends identified from Rich’s survey:

• Over 66 percent of parents plan to look for quick meal solutions more often and conduct more meal planning. A quarter of consumers looking for quick meal solutions also say they’re planning to buy more hot or prepared foods while grocery shopping, which further emphasizes growing demand for easy at-home meal solutions.
• The current state of the economy is impacting parents’ plans for back-to-school meal preparation. Forty-one percent of survey respondents plan to do more shopping at warehouse club stores this school year to take advantage of value packaging sizes, and 70 percent claimed they are on the lookout for more deals and coupons.
• Despite increased demand for convenience, healthy options remain a priority. More than half (54 percent) of parents cited a desire to prepare healthier and better-for-you foods this school year. Households that plan to eat healthier are also significantly more likely to increase their meal planning (81 percent) and increase their shopping at club stores (51 percent).
• Due to the increased emphasis on health and finances, the poll concluded that parents are prioritizing at-home meal preparation this school year. Forty-two percent of parents cited an expectation to prepare breakfast for their children at home more frequently, and 32 percent plan to cut back on takeout and delivery. Additionally, 50 percent of respondents plan to dine less at restaurants, and 41 percent reported that their family will eat less fast food.