A Comparative Study of the Expenses of Students Who Bring

Packed Food and Students Who Buy at the Canteen

Ernie Clement N. ARISTON, Johann Kenoses CAMINSI, Reynaldo CUEVAS II, Raissane
CADAOAS, and Felise CALZA
11 - Fermat

Jasmin Orolfo
Statistics Adviser

ABSTRACT
The nature of the study lies in comparing the expenses of students who bring packed food and
students who buy from the canteen. The main goal of the researchers is to see which is more financially
practical to help parents and also students decide on whether they should bring their own food or just buy
from the canteen. The researchers have created a survey, validated by their Statistics adviser, which asks
the important information regarding the respondents’ food expenses. The expenses of the two groups
were analyzed through a Paired Sample Test. This test allowed the researchers to see if there is really a
significant difference between the two means. As a result, the test revealed that there is significant
difference between the two. The results have shown that buying food from the canteen would cost 29 to
53 Pesos higher than bringing packed food on a daily basis. Researchers therefore recommend the
students to bring their own food and save a large sum of money in the long run.

Keywords: comparing expenses; buy food; bring packed food; Paired Sample Test.

INTRODUCTION the two is a healthier choice. Some articles also

1.1 Background of the Study
The eating means of Makati Science High
School (MSHS) students can be divided into two
categories; those who bring their own packed
food from home and those who buy from the
school canteen. Numerous studies and
statements have been made which compare them
and tackle different aspects of both of them. An
example would be an article entitled "School
Lunch or Brown Bag: Which Is Right for Your
Kid?" by Elizabeth Renter in 2015 which
discusses the nutritional aspect of the two. She
stated the state of the US lunchroom, listed
positive points regarding school lunches, and
also debunked faulty ideas regarding which of
state the role of the allergies and dietary issues
of children in the decisions of the parents to
pack their food at home. Another aspect would
be the time it takes to pack food and to buy food.
Since not all families have the time to prepare
food for their children every morning, it may be
more convenient to let their children buy food at
school which is easier and stress-free (Olsen,
2018).
Several aspects of buying and packing food
have been mentioned, such as nutrition, safety
wise, and time. However this study only focuses
on comparing the expenses of students, who are
grade 11 from MSHS, who buy their food at
school and those who pack food. Several articles
also compared the two in terms of which is more
cost efficient. An article stated that buying from
the school canteen may in fact be cheaper since
school canteens may buy bulk ingredients with a
discount due to the large order. The same article
continues on asking the question "Are you really
saving money?" and tells the readers to compare
the costs of food bought at the canteen with the
costs of the food packed and packing materials.
(Olsen, 2018) In line with this, the main goal of
this study is to compare the expenses of grade
11 students of MSHS who bring their own food
and those who buy from the canteen.
1.2 Significance of the Study
This study will serve as a basis not only for
students, but also the parents in monitoring their
daily expenses. This will be helpful for the
students to be aware on how money they spend
on foods that they eat in school, and, for the
parents to know how much to give their children
so that they can have sufficient money
throughout the day. This may also be helpful for
the school canteen to know if they could adjust
their prices in order for the students get the
nutrition they need to perform well in school.
1.3 Scopes and Limitations
The research study only aims to make a
comparison on the expenses of students who
bring packed food and those who only buy food
at the canteen. The researchers only asked the
daily expense in food consumption and did not
deal with any other factors and uncontrolled
variables that arose from the study such as the
budget and frequency of going to the canteen.
Also, the findings from this study do not
necessarily reflect all grade 11 students of
Makati Science High School.
1.4 Statement of the Problem
This study compared the expenses of
students who bring their own food and those
who buy from the canteen. Specifically, this
research sought to answer the following
questions:
1. Is there a significant difference between
the expenses of those who bring packed
food and those who buy from the
canteen?
1. If yes, how much is the
difference between them?
1.5 Research Hypothesis
This study focuses on comparing the
expenses of students who bring their own food
and those who buy from the canteen. Therefore,
we hypothesize that there is a significant
difference between the expenses of the two
groups.
METHODOLOGY
2.1 Data Gathering Procedure
The researchers used survey as the
instrument of this study. The questions in the
survey form were formulated in accordance to
this study's Statement of the Problem. To ensure
the accuracy and correctness of the set of
questions, it was analyzed and checked by the
researchers’ Statistics adviser. The researchers
then edited and prepared a better set by
considering the comments and suggestions of
the adviser.
After the preparation, the researchers
then disseminated the survey sheets to the
different sections of Grade 11 of Makati Science
High School. The respondents were chosen
through purposive sampling because our target
populations are the students who buy food from
the school canteen and those who prepare food
at home and bring it in school. The researchers
chose ten students only from each section; five
students per category.
2.2 Data Analysis
The statistical treatment used in the
study is paired sample t-test. This treatment is
used when comparing means and in this case,
two means were being compared. The first one
is the average of the amount of money spent by
students who buy food in the school canteen.
This data were compared to the average of
money spent from buying the ingredients of
food prepared at home and taken in school for
breakfast and lunch. By comparing the two
means, the researchers would be able to
determine if there is a significant difference
between.
RESULTS & DISCUSSION
3.1 Statistical Treatment of Data
The results obtained in the study were
subjected to a paired sample test to determine
whether the means of the two groups being
compared have a significant difference or not.
The researchers obtained the T statistics and the
P-Value of the data.
Table 1
Paired Sample Test
Paired Differences
Mean Std. Std.
Deviation Error
Mean
Pair 1 41.25 25.79652 5.768278
Bring-
Buy
Note. * t stats = 7.1512; df = 19; Sig(2-tailed) = 0.05; p-value =
8.5x10-7
As observed in table 1, the calculated T
statistic between and within groups is 7.1512.
The data observed are significant at the 0.05
level of significance. The p-value corresponding
to the T statistic is lower than the value of
significance level, 0.05, suggesting that the two
groups are significantly different.
Also, the confidence interval obtained,
2.093, did overlap with 0 suggesting that the P-
value is less than the value of significance.
CONCLUSION
The study aims to compare the expenses
of students who bring packed food and students
who buy from the canteen. Findings suggest that
the researchers are 95% confident that the mean
difference between the expenses of the two
groups is between 29.18 to 53.32. This result
shows that buying from the canteen is more
expensive by 29 to 53 Pesos.
This study rejected the null hypothesis
and accepted that there is a significant difference
between the expenses of the two groups
involved. This study proves that buying lunch
from the canteen is significantly more expensive
than bringing packed food and therefore
bringing packed lunch is more practical
financially wise.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The study has concluded that bringing
packed lunch is less expensive than buying from
the canteen. The researchers then therefore
suggest the parents and students to try prepare a
95% Interval of
the Difference packed food upon going to school. Based on the
Lower Upper result, one can save up to 580 to 1060 Pesos a
month or even 5,800 to 10,600 a year just on
29.177 53.323
bringing your own food and not opting to buy
from the canteen.
Bringing packed food is financially more
practical than buying from the canteen; however,
this study does not reflect the experiences of the
whole grade 11 batch. The researchers also
recommend future researchers who would use
this study as a reference to have a bigger sample
and consider miscellaneous factors on the
students’ food expenses to be able to create a
more accurate and more elaborated results.
References
Olsen, L. (2018, September 28). Is School or Packed
Lunch Right for your Family. Retrieved March
25, 2019, from
https://www.verywellfamily.com/school-lunch-
vs-packed-lunch-4065361
Renter, E. (2015, April 14). School Lunch or Brown
Bag: Which Is Right for Your Kid? Retrieved
March 25, 2019, from
https://health.usnews.com/health-news/health-
wellness/articles/2015/04/14/school-lunch-or-
brown-bag-which-is-right-for-your-kid