Are you ready for back to school season? It's been a cool summer with lots of cook-outs, and now it's time to break out the lunch boxes and racking up the savings at Food Lion. Getting organized is the first step toward saving money on groceries this back to school season.

Make a weekly shopping list for the household, and be sure to list ingredients of items needed to prepare lunches for your kids. Some simple lunch ideas are Bento style meals, or DIY Lunchables. Purchase fun fruits and veggies that can easily be bought and stored in small containers. Other great lunch box suggestions are string cheese, yogurt, crackers and cheese, half sandwiches, etc. If your child has access to a microwave during lunch time, you might even be able to re-work leftovers, such as leftover meatloaf becomes a meatball sub!

Lunchbox items can add up quickly, and this time of year, parents everywhere are looking to save as much money as possible. Did you know that at Food Lion, you can save even more on groceries by purchasing gift cards before you shop? Go ahead and start thinking toward the holidays- it's not too early. In fact, many people find it better to pick up gifts here and there through-out the year, so they don't wind spending too much at once in December. If there are people you usually give gift cards to, why not start picking them up now?

Now through August 20, 2016, you can double dip on savings at Food Lion! Here's how:

You can earn a $10.00 coupon off your next grocery bill at Food Lion when you purchase $50.00 or more in gift cards from Fandango, Red Robin, LL Bean, Lowe’s, Nike, Burger King, Xbox, Petsmart or Aeropostale.

Save even more when you use your favorite rewards credit card to purchase! Who wouldn't want to save more by earning possible cash back, mileage or points just from using a preferred card to shop with?  A large benefit of purchasing gift cards at a grocery store vs. a drug store are the extra rewards and savings! For example, the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express offers 3% cash back on groceries, and the Blue Cash Preferred® Card offers a whopping 6% cash back! Capital One QuicksilverOne®, AMEX EveryDay®, BankAmericard Cash Rewards and Citi® Hilton HHonors credit cards also offer increased rewards for grocery purchases. Wow! Talk about a great way to save!

Savings breakdown for shopping at Food Lion when you purchase $50.00 or more in gift cards (mentioned above):

$10 coupon (presented at checkout) +

$3 back if you earn 6% cash back on credit card grocery purchases =

Big savings of $13 on a $50 gift card!