# $20 a week for food



## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

I was wondering if you had $20 a week for food, paid weekly what would you buy to get enough calories and vit. 
This is for one person. No garden and no way to grow any meat.
Nothing from the wild.
What would be your shopping list.


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## wvstuck (Sep 19, 2008)

Local farmers market. I'd buy small amounts of the basics and continue to add to them each week. I firmly believe if you shop smartly and in the right locations you could build a small stock with as little as $20 a week.

Green Veggies, Dry Beans and some meat from a local butcher... Toss in some farm fresh eggs from a local source and you'd be on a good start.

Check on fresh fruit from local small growers and when fall comes around load up on apples.... If you were a little ahead by fall... You can usually pick up apples at less than $20 a bushel. 

If I seriously had only $20 a week... I'd try local food pantries as a way to get some stock put up for tomorrow.

Edited to add: If I were shopping on as little as $20 and not growing or raising anything like you said... I'd polietly tell everyone I was trying to survive off $20 a week to eat healthy and keep myself fed.... I've been known to give away a lot of food for a little or no money when someone needed a little extra to get by. I'm not sure how Idaho is, but here in West Virginia the farmer's markets are full of good hearted people selling extra food they raised... Someone who is struggling will always get extra in the bag without a word being exchanged.


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

wvstuck said:


> Local farmers market. I'd buy small amounts of the basics and continue to add to them each week. I firmly believe if you shop smartly and in the right locations you could build a small stock with as little as $20 a week.
> 
> Green Veggies, Dry Beans and some meat from a local butcher... Toss in some farm fresh eggs from a local source and you'd be on a good start.
> 
> ...


The $20 is all you have, food pantries not included. This isn't about prepping, it's about getting along with very little. Some people may not even have $20 a week. But this may give us all some ideas.


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## wvstuck (Sep 19, 2008)

SquashNut said:


> The $20 is all you have, food pantries not included.



Then everything I said except the food pantry. Local growers are a better source. Kroger, Safeway and Wal-Mart are not capable of doing what a local can and will do.


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## NewGround (Dec 19, 2010)

Also asking at the farmer's market for the blem stuff the yuppies don't want...

Excellent idea, good to try his as a test, now...


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

Shop the discounts and clip coupons, besides the previous advice. Larger towns all have a discount bread store.


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## Melissa (Apr 15, 2002)

I would spend about $10 (or less,) buying anything I could to make a pot of vegetable soup, some whole wheat bread, cheese, eggs, butter, and spend the rest on fresh fruit. You wouldn't go hungry. The next week I would make chili, or lasagna, or a chicken and rice casserole, etc... If I could put back a few meals from each of those every week and freeze them,eventually I could branch out and buy other items.


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

Local dollar store has ramen noodles 6 for a buck.


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## Guest (Jul 11, 2011)

With or without coupons?

Without coupons- dry beans, rice, flour, cornmeal, and a few odds and ends to go with it.


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## Limon (Aug 25, 2010)

For someone on that restricted of a budget, I'm assuming they don't have another $20 a week to waste running from little local shop to little local shop. Depending on where you live, that type of shopping is very time-inefficient. Mass-produced food isn't as good, but it is the cheapest. 

Can we assume this person has the basics (salt, pepper, oil?) already and is willing to cook from scratch? And there's no special dietary restrictions?

I think the best approach may be to "suffer" the first couple of weeks. Skimp on variety at first to build up a supply of staples. Once that's established, more of each week's funds can go into adding extras to the grocery list. 

Here's an example of what I mean:
Week 1
10 pounds of rice and a few pounds of beans can make a lot of meals. Say $7-8 on this.
A large container of oatmeal will provide breakfast for two weeks. Another $2.
A few pounds of pasta - $4
Spaghetti sauce or canned tomatoes, depending what's on sale that week. Say another $4.
That leaves a few dollars for whatever is on sale at the produce department to round it out.


Week 2
Add a little bit of milk and dried fruit to the mix. $5-6.
$5-6 worth of flour and yeast = lots of bread.
$3.50 for 10 pounds of sugar.
A bag of popcorn kernels
The rest on produce.
(There's still beans, rice, pasta and oatmeal left from last week to round this week's meals out.)

Week 3
A couple jars of peanut butter $4
Another container of oatmeal (or cream of wheat, etc.)
More milk
A box of crackers on sale
Some bouillon cubes
Rest on produce

Week 4
Spend about $10 bucks on whatever protein is on sale and freeze in small serving sizes.
Another box of pasta and something for sauce
Finish off the rest in the produce section again.
...

Pay attention to who has the best sales and adjust the purchases to take advantage of loss leaders.


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## Stephen in SOKY (Jun 6, 2006)

I'd spend a third of it getting to the grocery store and back.


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## jamala (May 4, 2007)

Buy on sale, around here you can get leg quarters for .49 cents a lb. so 10 lbs. and some rice and a few veggies for a week and a staple item like flour. You could make ALOT of chicken dishes with 10lbs of leg quarters.


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## Guest (Jul 11, 2011)

Limon said:


> $3.50 for 10 pounds of sugar.


Is sugar that cheap where you are?


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## therunbunch (Oct 5, 2009)

There's no way it could be done for $20 per week at our farmer's market. Things are so expensive there. $5 per lb ground beef (which I pay because I really like the taste/quality) but jams are $3-$5 per jar, greens are high, and strawberries $5 for a small container. I haven't seen much variety for the veggies yet... still waiting. There are a couple of old fellows that set up a few miles away in a parking lot. I saw (in passing) they had squash, cucumbers, broccoli and such when I drove by. I want to stop in and see their prices. I haven't seen these veggie at our FM yet.

ETA.. actually.. I might retract that. I forgot you were talking about a single person. I was thinking of my brood of 5!


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## Becka (Mar 15, 2008)

a pound bag of lentils (easier on the tummy than the beans, but just as cheap and healthy) $1
a pound bag of rice $1
oatmeal $1-2
head of cabbage $1
hot dogs, generic brand $1
canned tomatoes or tomato juice $2
potatoes $4-5
eggs $1.50
milk $3.50
margarine $1
generic cheese $1

With this, I could make:
cabbage soup
potato soup
lentils and rice
oatmeal (for breakfast)
boiled eggs
hot dogs and cabbage
hot dogs and fried potatoes
baked potatoes with margarine and cheese
scrambled eggs with cheese and fried potatoes
egg fried rice


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## Freeholder (Jun 19, 2004)

Sometimes we can get ten-pound bags of frozen chicken legs here for 69 cents a pound, so there's $6.90. Next I would add a flat of five dozen eggs, which is currently running about $7.50. Total so far = $14.40, $5.60 left to go (I live in a state with no sales tax, so am going by that). Add a bag of rice and a bit of sugar, and there's enough left to get a couple of bags of frozen veggies on sale.

So, this first week I'm having eggs for breakfast (I can't eat carbs for breakfast -- I'm useless the rest of the day if I do), a chicken leg for lunch with some veggie, and cooked rice with a bit of sugar for supper. Not great nutrition, but doable.

Next week, I've still got enough eggs and chicken to get through, so I'll add some more veggies, and a package of hamburger. Need salt and pepper, too (was assuming we had some for the first week). 

Keep going like that -- when you find something on sale, stock up on it, and eat that until something else is on sale. If you are careful, you should be able to save some of each item from the sale for subsequent weeks, until after a few weeks you can have a pretty good variety of food and a nutritious diet.

I'd sure be looking for opportunities to raise or forage some of my own food, though.

Kathleen


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## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

you can buy canned veggies here at Wegmans for .39...or buy fresh from farmers market as others have said..sometimes you can get a whole basket of over ripe/not perfect fruit and veges for a buck...you can cook the veggies and eat some every day. a gallon of milk for 3.85, a small package of chicken for 3.00, enough for two days (more if you hit a good sale), small each of rice and beans 2.00, dozen eggs 1.50, pound and a half of ground beef or pork, 3.50, loaf of store whole wheat bread (day old if available)1.50..
leaves you with almost two bucks to spend on tomato sauce, fresh fruit etc.


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## superd02 (May 18, 2010)

id go for 
eggs
tomatos
flour 
orange juice 
and Lard


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## bluefish (Jan 27, 2006)

Ok, I won't get too specific, not enough time, but we feed 3 (4 if you count the newborn) on $25 a week. We grow our own meat, eggs, milk and when the weather cooperates, veggies. I buy what's on sale and that's it. If there's nothing on sale then DH goes to the discount food store next to where he works. I save any leftover money from week to week til it's enough to buy bulk oats, rice, beans, etc. We make it work. I don't coupon, there's only a couple mom and pop grocery stores here and I keep processed foods to the bare minimum. So, it can be done, but you can't be very picky.


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

I've lived on $50 a month for food budget. It wasn't that hard to do in town. (this was in the late 80s, so that's about equal to $80 a month now)

lots of lentil based dishes. 
Rice
tuna (the cheap cans)
eggs
frozen veggies (they're always cheaper than fresh in the grocery store..and are flash frozen..rarely losing any nutrients)
cheese. 
Onions
taco seasoning, mexican spices, italian spices/herbs
pasta and sauce

so...my favorite meal was a casserole. soaked lentils, chopped onions, rice, and frozen veggies..all piled into a casserole dish with double the amount of water or soupmix water and a generous amount of mexican seasonings. pop in oven for 30minutes at 350. Take out, stir in cubed cheddar cheese, back in oven for 10 minutes. (got this recipe from a nutritionist when I was going through my vegetarian phase)

Apples are usually inexpensive here, and peaches and strawberries in season, so I'd buy those for making desserts. Peach cobbler. or Apple brown betty. Bread pudding.


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## Trisha in WA (Sep 28, 2005)

BlueJuniperFarm said:


> Sometimes we can get ten-pound bags of frozen chicken legs here for 69 cents a pound, so there's $6.90. Next I would add a flat of five dozen eggs, which is currently running about $7.50. Total so far = $14.40, $5.60 left to go (I live in a state with no sales tax, so am going by that). Add a bag of rice and a bit of sugar, and there's enough left to get a couple of bags of frozen veggies on sale.
> 
> So, this first week I'm having eggs for breakfast (I can't eat carbs for breakfast -- I'm useless the rest of the day if I do), a chicken leg for lunch with some veggie, and cooked rice with a bit of sugar for supper. Not great nutrition, but doable.
> 
> ...


Kathleen, 
This looks pretty good to me except the sugar on the rice. I think a few more veggies and an egg in that rice would make a lovely fried rice dish. Add a little left over chicken one night...even better. And for the price of the sugar, you could get a pound or so of ground beef to add some more variety.
I'm like you, I can't do breakfast carbs and have to have some protein at most every meal. I really like the basic look of what you put together!


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## Limon (Aug 25, 2010)

ladycat said:


> Is sugar that cheap where you are?


It's what I paid today for a bag, store brand on sale, with a store coupon. Regular price would have been closer to $5.75 IIRC. I meant to indicate that in the original post about how much you can save if you watch for the good sales.


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## Del Gue (Apr 5, 2010)

I'm one person, I spend about $60-$80 a month and actually, have stuff left over on the shelf after.
I eat frozen veggies and chicken, hot dogs eggs kolbassa beans nuts canned soup peanut butter very little bread at all.... whole grain pasta, sauces, apples carrots oatmeal...stuff like that. Hard cheese... sometimes some yogurt.
Ramen noodles is a pretty high carb meal so thats not a regualr but I have a ton of it here for when I get lazy.

Canned milk for my coffee... coffee... tea...sugar cubes for the aforementioned coffee....
$20 a week would actually buy me lots of surplus a month.


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## bigfoot2you (Oct 3, 2007)

Here in our biggest grocery stores they have a section with foods stuff that is nearly gone by. One can get very ripe veggies, day old bread, very ripe fruit...........dented canned food.........some even have meat and cheese ends from the deli..........this and some beans and rice would go a long way.


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## Melissa (Apr 15, 2002)

Starting would be the hard part. If you had nothing and only $20 the first few weeks would be lean, but for a single person it would not take too long to have a decent pantry accumulated. I would love to try this for a month, if I am ever here alone I will... lol


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## goohsmom (May 10, 2009)

I think my first big purchase would be a bottle of good multi-vitamins....most store brands are well-balanced and not too expensive. That would get me through the first few weeks until I had a stockpile of other items on hand to add variety to my diet. After that, milk and eggs would be my staples, along with noodles and cheese. A little cheese can go a long way with a splash of milk on some noodles....think fettucini alfredo for dinner. When my first husband and I were first married, I used to make spaghetti sauce using breakfast sausage instead of ground beef, since it was always cheaper. Back in the 80's, the two of us lived on $20 per week, and ate 3 meals a day each off of it. Some of our meals were bread and margarine sandwiches, but we still ate. A pot roast or roast chicken can make a surprising number of meals if you have time to cook....soup is also excellent, especially with beans and past-prime veggies from the grocery. 

Around here, the farmer's markets are outrageously expensive, but there are a few ethnic shops and one large ethnic farmers market that are wonderful for prices for veggies. I'd plan a day with bus fare to stock up if need be, the prices are that good.

Is dumpster diving allowed?


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

We do it.
We are limited to more or less $75 a week for 4 people. 
And we feast!! No packaged foods etc...
Tonight... Pork Tenderloin (bought a HUGE pork tenderloin on super sale several months ago and cut it into 7 big pieces. I think we have one more in the freezer)
Red baby potatoes (Farmer's market trade.. I gave him bread and he gave me 3# of red potatoes, a green pepper or two etc..) with chopped brocoli and some herbs out of the pantry and sliced herb bread. I bet the whole meal cost no more than $2 a plate.
Last night... leftover ham from the freezer (I can get a big ol ham at the salvage grocer's sometimes for $10. We eat off of it for ages!! I mean one meal a week for at least a month and shredded into eggs for breakfast and a sandwich of two.. ham lima bean bake (ham, limas potaotes carrots onions fennel seeds and black pepper, split pea soup, potato soup)
mixed in with baked mac and cheese with 100% whole wheat pasta shells at $.50 a box at salvage grocer's, a can of cheddar soup, a ton of veggies..ccarrots, peppers, onions, brocoli etc.. toss in a few eggs and a handful or two of real cheese.. ton of leftovers from that.

We grow and put by a lot of stuff and I am so sick of eating chicken and turkeys that are ours that I could scream some days... But we do it.. and we feast!

If I buy a kiel basa for soup at Aldi's ($2 or so) I cut it in half and make kiel basa stew. Heavy veg, kiel basa browned in for flavor and homegrown tomto sauce.. oh my.. delish! We get tons of protein from our egg filled breakfast and eat tons of veggies etc.. 
If you do NOT plan a menu, but shop carefully and at several different places and are totally flexible in your meal planning, you can easily do it. Frozen limas and peas etc.. on super sale for $.50- $1. Buy a bunch and throw them in the freezer etc... A stocked pantry and freezer are a great basis for any meat that you might find...

Hey!! We have some leftovers!!


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## goohsmom (May 10, 2009)

Interesting, it's obvious from the posts so far that those who raise much of their own veggies and meat think this is easy, while those who envisage doing it the way the OP stated, with no garden, no growing your own meat, no food from the wild, recognize the struggle. I wonder how much money those who garden and grow their own meat have invested in that meat, and what their weekly total would equal with those figures included. 

Pam


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

I want to stick to strick rules on this, because I think it is important to show that you can have nutricion and not live on $1 pizzas.
My Idea so far is to divide the $20 4 ways. Spend $5 each on protien, dairy, fruit/veggies, carbs. And if you can have some acumulation from week to week so much the better.
Maybe learn how to sprout the lentles too.
Our WinCo has a bulk food section for dry goods including dryed fruit. And the sea salt is 20 cents a pound. I think you could get pepper there or if you like it a bottle of hot sause.


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

goohsmom said:


> Interesting, it's obvious from the posts so far that those who raise much of their own veggies and meat think this is easy, while those who envisage doing it the way the OP stated, with no garden, no growing your own meat, no food from the wild, recognize the struggle. I wonder how much money those who garden and grow their own meat have invested in that meat, and what their weekly total would equal with those figures included.
> 
> Pam


I understand what your saying. Maybe you can tell us the hardest part of what your doing and we can discuss that.


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## PATRICE IN IL (Mar 25, 2003)

I'd second the chicken leg quarters, on sale here for $.69 lb. get 3 lbs., rice on sale $.59 for a 1lb. bag, frozen veggies on sale for $.69 a 1lb. bag (get 1 mixed veggies, 1 stew& 1 chopped broccoli), boxed spaghetti on sale for $.59 a 7 oz. box, tomato sauce on sale 5/$1, Romaine lettuce on sale $.79 lb, peaches on sale for $.69 lb. get 2 lbs., tomatoes on sale $1.49 lb., milk $2.69 gallon, wheat bread $1.29 a 20oz loaf, 16 oz can Bush's Baked beans on sale $1, Vidalia onion on sale $.88 lb, 1 dozen eggs $1.50, margarine on sale $1.19 a 1lb. container. Total $18.53 plus tax.

Menu:
*Breakfast:* Eggs and toast, milk
Rice pudding (provided you already had a sweetener available)
French Toast

*Lunch:* Chicken sandwich with lettuce and tomatoes
Chicken salad with lettuce, tomato, onion
Hard boiled eggs, salad with lettuce, tomato and onion, baked beans

*Dinner:* Chicken soup made with 1/2 bag of frozen mixed veggies
Broiled Chicken drumsticks, rice and broccoli 
Chicken Caccatore with spaghetti (made with tomato sauce, some of the frozen stew veggies and onion) 
Chicken Stir Fry served over rice, (made with onion, frozen broccoli and some frozen stew veggies)
Grilled Chicken with baked beans and salad

Bread and butter with dinner.

Fresh peaches and /or rice pudding as dessert or snack.


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## joyfulheart (Mar 26, 2009)

So the $20 is for just ONE person or a family? (and if family, how large a family?)

We've been doing that lately-- for a family of 5. And my boys are eating like teenagers. 

It's so hard. Some days, I just want to cry. 

Not out of self-pity, but out of frustration. Trying to plan everything out carefully, to make it affordable AND healthy AND tasting decent is frustrating. Not to mention making sure NO food goes to waste.

It's something I was not raised to do, and having to self-teach that is difficult. And don't get me started on my husband who is a VERY picky eater, who -- if up to him-- would eat like he was at a fancy restaurant every night. 

I'd love tips, recipes, advice, etc... it's harder than it sounds.


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

It's per person. About $1 per meal, per person.


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## wvstuck (Sep 19, 2008)

goohsmom said:


> Interesting, it's obvious from the posts so far that those who raise much of their own veggies and meat think this is easy, while those who envisage doing it the way the OP stated, with no garden, no growing your own meat, no food from the wild, recognize the struggle. I wonder how much money those who garden and grow their own meat have invested in that meat, and what their weekly total would equal with those figures included.
> 
> Pam


THe total cost of meat... $1.70 a pound for anything I eat that is beef. Can't do it on $20 but I buy bulk directly from a local farmer/butcher. Ribeye steak $1.70 a pound, Roasts - $1.70 a pound and so on and so forth through the whole cow. The pork is only $1.30 a pound.

Now keep in mind, I buy a side at a time.... Cheaper than I can raise a beef right now. The garden costs me nothing other than labor. The seed is saved year to year (all heirloom) 

We have a ritzy farmers markets in town for the yuppies, but a couple miles away we have the real farmers selling and bartering their wares for pennies on the dollar.

But back to $20 a week.... I'm learning somethings from you guys... Keep it coming.


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## farmergirl (Aug 2, 2005)

I've been buying chicken leg quarters in 10 pound packages for $.49 a pound at Walmart. That's the regular price, not on sale. I buy it to feed the dogs raw, but in a pinch I could eat it.


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## time (Jan 30, 2011)

Interesting exersize.

I might have to try some of these ideas and see how practicle they really are.


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

So far they are pretty spot on.


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## Elffriend (Mar 2, 2003)

I think how far you can stretch that $20 is going to depend on where you live. I see people quoting prices that I never see here.


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## time (Jan 30, 2011)

SquashNut said:


> So far they are pretty spot on.


Oh?

I think they should do it for four weeks. Keep a log if they are hungry. stand on a scale before and after.

If it's that easy, what are people preping for a bad economy for? Why the concern over food prices?

Saying it and living it is two different things. Seems the posters who have lived it or are living it are not finding it so easy.


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## stormrider27 (May 31, 2011)

wvstuck said:


> Ribeye steak $1.70 a pound, Roasts - $1.70 a pound and so on and so forth through the whole cow. The pork is only $1.30 a pound.


ribeye for $1.70 makes me want to move next door to you.

Back to the OP. I could do it but I get paid bi-weekly so my shopping trip would be for $40.

Rice goes on sale $7 for 20lbs a lot 5 lbs of lentils $5 chicken $5.90 for 10lbs pork chops 5lbs for 7$, $3 bag of onions, $3 for 2 doz eggs, $3 oil, $3 for 3 can spag sauce $2.50 for 4 boxes pasta.

20lb of rice will last me about 5 weeks this way so on the next pay check I can buy big can of crappy coffee for $5 (i drink it black) 

Storm


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## joyfulheart (Mar 26, 2009)

I've been doing it for a few years now. Like I said, it brings me to tears. It's VERY hard.

here's a few things I do....

My kids' new favorite is homemade corndogs.
I get the cheapest hot dogs I can (50-60 cents a package)
make my own corndog batter (guessing 25 cents? cornmeal, flour, water, egg)
(I keep re=using my oil over and over and over, until it can't be used anymore.)
Open a can of corn (aldi's 50 cents), make some box of jello and my kids are happy. 

Every. other. meal. is beans, rice, pasta, potatoes, eggs. in just about every meal. It fills them up. When we do meat it;s the cheapesst ground beef, or the cheapest cuts of chicken I can get. I cried the other day when I found beef roast and pork tenderloin clearanced super cheap. What a blessing!


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

time said:


> Oh?
> 
> I think they should do it for four weeks. Keep a log if they are hungry. stand on a scale before and after.
> 
> ...


I would be hungry after I ate one of those $1 pizzas. We wouldn't be having this conversation if it wasn't for the terrible economy.
I know these prices aren't every where. But this is only a starting place. Try it or don't. But I think sooner or later your body is going to get depleted from eating what is the equivelant of card board.
People are trying to help. If you don't want the help. i am not sure what to say.


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

With no other inputs, you are talking survival diet. (whole grain) rice, beans, masa, eggs, work up to wheat and sourdough, cheap fat, then you have to start considering long term negative health effects.


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

I could do it with just $20 _once._

I print up a bunch of fliers offering yard and handyman services to little old ladies in exchange for home cooked meals.


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

Harry Chickpea said:


> With no other inputs, you are talking survival diet. (whole grain) rice, beans, masa, eggs, work up to wheat and sourdough, cheap fat, then you have to start considering long term negative health effects.


Not if you add tomato juice, and canned fish to that. Right?


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## time (Jan 30, 2011)

For some perspective.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/05/a-high-price-for-healthy-food/



> âIf you have $3 to feed yourself, your choices gravitate toward foods which give you the most calories per dollar,ââ said Dr. Drewnowski. âNot only are the empty calories cheaper, but the healthy foods are becoming more and more expensive. Vegetables and fruits are rapidly becoming luxury goods.â
> 
> .


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

http://www.extremebargains.net/store/Independent_Discount_and_Salvage_Grocery_Store_Directory.html

A by state directory of salvage grocery stores.
You could also google your state in particular to see if a new one has opened up more recently.

I could not do it without my salvage grocer's. You never know what you will find, but who cares? They always have the staples like pasta, canned goods etc...
And we could not do it without Aldi's either. We got a pound of ground turkey sweet italian sausage for $1.49 the other day. It really perked up the spaghetti! But there are deals like that on meat often.


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

It may be human nature to buy junk because you have less cash, but I think people can learn new things.


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## joyfulheart (Mar 26, 2009)

Yeah, it would take me 1/2 a tank of gas to get to those salvage stores, but I love hearing the stories ya'll have of going to them!


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

The one we go to is about 60 miles one way. But we go when dh has to go to the VA.


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## PATRICE IN IL (Mar 25, 2003)

The prices I listed were for our local Centrella independent grocery store. I'm not that familiar with the prices at Aldi, my DH stops there for a few items for me occasionally. It would definitely be difficult to survive on that little without a fully stocked pantry or even a trip to a local food pantry for staples like sugar, flour, oil, etc.


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## time (Jan 30, 2011)

SquashNut said:


> It may be human nature to buy junk because you have less cash, but I think people can learn new things.


Where are the fruits and vegies, the health foods, in the above posters lists?

Rice and beans with some chicken or eggs thrown in.

Refer back to Harry's post. He has it right.

This thread was started in responce to my post in another thread about the lack of healthy food in peoples carts. The fact remains that healthy foods are more expensive, as I said.

If you are looking for me to admit there are many ways to eat cheap, sure there are. If you are looking for confirmation that a person can eat cheap and healthy with fresh vegatables and quality meat, you won't get it. It is not possible.

I stand by my statement in that other thread. It's not right to judge people because they don't have wholesome and fresh produce in their carts at the grocery store. It may mean that their wallet is thin. I'm sorry but, even poor people think fresh salad, veggies, some dairy and a t-bone is better than the corn dogs or frozen pizza in their cart.

While this is a good thread and many can learn from it, your attempt to disprove my claim that fresh healthy food is not affordable for many people has failed.


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## joyfulheart (Mar 26, 2009)

Please don't misunderstand, I DO buy fresh veggies and some fruit. Not alot but we do, when it's a good sale.

I always try to keep bananas around (our family goes through alot of those), apples if they are cheap enough, peppers, potatoes, lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes, squash, onion.... 

I skip the fancy veggies that are expensive, but we DO have the basics.


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

time said:


> Where are the fruits and vegies, the health foods, in the above posters lists?
> 
> Rice and beans with some chicken or eggs thrown in.
> 
> ...


If you reread this thread you will see that people do include fresh and frozen veggie and fruit in their lists.

Only in your opinion has it failed, and I think only because you want it to fail. But like I said these good people gave their advise, use it or don't.


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## belladulcinea (Jun 21, 2006)

Isn't this 20.00 per person a week? So a family of 5 would be 100.00 per week. That's very doable.


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## belladulcinea (Jun 21, 2006)

Oh yeah and we have done this before only it was more like 15.00 per person with a 2 person household. Picking eating is not allowed when you have no money to spend except on the basics.


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## pamda (Oct 14, 2004)

The Dollar Tree Store has a huge grocery section, freezer food included. I shop there before going anyplace. Some of it is from out of country but if all you have is a twenty it will do.


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## farmergirl (Aug 2, 2005)

If I had a running start, ie a couple of weeks $20 pooled together, I could do it I think. If you start with say $40 and buy some beans and rice, you would have plenty of money left over for things like whatever fresh fruit or veggies were on clearance. Lately I been eating cottage cheese with fresh strawberries for breakfast. The strawberries have been on sale for just under $1.50/ pound. I calculated my breakfast cost this morning at $1.25 for a big scoop of cottage cheese and almost a half pound of sliced berries. I topped it with a little raw sugar, so add $0.10.

It's hard to eat a satisfying meal for less than a dollar, but I did it in college and could do it again if necessary.

For about a year, DH and I lived on a grocery budget of $140 a month when we were first living together. I cooked some of the best meals we've even eaten during those months when we had more time than money.


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## time (Jan 30, 2011)

belladulcinea said:


> Isn't this 20.00 per person a week? So a family of 5 would be 100.00 per week. That's very doable.


Large families are much easier. Buy in bulk. Prisons feed for a few cents a day.


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## pamda (Oct 14, 2004)

Also, I would stop drinking coffee as I have to have vanilla creamer to drink it. But I love tea also and dollar stores have 100 bag boxes so I would be set. I saw small bags of flour and boxes of sugar also. Rice, pasta, frozen veggies, even cheese. I think next month I will try the 20 dollar thing, there are four three of use so 60.00.


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## 3ravens (Mar 16, 2006)

chickenista said:


> http://www.extremebargains.net/store/Independent_Discount_and_Salvage_Grocery_Store_Directory.html
> 
> A by state directory of salvage grocery stores.


FYI- The store this site has listed for Denver NC doesn't exist. I went looking for it, it's not there. :huh:


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## NickieL (Jun 15, 2007)

This is about how much DH and I have for food a week. $20...more like $25 though. We DO have a garden and DO tend to forage though, which makes things stretch a lot but since you don't have that option, beans, rice, canned tomatoes, PB, eggs, flour, bacon, cabbage, oil...buy from local farmer or aldies which is way cheeper then the groecery stores and cheeper then walmart too.

I forgot to add potaotes....that is a staple, that and cabbage in the wintertime when we cannot garden or forage, things get real lean then but some spicy fried potatoes, cabbage soup, fills the belly.


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## wvstuck (Sep 19, 2008)

This is a great experiment. But I wonder who is really trying to get by on $20 a week. Sure there are some that are and they are buying junk at cheaper prices. The movie Food Inc. kinda delved into this a little. 

Not in every instance but in a fair portion of them $20 a week and having to just scrape by on junk is mostly an excuse for "I shouldn't have to give up my $100 a month I-Phone" or "I just couldn't live without the Internet or Cable TV" I think if you took the $20 a week plus canceled the I-Phone that would be $180 a month instead of just $80 a month and then you could eat right and be healthy.

America is obsessed with the need for gadgets and only count for food once living with the accessories is taken care of.

Note: Some folks don't have I-Phones and some don't pay for Internet and are really struggling.... I'm just mentioning a large class that made a decision on their own to eat less and play more.

I think eating for $20 a week is doable... To have something with flavor and spices probably not, unless you eat junk food as part of your diet. Spices cost a fortune these days... Without them, you can't add much flavor to the basics.


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## Wolf mom (Mar 8, 2005)

Before I bought anything I'd make sure it was NUTRIENT DENSE. Sure, you can buy a lot of Ramen Noodles - full of salt & not much else. Noodles, pasta and white bread are nothing but fillers in a meal. Not healthy in the long run. Hot dogs and such aren't very healthy either as part of a regular diet. 

For years I bought (and still do) loss leaders. Then I made/make my meals around them. Sometimes you have to be creative, but eating frugally and healthily can be done.


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## farmerpat (Jan 1, 2008)

Dried beans, 1/2 bushel of wheat to make bread/noodles/pancakes with, maybe a small bag of regular rice, and whatever meat and canned veggies there was on sale. Farmer's markets are great, but they are seasonal, and not there year-round. I'd also have to drive an hour each way to the closest farmers market (held in the Wmart parking lot), so that would be out for me. I'd just check the ads at the local grocery stores carefully, look for in-store unadvertised specials, and create my menus around those. Like one other poster said -- big pot of veggie soup with homemade biscuits or bread. Also, split pea soup and cornbread is very cheap and filling, as are pinto beans and cornbread. Pancakes 2 or 3 times a week are cheap if made from scratch and are very filling. So are potatoes. You can get potatoes and cabbage pretty inexpensively in the fall and winter. Also, take advantage of holiday specials -- such as cranberries and turkey very cheap around Thanksgiving, and corned beef around St. Patrick's Day, etc. In the fall we have homemade kale soup and it's very very cheap to make and is very delicious and filling.

SquashNut - you didn't mention anything about preserving/canning. People can save alot of $$ if they make huge batches of stuff like soup and can them up for later, or can up any leftovers.


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## Guest (Jul 12, 2011)

Elffriend said:


> I think how far you can stretch that $20 is going to depend on where you live. *I see people quoting prices that I never see here*.


Ditto!


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

I have a WinCo in my town that has an amazing variety of bulk foods. I can get a tiny amount of salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, sage, oregano, cinnamon, baking powder, yeast and sugar there that would easily last me a week or more for about $1. Bananas run .53/lb, carrots 2# for under $1, cabbage about $1 a head, frozen peas or corn are $1/lb or less. A box of 8 Yoplait yogurt is usually available for $4 full price, but also goes on sale in the basic strawberry and peach flavors for $2-3. Cheaper still would be to buy whole milk for 2.39 and a single, cheapest cup of the plain yogurt, and then make yogurt by adding it to milk and letting it culture. 2 gallons of milk will give plenty to drink, use for cooking, and turn into yogurt. It's often cheaper to buy a piece of chuck roast or steak and have it ground into burger than to buy pre-ground burger meat. If your store won't grind for you, a food processor or hand grinder at home will do it (you can find a working food processor at a garage sale pretty easily this time of year for $1-2, and a good hand grinder for $5 or less, but they are harder to find...seems like everyone and their uncle has a food processor in their sale). Get one of those big bags of fryer hind quarters for .50/#. Add some pasta or rice for $1 each, from the bulk bins. A 5# bag of flour is $2 or less, and eggs are $1.68 an 18 pack, margarine $1 or less couple cans tomato sauce for $1, or if the big cans of spaghetti sauce are cheaper, get one of those. If you bought ALL of this the first week, you'd exceed $20, but you'd have enough food for one person for more than a week. Pick and choose what you like most out of the list, maybe only one gallon of milk, not 2, just peas from the frozen food aisle, etc. Get a cheap bit of burger this week and next week when you have the extra funds to get a food processor, buy the package of meat to grind. Buy the chicken this week and beef another.

Bake some bread and biscuits from your basic ingredients - if you don't have bread pans, make free form artisian loaves. The bread can be used for sandwiches, french toast or to pour hamburger gravy over. Biscuits and gravy? Mmm. Eggs can be breakfast, hard boiled for lunch, made into french toast batter with milk.

I'm not saying it would be easy to start from nothing and make a pantry on $20 a week, but it can definitely be done. I'm thinking I might just try it sometime in the coming weeks and see how well I can do.


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## Ann-NWIowa (Sep 28, 2002)

A single woman of say 65 could probably eat very well on $20 a week. A single male of 25-30 would probably struggle to get enough calories. An individual who knows how to shop carefully and can cook from scratch would do much better than someone who doesn't have a clue. If you have freezer space you will do better than if you don't. My dh for instance would probably buy a stack of 88Â¢ TV dinners, packages of cookies, bread, margarine, instant coffee, milk and popcorn and consider it done. 

If you are starting with the basics in your cupboards like salt, pepper, other seasonings, flour, sugar, oil, etc. the $20 will go much further than if your are starting from zero. I agree with making a pot of soup or a casserole and eating it all week would be the least expensive way to eat well. That would allow money for purchase of fruit, milk, eggs etc. to balance your diet. If you are starting from zero, then going to a food pantry and asking for the basics like flour, sugar, seasonings, oil, oatmeal, canned foods, etc. would be very helpful. 

A whole chicken at 65Â¢ a pound (Aldis) provides meat for more than a week's meals for dh and me so say $5 - $6 for two weeks for one person. We will have roast chicken for meal (1), then another meal of chicken (2), remove remaining chicken from bones for a chicken/rice casserole or chicken & noodles which will make 3 meals (3, 4, 5), then boil the bones, skin and make soup for 2 or 3 meals (6, 7, & maybe 8). Of course, if you can get a 10# bag of legs/thighs for 69Â¢ a pound that would be even better and provide a lot more meals. Bags of fresh carrots are inexpensive and can be used a lot of different ways to add variety and color to meals. A container of frozen OJ would add vitamin C and flavor to the week for $1.29. Oatmeal is good with OJ instead of milk.


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## farmerpat (Jan 1, 2008)

Oh I forgot -- vegetarian spaghetti (or some made with very little hamburger) can also be really really cheap, and can feed you for a couple of days. Also, Shepherd's Pie is good because you can use leftover veggies mixed with browned hamburger and a small can of mush soup and a couple sprinkles of worchetershire sauce and onion powder, and topped with left over mashed potatoes and a slice or two of cheese. YUMMY! Also, you can make chili pretty cheap, and it will feed you for many days on not much $$.
Tonight we had fried potatoes, hot dogs, and some grapes for dinner, along with the leftover brownies I made from scratch this morning. Was a cheap meal, and we are both full. Also, if a recipe calls for a lb of hamburger, I use between 1/2 and 3/4 of a pound, add some extra of the other ingredients (such as noodles or rice) and nobody seems to notice. You can skimp on the amounts of ingredients at time. Even when I make hambuger helper, I always throw in an extra handful or two of dry elbow noodles to "stretch" it.


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## joyfulheart (Mar 26, 2009)

"Oatmeal is good with OJ instead of milk. "

cooking it or just served with it? LOL Sorry-- I'm a self-taught cook, and still learning. haha


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## pamda (Oct 14, 2004)

[ 

SquashNut - you didn't mention anything about preserving/canning. You can save alot of $$ if you make huge batches of stuff like soup and can them up for later, or can up any leftovers.[/QUOTE]

My sister and my mom, when I bought an extra copy of the ball canning book at a yard sale this week end both said, and I quote...I would rather not can and mom tossed in if I knew how I would not tell anyone, then I would be expected to do it. Hello, my sister is on food stamps, my parents are in thier 70's and hurting for money. I was so sad over this. In my sisters case she is lazy and some what learning disabled, but I freeze and try to can any thing I get my hands on. I try to be a good example for her as does my other sister. But, some days just tossing up my hands is all I want to do. This is what goes on in cities and in some areas where food stamps and not having money is the norm. No one wants to do anything that resembles cooking and junk food and frozen junk or McD's is the norm.


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## farmerpat (Jan 1, 2008)

manygoatsnmore said:


> I have a WinCo in my town that has an amazing variety of bulk foods. I can get a tiny amount of salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, sage, oregano, cinnamon, baking powder, yeast and sugar there that would easily last me a week or more for about $1. Bananas run .53/lb, carrots 2# for under $1, cabbage about $1 a head, frozen peas or corn are $1/lb or less. A box of 8 Yoplait yogurt is usually available for $4 full price, but also goes on sale in the basic strawberry and peach flavors for $2-3. Cheaper still would be to buy whole milk for 2.39 and a single, cheapest cup of the plain yogurt, and then make yogurt by adding it to milk and letting it culture. 2 gallons of milk will give plenty to drink, use for cooking, and turn into yogurt. It's often cheaper to buy a piece of chuck roast or steak and have it ground into burger than to buy pre-ground burger meat. If your store won't grind for you, a food processor or hand grinder at home will do it (you can find a working food processor at a garage sale pretty easily this time of year for $1-2, and a good hand grinder for $5 or less, but they are harder to find...seems like everyone and their uncle has a food processor in their sale). Get one of those big bags of fryer hind quarters for .50/#. Add some pasta or rice for $1 each, from the bulk bins. A 5# bag of flour is $2 or less, and eggs are $1.68 an 18 pack, margarine $1 or less couple cans tomato sauce for $1, or if the big cans of spaghetti sauce are cheaper, get one of those. If you bought ALL of this the first week, you'd exceed $20, but you'd have enough food for one person for more than a week. Pick and choose what you like most out of the list, maybe only one gallon of milk, not 2, just peas from the frozen food aisle, etc. Get a cheap bit of burger this week and next week when you have the extra funds to get a food processor, buy the package of meat to grind. Buy the chicken this week and beef another.
> 
> Bake some bread and biscuits from your basic ingredients - if you don't have bread pans, make free form artisian loaves. The bread can be used for sandwiches, french toast or to pour hamburger gravy over. Biscuits and gravy? Mmm. Eggs can be breakfast, hard boiled for lunch, made into french toast batter with milk.
> 
> I'm not saying it would be easy to start from nothing and make a pantry on $20 a week, but it can definitely be done. I'm thinking I might just try it sometime in the coming weeks and see how well I can do.


WOW!!!!! :shocked: Your prices are WAY cheaper than where we live! An 18 pack of eggs here is $3.89 (that's why I have chickens), a 5# bag of flour is almost $4.00 (hence the wheat berries instead of store flour), real butter is actually cheaper than margarine per pound (I was getting it free when I was milking, but cows aren't milking now) and tomato sauce is $1.59 per can, just to name a few. We are very rural here, and the groceries cost a bundle cuz they have to be shipped out of Denver. Fresh veggies are the WORST! :shocked: :shocked:


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## farmerpat (Jan 1, 2008)

pamda said:


> [
> 
> SquashNut - you didn't mention anything about preserving/canning. You can save alot of $$ if you make huge batches of stuff like soup and can them up for later, or can up any leftovers.


 My sister and my mom, when I bought an extra copy of the ball canning book at a yard sale this week end both said, and I quote...I would rather not can and mom tossed in if I knew how I would not tell anyone, then I would be expected to do it. Hello, my sister is on food stamps, my parents are in thier 70's and hurting for money. I was so sad over this. In my sisters case she is lazy and some what learning disabled, but I freeze and try to can any thing I get my hands on. I try to be a good example for her as does my other sister. But, some days just tossing up my hands is all I want to do. This is what goes on in cities and in some areas where food stamps and not having money is the norm. No one wants to do anything that resembles cooking and junk food and frozen junk or McD's is the norm.[/QUOTE]

I know what ya mean -- nobody in my family cans but me, and I haven't done it much in the last 12 months because I was very very sick and am now just getting back to where I can go out and feed the chickens again. I'm hoping by fall to be able to start canning again, but can't even lift the pressure canner (am on weight restrictions on lifting) right now. :grit: I keep hoping to get stronger every day. I LOVE to can! :nanner:


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

SquashNut said:


> Not if you add tomato juice, and canned fish to that. Right?


No. Calories get you through the short term. Tomato juice has little to offer but flavor and a trace of C, fish, a bit more of needed nutrients.

This gets complex REAL fast. Not every person has the same metabolism or absorption possibilities. I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of why poor people are kept "down" willingly is related to diet, but that is a different thread.

There are a number of amino acids that contribute to a balanced diet. Beans and rice supply the basics, fish DOES help, but canned fish (tuna) is no longer a cheap food, like it was forty years ago. Aldis has cans purportedly containing 5 oz of tuna for 60 cents. Press all the water out and you'll find 3 oz if you are lucky. 3 oz for 60 cents = 20 cents/oz. Sixteen oz in a pound. $3.20 per pound. NOT cheap.

Cheap chicken is $1/lb +- . A $4 chicken can (for one person) do about a week of meals/flavoring. Ground beef, around here, works out to about 50 cents/serving. Still much cheaper than canned fish.

Once you get past calories and amino acids, you need to address minerals and vitamins. D is easy in summer. Go outside. C is citrus, B is carrots and yeast, A can be fish. Minerals are calcium - masa harina has lime, magnesium in our culture needs a supplement, potassium - a banana, maybe tomatoes. Then you get to the minor minerals, zinc, etc. If you are going cheap, a supplement MIGHT be a way to go, but the industry is unregulated and you have to avoid the cheapest brands.

Then you get into the sub vitamins. Organ meats (kidneys, etc.) can do some, but again, you may need a decent supplement.

Like I said, do-able short term. Long term is a challenge.


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## ||Downhome|| (Jan 12, 2009)

time said:


> Prisons feed for a few cents a day.


is that cause they buy the best in such large quantity? 

got to ask another one.

Ever been to the county or prison? 

I only been in the county once, weekend stay. over those three days I had a chance to sample all the fare offered. a meal or too wasn't too bad, a few more I choose not to eat, and a couple I did not really want too but had the need.
they serve the bare minimum of the lowest quality. prepared by the inmates and bought from the cheapest source. seemed to me the stuff that people once where allowed to pick up to feed the pigs but now is illegal or at least highly discourage. the stuff you couldn't sell to a starving man.

I imagine at state level the food is the same or even worse, federal I hear is pretty good in comparison.


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

Some good suggestions! I would start with the 10 lb bag of chicken leg quarters the first week, separate and freeze. I have often seen them on sale for $3.90 so I will assume I found that sale. 2 lb rice $2, 2 lb beans $2, 3 lb bananas $2, fresh onions if on sale for .69 per pound or less, or small jar of onion flakes if not, $2. Fresh carrots, $2.99, I think that is the 3 lb. bag. Oatmeal $2 and a small jar of instant coffee. I would make a big pot of chicken n rice soup and have it for lunch and dinner, alternating with rice and beans. Oatmeal and/or banana for breakfast. Snack on carrot sticks. Save the trimmed and skimmed chicken fat for cooking with. 

The next week, I should have carrots, onions, rice, beans, oatmeal and chicken left over. I would buy a couple of big cans of store brand tomato juice that 2nd week, which could be drunk as well as used in cooking, $2. I would also get some cabbage or potatoes that 2nd week, whichever was the best buy, $3 worth, and another meat that was on sale, $5 worth. Eggs, $1. Pasta $1, 5 lb flour $2, yeast packet $1, and hopefully some real coffee or more instant (or teabags) $3. So the 2nd week, assuming the best buy was the cabbage, cabbage soup made with chicken broth, and carrots and onions in it, and either chicken or the new bargain meat. Cabbage rolls with the rice and cooked in tomato juice. Pasta and whatever meat, and so on. Eggs and oatmeal alternately for breakfast, also could have rice for breakfast. And now we can make bread. (Although we have no butter yet, we can sop it in our soups and sauces) Start a sourdough with the yeast so it doesn't have to be bought over and over again. And just build up from there. The variety should get better gradually as you go along and more vegetables and fruit added, frozen or on sale in season. 

It would not be easy and you would feel very deprived at first.


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## time (Jan 30, 2011)

||Downhome|| said:


> is that cause they buy the best in such large quantity?
> 
> *Not the best, but yes large quantity*
> 
> ...


The point was not the quality of the food, but the cost.

It is cheaper, per person, the more people there are to feed. Bulk buying has always been that way.

Much harder for a single person or couple.


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## farmerpat (Jan 1, 2008)

I forgot about oatmeal! Thanks guys! It's also good for stretching meat to make meat loaf, venison loaf, salmon loaf, etc.


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## time (Jan 30, 2011)

Harry Chickpea said:


> Like I said, do-able short term. Long term is a challenge.


So, a simple question if you don't mind.

Are these $20 a week meals healthy?


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## farmerpat (Jan 1, 2008)

Beans and rice and lean meats and canned veggies and oats and flour are very healthy. As long as people don't fill up on alot of processed meats like salami, bologna, and very salt packaged foods like tuna helper and etc, yeah, I'd say the $20.00/wk diet would be pretty healthy.


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## Mrs. Jo (Jun 5, 2007)

Potatoes are 4.99 for 10 pounds here. On the really good sales you could get them cheaper but those are rare.
cheap frozen veggies are 1.28 a bag for about 10 oz now. (7.30)
Onions would be important and perhaps garlic as both add flavor and nutrients. Well, there is a sale this week 2.79 for a 5 lb bag on onions. (11.09) I have no idea what my usual onions, hamburger onions cost! 
Cheap tuna: .88 a can (11.97) cheap hot dogs is .68 (limit 2) so now we are up to 12.66. Eggs are about 1.40, I think, I don't remember exactly. So now we are at 14.06. I think I need some more staples so let's get some pasta. Creamette pasta is on sale for 1.49 and let's get two. So that's 17.04. Hunt's pasta sauce is 1.20 this week. (18.24) we'll just get one. 
Flour would honestly be out of the budget right now, but at thanksgiving there are usually really good sales. So maybe just get a loaf or two of cheap bread. So cubs bread/hamburger buns is one sale for .98 this week so I would get two. And then I'm at 20.20. 
So I would definitely be loosing weight on this diet. 
Just thinking about it but I would really want some kind of cooking oil, hopefully an olive oil, but honestly when you are hungry any will do. I would like oatmeal, and some kind of nut butter as well. If I could I would get a box of dried milk, both to drink and for added protein. I would try to buy vitamins, especially vit c. I would want vinegar eventually, probably as well as some form of fresh fruit or veggies, even if it is just cabbage. 
I would want salt, and most likely black pepper and garlic and Tabasco sauce in my spice cabinet.
I feed a family of 7, not very economically but we are trying to do better so that is why I know the prices of some stuff and not others. I can see this would be very hard to do without a great deal of forethought and planning. I would definitely use coupons as much as I could, but would also pay attention to store brands and Discount places such as Aldi's. I don't shop Aldi's regularly but I think 20$ would stretch better there for sure. 
I'm weeding up dandelions and lamb's quarter's in my garden. I'd probably be eating those and also picking the free berries in the parks as I walk. Theoretically, that is- if I could sustain physical activity on this diet to do that. 
I would definitely worry about nutrition. I think in a case like this, if you really had only 20$ to feed yourself, it would be o.k. to ask your church or a food shelf for a bit of help to get by. 
To be honest, I think I'm really spoiled. I don't think I could live on 20$ a week!


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## time (Jan 30, 2011)

farmerpat said:


> Beans and rice and lean meats and canned veggies and oats and flour are very healthy. As long as people don't fill up on alot of processed meats like salami, bologna, and very salt packaged foods like tuna helper and etc, yeah, I'd say the $20.00/wk diet would be pretty healthy.


I'm gonna have to disagree. Your very high on carbs. Canned veggies help some but allot of nutrients are lost in the proccess. Protein is good, but for those that plan to make a chicken last two weeks, it's not much.


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## Freeholder (Jun 19, 2004)

Trisha in WA said:


> Kathleen,
> This looks pretty good to me except the sugar on the rice. I think a few more veggies and an egg in that rice would make a lovely fried rice dish. Add a little left over chicken one night...even better. And for the price of the sugar, you could get a pound or so of ground beef to add some more variety.
> I'm like you, I can't do breakfast carbs and have to have some protein at most every meal. I really like the basic look of what you put together!


I like the fried rice with egg and veggies in it, but figured that the first week I'd have to make the veggies stretch, because I'd be starting with only a couple of one-pound bags. Once you got going it would be easier.

Ground beef here is pretty expensive -- I'd get a big bulk pack of it the second week, though, and be able to alternate between hamburger and chicken. I can do a small amount of carbs in the evening. (Mom used to sometimes feed us rice and raisins for supper, which was cooked rice, with raisins cooked in, a little sugar sprinkled on top, milk, and cinnamon. We loved it, but I very rarely do it anymore.)

Kathleen


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## Freeholder (Jun 19, 2004)

farmergirl said:


> I've been buying chicken leg quarters in 10 pound packages for $.49 a pound at Walmart. That's the regular price, not on sale. I buy it to feed the dogs raw, but in a pinch I could eat it.


I'll have to check on that. In general, the Walmart here doesn't have as good prices as another store, so I seldom buy anything there. 

You can also check restaurant supply stores. Some of them sell to the public, and sometimes they have good buys on bulk stuff -- not always, though, so you really need to keep a price book and know what the prices are in every store in town! (Not to spend twenty dollars running all over the place, but it costs me between two and three gallons of gas for every trip to town, so I make a loop and hit all my stops without backtracking.)

One big mistake people make when on a tight budget is to buy small quantities of this and that so they can have their usual balanced and varied diet. It's important to buy in bulk and on sale as much as possible. You'll pay more initially for ten pounds of chicken legs at 69 cents a pound (or 49 cents if you can find them for that) but there should be at least twenty meals for one person out of that bag, and possibly more, depending on how many legs were in the bag (I'm considering one drumstick or one thigh as a serving). When you are on a tight budget, you can't afford to be paying high per-unit costs for things. Suffer the restricted diet for the first few weeks (if you are starting from scratch with nothing in your kitchen), and build up a stock of basics. Then you should be able to replenish your pantry only when something is a really good buy, which will enable you to have a few more luxuries in your diet in the long run.

Kathleen


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

time said:


> So, a simple question if you don't mind.
> 
> Are these $20 a week meals healthy?


Simple question, but no simple answer. In general, beans, rice, masa harina, chicken, form the basis of a Mexican diet. Rice is a worldwide staple. Add a few things here and there and it'll get you to age 50, if you have good genes, more, if you have great genes.

Was it this forum that had the loopy vegan? Not saying, but could be...

I know that when I am doing serious programming or mental work, beans and rice don't cut it. If I'm doing grunt work, I want calories and it does fine with some fat.

For me, the $20 meals given would be OK short term, better if interspersed with more variety, and not good over a longer period. Another factor not being discussed is that people build food intolerances to foods that they eat in excess. Intolerance to rice is somewhat common in Asia, just as wheat intolerances are common here. Add in stuff like diverticulitis or other medical conditions and these simple basic diets can be a real problem.

Maslow posited that the basics are water, food, shelter, and that only once these basic needs are met do people go beyond focusing upon them. Food is one of the LAST places I would shortchange myself. No gas for the car? Not as important as a decent diet. No phone? Would make that choice in a heartbeat. "At least I'd have my health..."

The unsaid extension for this $20/food week idea is - What are your priorities and how do you allocate money to them when you don't have enough money?


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## wogglebug (May 22, 2004)

It isn't only the food that costs. Preparation takes time and fuel or energy too.
Any whole grain cooks quicker if you soak it for a long time first - overnight or even 24 hours. Even so, I'd tend to steer clear of ordinary beans - they take a lot of cooking.

I'd do some price comparisons with supermarkets and any ethnic markets you have available. Asian, Lebanese, Mexican, Greek, Balkan - they have variety you don't see otherwise, and are often aiming at people who want to feed a whole family on $20 a week.

My first purchase would be carbohydrate, purely for fuel. Probably a bulk cereal grain, bought purely on price per weight. Rice, wheat, sorghum, whatever. Not whole-grain oats - there's too much of their weight in husk and seed coat, and too much roughage for a person to tolerate. Maybe experiment with a little corn - boil it up and whole-grain maize can be quite okay, but it needs soaking and long cooking. Bulk rolled oats will work if the price is right, or flour, or polenta, or semolina, or pasta. Ramen and clones fit in here too, and they are energy-dense because they're loaded up with quite a lot of fat as well. If you can get it at the right price per pound, angel's-hair pasta is brilliant, because it cooks so quickly.
Visit http://survivalplus.com/foods/Saving-Money-With-A-Thermos-Bottle.htm , and also run a web search on "Thermos cooking".

Next would be flavours - some dried herbs, chilli powder, and garlic in some form, so I wouldn't get bored too quickly with a bland diet. Some people would want salt as well. 
And some cooking oil. My preference would be olive oil, but at this stage I'd go by price alone, and probably end up with generic unnamed "vegetable oil".

Then protein. Based on price I'd go for lentils, adzuki or mung beans, or split peas, because they are small and cook much quicker than whole ordinary beans. Or chickpea flour. Peanuts would be good at the right price. I'd consider eggs, and dried milk powder. Cheese would be good if the price were right.

Then fruit and vegetables. I'd talk to the greengrocers, explain my price constraints, and find out what they have on special, and on clearance as overripe or blemished. 
And no matter what, I'd buy an entire huge cabbage, untrimmed, still with all the tough dark-green outer leaves attached. There's a lot of weight and a lot of vitamins in those big dark heavy leaves. If you cut the sides of the leaves off the central leaf ribs, shred both leaves and ribs *very* finely, then steam or wet-and-nuke them, it's edible and nutritious. *Don't* boil it unless you're making soup, and even then only for a short time. Boiled cabbage smells, and it's not as tasty or as nutritious.

That's it for the first week. I've bought some more staples in bulk than I need for a week, both to get good prices and because I want a reserve in case next week's $20 goes astray.

*The second week,* I'd restock, or replace with an alternative, anything I'd used up, or was going to run out of this week. 
I'd look at more specials on fruit and veg. I'd try to buy onions and potatoes if the price was right. 
I'd look for cheap tomatoes, canned tomatoes, tomato paste or pasta sauce, tomato juice, or even a large bottle of a generic tomato-based sauce.
I'd like a bottle of lemon juice, but can I afford it? If not, I'd probably get brown malt vinegar to add to my herbs and spices.
A bag of mung bean sprouts can be vegetables for half a week. Better still, learn to make your own, and sprout mung or adzuki beans, wheat, or even corn.

This week I'd think about bread as well - I'm getting things that would be worth using on it. Note that you don't need to grease bread. In our $20 protagonist's situation, margarine and butter are wild extravagances. All you need is a slab or two of bread, and the filling.

Last week I'd have spent time getting to know where cheap meat could be bought, and I'd try to get some this week. You don't need much, particularly with legumes, eggs and milk products - most Americans eat six times as much meat as they need. However, just a little is nice from time to time, cooked as a stew with your cereal, served beside your vegetables, or adding taste and texture to your pasta. 
Many USAmericans won't even think of eating the best, tastiest, most nutritious and most economical meats. Hearts, tongues, liver, tripe, small young kidneys - prepared properly all are delicacies, and generally so intensely flavoured that you don't need much of them. Chicken legs make the most intensely-flavoured gelatinous chicken soup. Don't forget chicken livers and chicken hearts, and even giblets can be ground or cut fine and added to soup or stew. Asian butcheries have many things you don't otherwise see, at very reasonable prices. Duck bills and duck feet can also be boiled until they dissolve into a rich soup. Pig hearts, livers, kidneys and tripe. Pig's head can be boiled and make soup or brawn, scrapple or livermush. 

If you eat liver, make sure that the gall bladder is not still attached, or has not broken onto the liver (green or yellow stain). _"Bitter as gall"_ is not just a saying! This is not common; but when it happens it is most commonly a problem with chicken livers, where the parts are small, fiddly and delicate.

And of course there are the standard cuts and parts on special as well.
Sausage mince is fatty and has a lot of water-soaked bread bulking it out, but it is meat and it is cheap. A little of it can make a lot of marble-sized meatballs.
If you have enough freezer capacity, economising for a few weeks may let you make a bulk buy on meat. 
At the right price a side of veal can be extremely good value. It can happen when dairy farmers get rid of their unwanted bull calves. The animals are young, the bones haven't hardened yet, they are still gelatinous, and you can get a lot of value from that in stews, casseroles and soups.

Any meat bones and gristle should be saved and boiled to make soup or stock. A standard hacksaw can be used to cut the bones first, cutting off the ends to expose the centre as well.
With anything involving gristle or skin, the blender is your friend. 
If you have a pressure cooker, you can actually cook bones until they will just crumble in your fingers. Taste like meat, but with a slightly chalky texture. If you make sure there are no remaining hard pieces, you can blend the softened bones, then add them back to the soup - that's your calcium supplement.

Of course, the blender is great for making desserts as well. Use your over-ripe fruit, make a smoothie or add milk powder and have a fruit whip, or freeze them to make gelato or granita.


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## Freeholder (Jun 19, 2004)

time said:


> Oh?
> 
> I think they should do it for four weeks. Keep a log if they are hungry. stand on a scale before and after.
> 
> ...


I've lived it. For several years my daughter and I had $100/month for food, paper products, and pet food (one dog, one cat at the time). That $100/month was for BOTH of us, not for each of us. We did just fine, but it was tight at times. And we did have a garden, and foraged for some wild foods. Right now I'm feeding three adults and have about $240/month for food, and it's ample. 

Kathleen


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

for those looking for cheap spices...try this place.heard alot of good things about them.ordered a few things last week and they look nice.

one example...pickle spices....1# bag....$5.49

walmart...gets close to $3 for 1.5ozs.

http://www.spicebarn.com/


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

everything yall are talking about is the very reason ya need to prep....so you never get behind.always have extra dry goods and oils etc at the very least.


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

heres soemthing else...sams club..its a rip off...last time i was there the cheapest chicken they had were leg quarts at ...99 cents a #.my local store has it regular for .49cents a #.

if you dont know ya prices ya got troubles.


they look at ya funny when ya buy 50# of chicken at once.....lol...but i sure dont give a flip how they look at me.


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## time (Jan 30, 2011)

Harry Chickpea said:


> Simple question, but no simple answer. In general, beans, rice, masa harina, chicken, form the basis of a Mexican diet. Rice is a worldwide staple. Add a few things here and there and it'll get you to age 50, if you have good genes, more, if you have great genes.
> 
> Was it this forum that had the loopy vegan? Not saying, but could be...
> 
> ...


Thanks for the answer.

I agree with the priorities. The thread was started, I believe, for ideas to eat healthy on a small budget. All retail food. I just don't see how it can be done without reasonable access to the higher priced foods. 

I know that proccessed foods are not healthy either. That's a given. But is there going to a big difference in eating a variaty of frozen tv dinners compared to a diet of mostly rice or grains? 

I believe a person could live 50yrs on tv dinners.


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

for some of yall that dont know....we have done $20 challenges to see what we could buy for that amount.theres a couple threads if ya do a search here for them.


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=196235&highlight=$20+challenge


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=396963&highlight=$20+challenge


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=397839&highlight=$20+challenge


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## Del Gue (Apr 5, 2010)

I was thinking about this topic when I was cooking breakfast today.
$80 a month is more than enough to feed one person very well. You just have to get used to eating different and, you have to choose where you buys stuff.

I used to add saltine crackers to soup. I love saltine crackers in soup.... a lot of em, nom.
After I found rolled barley at the Mennonite store, I found that if you toss a 1/2 cup of rolled barley into some soup, it looks and tastes almost like a half a tube of saltine crakers.... less the salt. I prefer this now since 1] the rolled barley is cheap. Super cheap. Like 83 cents a pound cheap. 2] Barley is a wholegrain, its low on the GI and is a good source of fiber. Saltine crackers.... empty starch carbs. 3]it's dense. it fills you up and its a complex carb so, you stay full. saltine crackers, even for a buck a box... no deal beside the rolled barley. You can it to any soup since barley is sort of tasteless, it absorbs the flavor of whatever you add it too.

I add rolled oatmeal to corn bread mix, it makes a nice heavy cake.... tastes good too. The rolled oats at the Mennonite store is thicker, with no dust and way cheaper (80 cents a pound) than a good brand of boxed elsewhere. You can buy cheap oatmeal elsewhere but its thin and dusty... and still not any cheaper. 
Since I'm a lazy cook.... I buy the corn bread (just add water) mix in the single cake boxs for 45 cents a box. On sale I can get it 3 fer a buck then I buy a bunch. it's not moms home made, but it's cornbread.... with the rolled oats, it's yummy n cheap.

We had one of those salvaged food stores here, a few miles down the road for years, I loved that place. 10 cent a cup yogurt (everything is expired most of the time, but who cares? by a day or so... or a day or 2 until. ) cheap everything. if they got stuck with a bunch of something nobody wanted, sometimes I got it for almost free. They closed up and are gone now. I wish I could find another place nearby.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

farmerpat said:


> WOW!!!!! :shocked: Your prices are WAY cheaper than where we live! An 18 pack of eggs here is $3.89 (that's why I have chickens), a 5# bag of flour is almost $4.00 (hence the wheat berries instead of store flour), real butter is actually cheaper than margarine per pound (I was getting it free when I was milking, but cows aren't milking now) and tomato sauce is $1.59 per can, just to name a few. We are very rural here, and the groceries cost a bundle cuz they have to be shipped out of Denver. Fresh veggies are the WORST! :shocked: :shocked:


Yeah, I know the prices at WinCo and Grocery Outlet here aren't as bad as some places, and yet we are a lot higher on other items than what I see posted for some areas of the country. I think it shows that despite a global economy, our real world experiences are local. That effects what we buy with $20 and whether it is even feasible to plan on eating on that amount per week. I wish real butter was cheaper than margarine - I use butter because I feel it is actually healthier than the fake stuff, but it's expensive!


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

elkhound said:


> for some of yall that dont know....we have done $20 challenges to see what we could buy for that amount.theres a couple threads if ya do a search here for them.


Those challenges were done stacking coupons and getting the most for your money, any way you could, not necessarily to provide balanced nutritious meals for a week. The rules for this thread didn't specify whether you could use coupons, but did specify that it was all you had to spend to live on for a week. Different scenario entirely. There is much to be learned from the other $20 challenges, too, but if you look at the pics of what people bought, they were more for stocking up the pantry than providing a single week's worth of balanced meals.

As far as whether we would lose weight eating on just $20 of food, for most Americans, that would only be a benefit! I know I could certainly use to lose some extra lbs. I got fat over the winter. 

So, if I was to attempt to live on $20 a week for a month, what would the rules be on using coupons..yes or no? Would I be assumed to have basic seasonings and spices on hand, or would I need to include them in my shopping? I'm assuming that if I can't forage or go to a food pantry, getting ketchup packets, salt and pepper, etc from fast food places is also out, lol?


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## sherry in Maine (Nov 22, 2007)

I loved reading this thread . . . 

I think I read all of the posts, but didn't see anyone from Maine posting. (could be wrong)
I wish I lived where ribeyes and hamburg were cheap like some of you have.
And, I do buy from my farmer neighbors, but it aint cheap . . . I'm not talking yuppie prices, but most of the meat starts at $3.50 per lb, or the butcher charges whatever the hanging weight is. Of course these farmers dont have thousands of acres, they are small farmers who raise a small amount at a time.
Here in this neck of the woods, tongue isn't 'garbage meat', though most folks I know dont eat it. (I dont mind eating it, but it too is expensive, and sometimes more expensive than the rest of the cow)
Farmers markets here are expensive; so are csa (have used them and love getting it)
This year didn't put in a garden, did plant tomatoes and peppers in a pot .Though untended, my asparagus bed gave me some delicious spears. My friend brings me lettuce and greens from his garden 3, 4 times weekly, so we have some nice salads. Here, tomatoes aren't ready til end august, but I have a few teen green ones in my pots. HOw long it takes to mature, I'll just have to wait'n'see . . .
For years we bought some things bulk, and I had quite a pantry, but the death of my hub and other upsets in family & I let it dwindle. I am planning now & making lists to bring it up again to it's place where it was before. (thanks all, you've motivated me-- sorry to digress)
Who ever posted the link for scratch and dent stores, thanks, I will see if that store still exists & if it's cheaper than some sources I have found. Plus, I will need to wait to go there as it is hour and a half away from me.
Very interesting!


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## Mid Tn Mama (May 11, 2002)

I think Patrice has some good points that it takes awhile to build your kitchen.
Before you can have the basics, like flour, cornmeal, baking soda, oil, you need to budget drastically. I think until you build up your pantry you will have to rely on old, less healthy standbys as hotdogs, mac and cheese, bologna, etc..

But lets say you have oil/flour/cornmeal/baking soda/etc. that you have bought over time at discount:

Here is one way to look at it. Try to keep your meal cost to $1/person/meal. To do that your breakfast is your loss leader. You just cannot beat oatmeal for this. A 2 1/2 lb box of generic oatmeal that I get at my low rent food store is 2.00. That means every breakfast for one is about .13 meal. Add a piece of toast and you have about a .20 meal. That gives you .80 to redistribute to lunch/dinner.Comprende?

*Make a lot of soups with what is normally trashed (veg peelings, cabbage cores, bones) add a little rice/pasta/beans/meat/veg. Serve with ww bread or cornbread.

*Eat ethnically. Those peasants knew how to eat healthfully for very little. Stir fries that include beans. Fried rice that includes beans. Beans, rice and a LITTLE cheese on a ww tortilla.These are all filling AND healthy.

* If you eat a casserole, chuck the can of soup and make a roux for pennies!
*You must think about boosting nutrition in ways that gives more boost for the cost. Like putting a handful of raisins in your oatmeal for iron, a handful of chopped nuts in your stirfry to boost protein and good cholesterol.

* You must *eat healthy portions*. AND not WASTE. You cannot afford to throw away food because it rotted, fruit spoiled, cheese hardened.

*Anytime you use meat, stretch with beans. Mashed beans are not visible in many dishes.

*If eggs are one sale, you eat a lot of eggs. If potatoes are less than rice or pasta--you eat a lot of potatoes, If rice is less than potatoes or pasta, stock up on it. That seems like a no-brainer, but really few people DO THIS.

Good thread Squashnut. Again--all who need this: read the *tightwad tips thread and archives!*


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## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

I could do this fairly easily if I could use the parameters of $80.00 a month since most pantry items last me more than a week and I take advantage of sales. I just got the local grocery store flyer so will play with it and post my findings later. But I will add that although I can eat on this small an amount, I really wouldn't want to in the long term. I like my coffee and chocolate too much!


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## Freeholder (Jun 19, 2004)

I've been thinking about this, and did some meal planning and a tentative shopping list (it's just a guideline, as in reality I'll buy whatever is on sale or cheapest). I'm going to do this project as a challenge -- it will be $40/week for my daughter and me (I'm going to leave my nephew out of it). I'm going to assume that it's okay to start with spices and such that we already have, and I'm going to use the milk that we get from the one goat I'm milking but will figure it into the challenge as though I'm buying milk (cheap milk) from the store. I'll do the same thing for anything else that I use from my pantry, such as dry beans or lentils, rice, etc., since I'm already well stocked with those things. I'll check current prices of those items at the store and figure them into our budget as if I'd just purchased them. I'm going to keep a blog about it -- will post a link here as soon as I've got that set up. We'll start with one month, but I suspect will continue to follow it for longer than that, and use the surplus in my real-life budget to add to our stock of non-perishable foods (I try to keep at least several months worth of food on hand at all times, but it never hurts to add more).

Start date will be Sunday, July 17. Oh, and I'm not going to post my beginning and ending weight, LOL! But I will post how much weight I lose, since I'm trying to lose weight, anyway. If a person didn't need to lose weight, they could adjust their menu to include more carbohydrates.

Kathleen


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## Mid Tn Mama (May 11, 2002)

If you want to be extreme, oats and dried corn can be bought in bulk cheaply at the feed store. You may not want to do it, but I assure you many have to. The dried corn can be ground for hoecakes and corn tortillas.


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

manygoatsnmore said:


> Those challenges were done stacking coupons and getting the most for your money, any way you could, not necessarily to provide balanced nutritious meals for a week. The rules for this thread didn't specify whether you could use coupons, but did specify that it was all you had to spend to live on for a week. Different scenario entirely. There is much to be learned from the other $20 challenges, too, but if you look at the pics of what people bought, they were more for stocking up the pantry than providing a single week's worth of balanced meals.
> 
> As far as whether we would lose weight eating on just $20 of food, for most Americans, that would only be a benefit! I know I could certainly use to lose some extra lbs. I got fat over the winter.
> 
> So, if I was to attempt to live on $20 a week for a month, what would the rules be on using coupons..yes or no? Would I be assumed to have basic seasonings and spices on hand, or would I need to include them in my shopping? I'm assuming that if I can't forage or go to a food pantry, getting ketchup packets, salt and pepper, etc from fast food places is also out, lol?


you party pooper:kiss:.....just had to bust my bubble....roflmao....i hate limits and guidelines....the world is my sandbox and i use it......even stuck in city without a place to garden i bet i could double weekly intake by asking around and gleening.knock on the back door of resturants and ask to do dishes for a couple hours for a hotmeal and leftovers.

its so ingrained in me to till and garden and forage theres just no way i coudl keep from at least getting a couple 20cents packs of yellow squash seeds and zuc's and having fresh vegtable matter on my plate.right now i eat them several times a week...yummm.

and all those tame ducks and pigeons around city parks people feed.they would be in my day pack going home with me....roflmao

being a hunter/gather/forager/farmer/gardener/frugal person makes me excited.......maybe its the tightwad in me....roflmao


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## machinist (Aug 3, 2010)

I would think Mexican food, and buy cornmeal, pinto beans, the very cheapest meats (chicken, beef flank and not much of it), some few seasonings, and rice. Find the cheapest vegetables you possibly can, probably sales on canned goods. Stretch the meat by reducing portions and increasing the other things. 

Don't know if I could do it on $20 or not, but that is the cheapest food I can think of.


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## olivehill (Aug 17, 2009)

Here $20 per week per person really isn't that much of a restriction. *shrug*


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

I spend a lot less than $20 a week for each person here, but saying that, I do use my garden and raise our own meat. 

I would make lots of soups, using cheap cuts of meats and bones. Plus I would use a lot of beans and buy cheese and fruit whenever the budget allowed. 
I would continue to make bread.


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## Melissa (Apr 15, 2002)

$20 per person is a lot for a family. It only becomes a challenge when you start from nothing, use no home-grown or foraged items, and have to buy from week to week. We have six people here and spend about $50-60 per week. We don't eat hot dogs, baloney, or boxed macaroni and cheese either... We do garden, have our own eggs and chicken and have hunters.

Last night we had BBQ venision sandwiches on wwbread, fried green tomatoes, salad w/vinegar & oil dressing, and watermelon. Venison cost was just the lid and electric for processing, onion from the garden maybe a penny, bbq sauce on sale for 79 cents a bottle I used about a third of the bottle. Bread is $1 a loaf, I bought a lot of organic whole wheat bread at Kroger's one day that was drastically marked down. I canned the tomatoes and used maybe a 1/4 cup of oil to fry them, salad was all garden stuff (various lettuces, spinach, onions, radishes, peas and broccoli), watermelon was on sale for $3 and it was huge. We have been eating it for several days. This fed six people and did not cost much. I know it takes time for hunting, but this deer, Brady came home after school and said he was going to go shoot a deer. He walked over the hill, saw a nice doe and had her in one shot. He wasn't gone more than half an hour. We cut it up ourselves. Eating cheaply just becomes a habit, it is all how you look at it.


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

Sounds the same as us Melissa, and we eat well too. No baloney, boxed mac and cheese or other suspect meat and junk here either. 

I do well on fish, plus we have a stocked fish pond with huge cat fish. 

I also buy local and buy in bulk.


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## pamda (Oct 14, 2004)

elkhound said:


> you party pooper:kiss:.....just had to bust my its so ingrained
> and all those tame ducks and pigeons around city parks people feed.they would be in my day pack going home with me....roflmao
> 
> being a hunter/gather/forager/farmer/gardener/frugal person makes me excited.......maybe its the tightwad in me....roflmao


 Funny, yesterday we were having lunch in the local park, attended by at least 25 geese. There were two with messed up wings that I know will be cught and killed by park employees soon. Or the fox that lives in the wooded areas next to the river will get them. I told my son it was too bad we could not catch them and take them home. I finally found out how to cook them that makes the pallitable. I love feeding them, but the waste of disposing of them is sad.


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## Trisha in WA (Sep 28, 2005)

BlueJuniperFarm said:


> I've been thinking about this, and did some meal planning and a tentative shopping list (it's just a guideline, as in reality I'll buy whatever is on sale or cheapest). I'm going to do this project as a challenge -- it will be $40/week for my daughter and me (I'm going to leave my nephew out of it). I'm going to assume that it's okay to start with spices and such that we already have, and I'm going to use the milk that we get from the one goat I'm milking but will figure it into the challenge as though I'm buying milk (cheap milk) from the store. I'll do the same thing for anything else that I use from my pantry, such as dry beans or lentils, rice, etc., since I'm already well stocked with those things. I'll check current prices of those items at the store and figure them into our budget as if I'd just purchased them. I'm going to keep a blog about it -- will post a link here as soon as I've got that set up. We'll start with one month, but I suspect will continue to follow it for longer than that, and use the surplus in my real-life budget to add to our stock of non-perishable foods (I try to keep at least several months worth of food on hand at all times, but it never hurts to add more).
> 
> Start date will be Sunday, July 17. Oh, and I'm not going to post my beginning and ending weight, LOL! But I will post how much weight I lose, since I'm trying to lose weight, anyway. If a person didn't need to lose weight, they could adjust their menu to include more carbohydrates.
> 
> Kathleen


Very cool! I look forward to your report. I am guessing we have a similar economy. 
I notice a lot of posts with Aldie's and other lower priced markets. I live in an area of 2 independent grocers that are pretty high priced. For instance, those chicken hind quarters you all are getting for .49-.69 a pound, I have to special order them (it's one of the things I feed my dogs) at .89 a pound AND I have to buy the 40 lb case. Eggs are about $3 a dozen (I have chickens, so I don't watch that price real closely, but I do glance at it once in a while).
Anyway, I think even with prices the way they are here, it could probably be done on $20 a week if things were bought on sale and one was careful about meal planning based on sale items.


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

I am confused- If I were to spend 400 $ a month on food for my family of four- WOW- I would blow my budget- but then again - my reality allows me a garden and coupons and living in a town that has 4 grocery stores with in 12 miles of me.....


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

Although- every other month I will head to the Amish store to stock up on spices and other baking things, and purchase their cold cuts- since they are about 2 dollars less than the grocery stores


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## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

I looked at the last two grocery flyers to see what I would buy. I only go to town twice a month, so did this in two shops instead of four. I did not figure in salt/pepper/spices, but they could be purchased a bit at a time. 
I also want to note that this is for 1 person. I could probably feed two adults with similar menus on $30.00 a week as I could then buy "family packs" of meats and veggies.

First shop of month: $57.00

Dollar Tree (everything $1): $7.00 

1 box Oatmeal
1 qt. shelf stable milk
Pinto beans
White beans
Cookies
Peanut butter
Oil

Associated foods (some things on sale): 

Lettuce
2 cucumbers
Celery
Tomatoes
5# potatoes
3 onions
Apples 
4 bags frozen veggies
8 cans veggies (mixed, green beans, peas)
2 cans tomatoes
1 whole chicken (on sale 69c/lb)
1.5 lb pork chops (on sale)
1.5 dozen eggs
1 gal milk (freeze half so it lasts the month)
1 lb. maple bacon (on sale &#8211; 1.49)
Store brand wheat bread
2 boxes mac & cheese (to be used as casserole base)
Mayonnaise 
5# flour
4# sugar (will last 3 months)
2 packs store brand jello
1 pack store brand instant pudding

Big Lots:

Raisin bran cereal
Coffee
Tea
2 cans mixed fruit
2 cans tuna
2 cans sardines
1 can Treet
2 # brown rice
Whole wheat pasta
1 # lentils
Brownie mix (on clearance)
Baking powder
Baking soda
3 packs yeast

2nd shop of month: $19.00

Associated foods: 

Cabbage
Carrots
2 cucumbers
2 bell peppers
Summer squash 
8 Roma tomatoes (on sale 8/$1)
1.5 lb ground beef (on sale)
1.5 # Catfish nuggets (on sale $1.49)
2 large cans pasta sauce
1 # pinto beans
1 doz. eggs
8 oz. grated cheddar cheese 

30+ breakfasts (cereal & milk, oatmeal, pancakes, plus eggs & meat w/ toast 1-2X week)
16-20 meals legume based
8 meals egg based (plus extra for baking, casseroles, breakfast)
30-36 meals meat based
2 large pots of soup from left-overs (6 &#8211; 8 meals)

Total cost: $76.00


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## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

Becka03 said:


> I am confused- If I were to spend 400 $ a month on food for my family of four- WOW- I would blow my budget- but then again - my reality allows me a garden and coupons and living in a town that has 4 grocery stores with in 12 miles of me.....


??? $20.00 a week per adult comes to $80.00 a month. How did you come up with $400.00 for four? And this challenge is without a garden or animals for food/ milk.


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

Belfrybat said:


> ??? $20.00 a week per adult comes to $80.00 a month. How did you come up with $400.00 for four? And this challenge is without a garden or animals for food/ milk.


I think she is saying she couldn't do it, per the rules.


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## kirkmcquest (Oct 21, 2010)

I could eat very easily on $20 per week. I spend about that much now and none of my garden stuff has come in yet and my chicks aren't laying yet.

1. I buy a lot of potatoes ( about $5 for a ten pound sack ).

2. Cabbage ( cheap, abundant and healthy green )

3. Eggs ( I eat alot of eggs )

4. Whole chicken

5. Flour and yeast ( Yes I bake bread, make my own pancakes and etc )

6. Beans and rice

7. Cheap coffee and tea ( a small can of carnation dehydrated milk lasts about a week or so once opened )

That is pretty much what I live on 24/7. Sometimes I mix it up a bit.
$20 per week is plenty for one person.


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## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

SquashNut said:


> I think she is saying she couldn't do it, per the rules.


Oh, sorry. I thought "blow the budget" meant the opposite -- that she doesn't spend that much.


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

Belfrybat said:


> ??? $20.00 a week per adult comes to $80.00 a month. How did you come up with $400.00 for four? And this challenge is without a garden or animals for food/ milk.


I was not thinking correctly?- I was on the phone too when I typed this LOL
I thought the challenge was 20 bucks a week per person... so for 4 people (that is how many are in my family) ahh- see I am not good at math hahahhahah..so that is 80 a week- 80 times 4 (4 weeks in a month) is 320 bucks right?
So my spending would be 320 a month and yes- thanks Squash nut- I wouldn't be able to do it- since I think those rules for this challenge would not apply to most of us that are on the homesteading board?... most of us have at least a container garden- 
this challenge is more geared toward heavy city areas- pavement areas.. IMHO


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

Belfrybat said:


> Oh, sorry. I thought "blow the budget" meant the opposite -- that she doesn't spend that much.



That is what I mean- I do not spend more than 300 a month for 4 people... but- because I have resources like this board, and living where I do- in a town with 4 stores competing with prices and lots of garden in my yard and someone in the church who provides me with eggs


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

SquashNut said:


> I was wondering if you had $20 a week for food, paid weekly what would you buy to get enough calories and vit.
> This is for one person. No garden and no way to grow any meat.
> Nothing from the wild.
> What would be your shopping list.


I have decided the challenge and the math is too much for me- I will starve - or get down to fighting weight to steal food!:happy:


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

Becka03 said:


> I was not thinking correctly?- I was on the phone too when I typed this LOL
> I thought the challenge was 20 bucks a week per person... so for 4 people (that is how many are in my family) ahh- see I am not good at math hahahhahah..so that is 80 a week- 80 times 4 (4 weeks in a month) is 320 bucks right?
> So my spending would be 320 a month and yes- thanks Squash nut- I wouldn't be able to do it- since I think those rules for this challenge would not apply to most of us that are on the homesteading board?... most of us have at least a container garden-
> this challenge is more geared toward heavy city areas- pavement areas.. IMHO


Well, I was thinking any one could get in this situation. On a what if concept. As in what if you lost your place and ended up some where with no possibilities to grow or collect any thing.

I know this thread is to the extreme. Although I bet their are some living it right now. And there are some thinking it could never happen. But if you lost your job and it took a couple of weeks to get your last check and you haven't prepped, these ideas could come in handy.
as far as the food pantries go. They are getting less donations all the time. And when I first got interested in donation here they gave out food to every one regaudless of income, but now their clients have to prove income. And i can see them becoming stricter all the time.

One thing i can see from this thread is people on here do range in ideals.
But at this point we should learn the most extreme possibility. Because knowing how to get along under the extremes could make it easire when you have just a little more to get along with.


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

SquashNut said:


> Well, I was thinking any one could get in this situation. On a what if concept. As in what if you lost your place and ended up some where with no possibilities to grow or collect any thing.



ahhhh- I hadn't thought of it that way!


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## pamda (Oct 14, 2004)

Warning if you do this..do not buy the peanut butter from dollar tree. The last jar I bought was solid grey nasty looking stuff and it was so hard it was like cement. It was scary stuff and went in the trash, which would mess up the 20.00 challenge of not wasting stuff or having enough to waste anything.


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

Here is a good reason to work through the concept of this challege.
benifits running out.....

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Economy-Faces-a-Jolt-as-nytimes-3470532037.html?x=0


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## Gena (May 25, 2011)

||Downhome|| said:


> is that cause they buy the best in such large quantity?
> 
> got to ask another one.
> 
> ...


Our little county jail feeds the prisoners an 88Â¢ Banquet dinner for supper. On Sunday's they get a Hungry Man dinner for supper. I'm guessing cereal for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch, but I'm not sure. That alone is enough to keep me out of jail LOL! 

The next county over, I know one of the ladies who used to be a corrections officer. She convinced the county to allow her to cook for the prisoners instead of feeding them complete crap. She not only saved the county money on food, but according to her there were fewer doctor visits. IMO if we are really trying to rehabilitate prisoners (yeah, yeah, I know LOL!), we do need to feed them nutritious food. A meth addict's body needs good solid nutrition to heal. The amount spent on fixing their rotten mouths is astounding...yet we feed them Banquet dinners and bologna. Then again, we feed our school children much the same way.

Thread drift...sorry. I'm working on a $20/week plan in my head and will post it later to make up for the ramblings above


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

We have gotten used to sea salt since I found it for 20 cents a pound. So any of the frozen foods make my mouth burn from the salt.
So we don't eat chips and stuff like that either.
i couldn't imagine eating a banquet dinner, any more.


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## Del Gue (Apr 5, 2010)

Mid Tn Mama said:


> If you want to be extreme, oats and dried corn can be bought in bulk cheaply at the feed store. You may not want to do it, but I assure you many have to. The dried corn can be ground for hoecakes and corn tortillas.


You might wanna rethink that. Feed corn is not actually intended for human consumption as sold. It's not as clean or of the same variety as food grade corn.
It's corn, sure. I wouldn't eat it based on what I've read.... which could be wrong. I dunno. The idea squiggs me out since they dont clean animal feed the same way or as well as food grade corn.

Corn is a last resort food anyway. To much carb, way to high on the GI.
Being hungry with no health issues is better than well fed with diabetes and wonky triglycerides. 

Unless you're actually starving, then by all means... eat the corn. 
lol


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## Vickie44 (Jul 27, 2010)

If you really want to look at it as a challenge to see how you would get by then keep in mind that many impoverished people have no facilities for refrigeration or cooking , or dont have utensils and pots and pans. Maybe microwave access!
WhenI was in a truly down and out situation I lived in a room ( rented ) didnt even have a light bulb so when it got dark I was in the dark . Took the only job I could get , walked to it , first pay did laundry, bought a light bulb , corn meal ( made mush with hot tap water ) peanut butter and gleaned old apples. If the point is in relation to food inc and fast food and poverty then in my situation a $ 1.00 hamburger would have been a great deal for me (but there was no fast food there )
If I only had 20$ I wouldnt be worried about salt and pepper


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## Del Gue (Apr 5, 2010)

pamda said:


> Warning if you do this..do not buy the peanut butter from dollar tree. The last jar I bought was solid grey nasty looking stuff and it was so hard it was like cement. It was scary stuff and went in the trash, which would mess up the 20.00 challenge of not wasting stuff or having enough to waste anything.


On the subject of peanut butter, buying cheap peanut butter is also, not a good idea. Look at the label. Most cheapo peanut butter contains hydrogenated oils. By using HO, they can use less actual peanut paste. Hydrogenated oil is a nasty ingredient that is terrible for your health.

For only a few pennies or, the same price a lo t of the time you can buy natural PB. Personally I dont like to have to stir the stuff BUT, if you check the labels, there are several brands that dont use hydrogenated oil, but rather non hydrogenated palm/other oils. The creamy-ness of it is slightly greasy but, it doesnt seperate like natural PB with no added oil.

If it (or anything) says cottonseed oil, you really should avoid it, since cotton is not a food crop, it's sprayed with all sorts of nasty chems and, the seed as a byproduct is where they get the cottonseed oil.... contaminated with all those chems not intended for food crops.

They feed cottonseed meal to cattle and it ends up in the milk and the beef.

It's tough to avoid cottonseed byproducts. Read yer labels.

Cheap PB is just not worth the few cents you save.


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## Del Gue (Apr 5, 2010)

Vickie44 said:


> If you really want to look at it as a challenge to see how you would get by then keep in mind that many impoverished people have no facilities for refrigeration or cooking , or dont have utensils and pots and pans. Maybe microwave access!
> WhenI was in a truly down and out situation I lived in a room ( rented ) didnt even have a light bulb so when it got dark I was in the dark . Took the only job I could get , walked to it , first pay did laundry, bought a light bulb , corn meal ( made mush with hot tap water ) peanut butter and gleaned old apples. If the point is in relation to food inc and fast food and poverty then in my situation a $ 1.00 hamburger would have been a great deal for me (but there was no fast food there )
> If I only had 20$ I wouldnt be worried about salt and pepper


I've been that poor too, looking backwards, $20 a week would have seemed like high on the hog eating. Everyone should be that poor at least once in life to get your world in perspective.


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

Yes, I had some coupons for a national brand peanut butter. It was full of sugar. I bought jars. 3 of them are left and I think the dogs have eaten most of the one we opened.


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

Del Gue said:


> I've been that poor too, looking backwards, $20 a week would have seemed like high on the hog eating. Everyone should be that poor at least once in life to get your world in perspective.


I've been there too. It isn't easy. But you do make it through it.


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## Vickie44 (Jul 27, 2010)

Making it thru and learning from it are what 's important. I could go a long time without setting foot in a grocery store and I REALLY appreciate how much I have


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## belladulcinea (Jun 21, 2006)

It seems most here want people to buy what they want them to buy with their 20.00, so many parameters, so much judgement.eep: If you've only got 20.00 why NOT the food pantry or gleaning or such? In the real world there are options to extending your food resources. Can't do this or that's not healthy, well starving to death isn't all that healthy either! We were this poor in the 70s and I cooked like my granny did in the depression, beans, cornbread, dandelion salads, gleaned fruit from trees in the alley that no one wanted and in the summer cooked outside over a hibachi to keep the house cool. 

Several people on the internet have taken the challenge for eating for 1.00 a day and used their heads to do it. One of them gleaned fruit from trees and bushes that he found not too far from his home, he used coupons to extend his money. Another bought from the bulk food places and she shopped everyday at the store down from her home. So if it's my 20.00 I am going to buy what fits my family's needs not someone elses view of what I should buy. Hopefully we won't be totally shut down by the food police any time soon, but it could sure happen after reading this thread. Geesh.:hand:


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

The thing is your not going to starve on $20. If you do it right.
What if there is no food pantry.
What if you are afraid to gleen? Or it has all been gleened.

The idea of this thread is to learn about how little you can get by.
besides the people who used to be able to donate to the food banks are getting broke too. Have you ever thought the shelves might be bare?

I thought this forum was about learning to be less dependant.

It is not about being judged. If you feel like it is, I cann't help it.
Are we supposed to stop discusing this because some one feels like they are being judged. Then we don't learn and end up in the same boat? How does that help.


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## Guest (Jul 12, 2011)

elkhound said:


> http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=196235&highlight=$20+challenge





elkhound said:


> http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=396963&highlight=$20+challenge





elkhound said:


> http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=397839&highlight=$20+challenge


And another good topic.

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=338530


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

Those are good threads.

Honestly i don't get why people think it is OK to use the food banks to prep with either. The food banks are there for when you are really hurting, not to put food up with.


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## Freeholder (Jun 19, 2004)

As far as gleaning is concerned, what if your food budget became this tight in the middle of the winter? There might not be anything to glean then, unless you live in Florida or Southern California. 

And for the food pantries, I've used them in the past, but haven't since we moved here even though our income is low enough to qualify, because they have limited resources and there are more people in need of that help than there is food to give them. As long as I'm able to feed my family, we won't go to the food pantries and suck up their resources that could go to someone who really needs it.

Kathleen


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

I have to do it all year.
The whole thing is to be flexible and think ahead.
If I see a $10 ham at the store I go ahead and grab it even though it is expensive. 
It may mean for a bit leaner week this week, but I will have it in the freezer for a month to come.
I may not need 6 bags of frozen peas, but if they are on super sale and I can get them for pennies on the dollar I buy 6 bags of frozen peas.
That way I have them as a side dish for a long time coming.
I might have a good amount of rice left in the storage jar, but if I see 25# of rice for $8 I am going to buy it.
I glean apples and muscadines etc..
I pick blackberries on the hill by the Lowe's parking lot etc..
They taste mighty fine in January and it makes us feel decadent and fortunate and as rich as kings to eat them them..mmmm blackberry cobbler.

We never go hungry. We have leftovers. And we have extras stuck in the freezer. Shop smart. Eat well.


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## snowcap (Jul 1, 2011)

belladulcinea said:


> It seems most here want people to buy what they want them to buy with their 20.00, so many parameters, so much judgement.eep: If you've only got 20.00 why NOT the food pantry or gleaning or such? In the real world there are options to extending your food resources. Can't do this or that's not healthy, well starving to death isn't all that healthy either! We were this poor in the 70s and I cooked like my granny did in the depression, beans, cornbread, dandelion salads, gleaned fruit from trees in the alley that no one wanted and in the summer cooked outside over a hibachi to keep the house cool.
> 
> Several people on the internet have taken the challenge for eating for 1.00 a day and used their heads to do it. One of them gleaned fruit from trees and bushes that he found not too far from his home, he used coupons to extend his money. Another bought from the bulk food places and she shopped everyday at the store down from her home. So if it's my 20.00 I am going to buy what fits my family's needs not someone elses view of what I should buy.* Hopefully we won't be totally shut down by the food police any time soon, but it could sure happen after reading this thread. Geesh.*:hand:


Just wondered what gave you this Idea.


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## Gena (May 25, 2011)

Last fall we had some unexpected, rather large expenses that of course fell during some short-hour work weeks for DH and I. Thank goodness for our pantry and freezer. We had about a month of $10/week for groceries. If not for my little stock piles, we'd have been dipping further into the emergency savings. 

That said, I think in my area, one could eat grocery store only food for $20/week. It would be even easier if it were $40 for 2 people.

I'd call and ask ahead what day and time meat is marked down for quick sale. I know at my store it is done by 7am each day. So, I would shop accordingly and go early.

For this exercise, let's say I could get a pound of hamburger for $2 (entirely possible at my store). 

So:
1lb hamburger: $2
1lb ground turkey roll: $1.50
1 dozen eggs: $1.65
5lb bag potatoes: $2.97
Big bag (32oz?) frozen mixed vegetables: $2.97
Small bottle veg oil: $1.67
2 boxes of Jiffy mix cornbread: $.66
1lb bananas: $.54
1 can concentrated frozen oj: $1.29
1/2 gallon whole milk: $1.98
1 loaf wheat bread: $1.78
Salt/pepper in those paperboard shakers: $.97
Total: $19.98

Breakfast would be an egg, toast, milk and oj.
Lunches would be leftovers or egg sandwich with a banana or oj.
Supper would be browned meat, mixed with the potatoes and veggies and cornbread. 

The next week I'd have $2.64 "left" from not having to buy oil and salt/pepper. I'd use that to buy a bag of flour and 3-packet of yeast, which would free up the $2.44 I spent on bread/cornbread the week before. I'd invest that in a head of cabbage and a pound of rice. The bag of flour would last 2 weeks most likely so I could use that $1.98 plus the $2.64 the next week to buy a few more staples like baking soda, beans and such.


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## Mid Tn Mama (May 11, 2002)

Del Gue said:


> You might wanna rethink that. Feed corn is not actually intended for human consumption as sold. It's not as clean or of the same variety as food grade corn.
> It's corn, sure. I wouldn't eat it based on what I've read.... which could be wrong. I dunno. The idea squiggs me out since they dont clean animal feed the same way or as well as food grade corn.
> 
> Corn is a last resort food anyway. To much carb, way to high on the GI.
> ...


Hey Del, I know what you're saying. But this was meant to put forth that the Lord does provide--not always what we want. It was in the spirit that Squashnut meant this thread. She said:

_I know this thread is to the extreme. Although I bet their are some living it right now. And there are some thinking it could never happen. But if you lost your job and it took a couple of weeks to get your last check and you haven't prepped, these ideas could come in handy.
as far as the food pantries go._

I guarantee you that many, many Americans do this right now. And I'll guarantee you that this is much better food than refugees are eating right now in Africa and the middle east, etc..

And I'll go one further and tell you that before I'd go hungry or lose my home, I'd be picking out the stones and rat poop, if any and eating that feed.


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

We have some of the corn from the feed store. I bought and wash in a colander. dry on a rack and grind for our corn bread. So far I am not dead.

Some people cann't see a life where there isn't some one there to bail them out. While others accept it as a given.


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## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

SquashNut said:


> We have some of the corn from the feed store. I bought and wash in a colander. dry on a rack and grind for our corn bread. So far I am not dead.
> 
> Some people cann't see a life where there isn't some one there to bail them out. While others accept it as a given.


me too...taste quite a bit more flavorful than this white cornmeal I have 
(the white seems to taste best for catfish fry)


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## NamasteMama (Jul 24, 2009)

I would go with foods that give the most nutrient dense bang for their buck, I would get a couple cartons of eggs, a package of beans, lots of leafy green veggies, sprouts, and some fruit.


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## Melissa (Apr 15, 2002)

I don't think anyone is being negative. I just looked at the challenge as a mental exercise and there were certain parameters. You don't have to eat unhealthy food to eat cheaply. Spending $2 on a bag of apples costs exactly the same as spending $2 on a bag of potato chips. Making wise choices is the key.


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

belladulcinea said:


> It seems most here want people to buy what they want them to buy with their 20.00, so many parameters, so much judgement.eep: If you've only got 20.00 why NOT the food pantry or gleaning or such? In the real world there are options to extending your food resources. Can't do this or that's not healthy, well starving to death isn't all that healthy either! We were this poor in the 70s and I cooked like my granny did in the depression, beans, cornbread, dandelion salads, gleaned fruit from trees in the alley that no one wanted and in the summer cooked outside over a hibachi to keep the house cool.
> 
> Several people on the internet have taken the challenge for eating for 1.00 a day and used their heads to do it. One of them gleaned fruit from trees and bushes that he found not too far from his home, he used coupons to extend his money. Another bought from the bulk food places and she shopped everyday at the store down from her home. So if it's my 20.00 I am going to buy what fits my family's needs not someone elses view of what I should buy. Hopefully we won't be totally shut down by the food police any time soon, but it could sure happen after reading this thread. Geesh.:hand:


I'm sorry you feel this way about this thread, but this is just an exercise. A mind stretch.
We do that in this forum in many different manners, whatever the current topic might be.

So, can you answer the question as presented on the Post #1?
$20 for a person for a week, no farming, no gleaning - purchasing.
As if you were stuck in a city unexpectedly, and happen to have shelter, and this provides the food. Cooking tools at hand.

I'm going to have to remember my leaner days and see where I go on this.


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## snowcap (Jul 1, 2011)

SquashNut said:


> We have some of the corn from the feed store. I bought and wash in a colander. dry on a rack and grind for our corn bread.* So far I am not dead.*
> Some people cann't see a life where there isn't some one there to bail them out. While others accept it as a given.


makes it hard to type


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## belladulcinea (Jun 21, 2006)

I'm on a frugal forum that has done this challenge and we did an excellent job of it. But there was no absolutely no comments about junk or what was bought and some of us actually did the challenge. Actually it was 1.00 a day per person in 2008. 

One of things I did was buy 1 lb. of hamburger, I boiled it up and let the water sit, skimmed the fat off for later and used the water for broth. I used the fat from the hamburger to make a roux for gravy and if I can remember I think I used it for oven fries. I also saved the fat from marked down sausage for the same purpose or for flavoring for beans. 

Someone, many someones would have to be all "omygoodness how unnnnhealthy"....How about "way to make do". :soap: I've prepped most of married life, 39 years this year and I've done it well. I'm probably in a foul humor as well because of the heat, but naysaying and criticizing people's choices is NOT helpful for anyone. No one is perfect.


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

You know that is just the way this forum is. As you say no one is perfect. So some times suggestions come out as some thing other than suggestions.
But the important part is we learn from each other.


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## Trisha in WA (Sep 28, 2005)

WOW belladulcinea! Very ingenious! I would not have thought to boil sausage or hamburger to use the liquid as stock or flavor enhancer. I really like that idea...especially if you are going to be using that burger in say...spaghetti sauce where you really don't want the fat, but it can be used elsewhere...especially beans. I really don't like beans, but re-fried beans are pretty good and I bet some GOOD HEALTHY animal fat in them would sure be good. yummo!


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## NewGround (Dec 19, 2010)

SquashNut said:


> We have some of the corn from the feed store. I bought and wash in a colander. dry on a rack and grind for our corn bread. So far I am not dead.
> 
> Some people cann't see a life where there isn't some one there to bail them out. While others accept it as a given.


Have two of those large (1 1/2 gallon?) jars of that corn on my counter. Remainder of bag I got from my brother. He's grinding it for cornmeal also making his own grits with it. Those two jars ain't gonna go to waste.

Have to think more about this $20/week/person challenge. I may want to give it a shot. I can still keep my preps going but set aside $20 and record progress. Gotta use up some stuff in the fridge so it doesn't go bad first. 

With all else I have going on would be a time investment for me but is interesting. If I take it on I'll post results here...

Thanks SquashNut for the idea...


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## Melissa (Apr 15, 2002)

My Mom used to make vegetable soup with hamburger. It was pretty good.


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

Melissa said:


> My Mom used to make vegetable soup with hamburger. It was pretty good.


Yes, my mom called it hamburger stew.


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## Freeholder (Jun 19, 2004)

One thing to keep in mind -- feed corn is, if I'm correct, higher in protein than sweet corn, and may also be higher in protein than what is usually ground for cornmeal. So in that respect it might actually be better than store-bought cornmeal.

Kathleen


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## Guest (Jul 13, 2011)

BlueJuniperFarm said:


> One thing to keep in mind -- feed corn is, if I'm correct, higher in protein than sweet corn, and may also be higher in protein than what is usually ground for cornmeal. So in that respect it might actually be better than store-bought cornmeal.
> 
> Kathleen


Feed corn = dent corn.
Cornmeal corn = dent corn.

Sweet corn is NOT ground for cornmeal. At least not commercially.


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## pamda (Oct 14, 2004)

I am enjoying this exercise in thinking and planning quite a bit. I hope everyone understands that it is just that and not life or death(yet). I grew up eating like a refuge (don't tell mom). Beans, fried potatoes, fried bread...not greens though, didn't know much about fresh cooked greens until about 20 years ago. We ate canned spinach and mom still will not eat it any other way. I love cooked greens, esp. turnup greens. Those with some beans and cornbread with a little bacon or pork is so cheap and tasty. I could eat it everyday and not mind. doesn't take much pork to season it either.


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## belladulcinea (Jun 21, 2006)

Ya gotta use LARD for re-fried beans, ain't nothin' better!


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## GoldenCityMuse (Apr 15, 2009)

1 lb HEB lentils are 67Â¢. Put in a crock pot and they are ready when you get back home.


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## NickieL (Jun 15, 2007)

yeah I get lentils 59 cents a lb at aldies...funny thing is since I haven't stepped into a "real grocery store" for a few years now I save a heck of a lot more money. I love living here, so close to farmers who sell local right off thier farms. Wish I could find more grains sold around here but ah well....just gonna have to take a drive with my neighbor to the amish store one of these days and re-stock the grains.

If i had no choice but to buy food from the grocery stores around here, I would likely starve.


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## Guest (Jul 13, 2011)

GoldenCityMuse said:


> 1 lb HEB lentils are 67Â¢. Put in a crock pot and they are ready when you get back home.





NickieL said:


> yeah I get lentils 59 cents a lb at aldies...funny thing is since I haven't stepped into a "real grocery store" for a few years now I save a heck of a lot more money. I love living here, so close to farmers who sell local right off thier farms. Wish I could find more grains sold around here but ah well....just gonna have to take a drive with my neighbor to the amish store one of these days and re-stock the grains.
> 
> If i had no choice but to buy food from the grocery stores around here, I would likely starve.


No HEB or Aldis here. Lentils are well over $1/lb.


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## NickieL (Jun 15, 2007)

hehe around here, adlies is where folks go who can't afford walmart prices. They dress worse then walmart too, I kid you not!!!

A lot of folks go there to stock up on canned veggies and things, you'll see folks with cart loads of canned veggies.

I really like thier canned tomatoes and tomato sauce, 29 cents a can.


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## goohsmom (May 10, 2009)

SquashNut said:


> I understand what your saying. Maybe you can tell us the hardest part of what your doing and we can discuss that.


I'm not trying to currently live on $20 per week, although in the past I did feed 2 adults on that much per week, no garden, no foraging, only what we bought and I cooked. The hardest part, looking back, was getting any kind of stockpile.....the basic pantry staples most of us take for granted. For instance, most people assume they will have oil in their pantry, salt, pepper, flour, sugar. All those things must be purchased before much scratch-cooking can be done. The first few weeks can be very hard, if you're assuming none of those are already in the pantry. Here's the challenge...walk into a grocery store with a $20 bill in your pocket, empty shelves at home. Walk out with enough to keep you alive and healthy for a week, with a stockpile. It can be done, but it's not easy.


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## NickieL (Jun 15, 2007)

goohsmom has it right, it IS very hard to get any kind of storage going....believe me!!! If it wernt for my garden, I'd not be able to at all. Luckily, in the garden season I rarely have to go to the store, that frees up funds to buy the stuff to get us through winter when store prices jump and I have no choice but to shop. So in the summer, while we are eatting mainly from the woods and garden and farms around here, I stock pile up grains, sugar, flour, dry beans, etc. Any extras from the garden get dehydrated or canned since freezing would be unreliable (we have power outtages a lot) but a few things get frozen. Also, in the summer I can get a lot from the farms, like 5 lib bags of peppers for $1, etc, deals like that all summer long and alothough I can't eat that much that fast, it gives me extras to store up for winter.


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## Guest (Jul 13, 2011)

NickieL said:


> hehe around here, adlies is where folks go who can't afford walmart prices. They dress worse then walmart too, I kid you not!!!
> 
> A lot of folks go there to stock up on canned veggies and things, you'll see folks with cart loads of canned veggies.
> 
> I really like thier canned tomatoes and tomato sauce, 29 cents a can.


Now see, that's why I won't shop Aldis if they ever open the one here that they're supposed to. I get canned tomatoes and tomato sauce wayyyyyyyyy cheaper than that by combining coupons+sales. I often even get the Muir Glen for free.


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

Lentils would be my food of choice. They are dang near nutritionally complete where most any other food isn't. The only problem would be food fatigue setting in, but hunger tends to cure that. Skipping a meal or two would help me stretch out that $20. 

As it sits, I don't think it would be that hard for one person to stay fed for $20 per week. I don't think they'd be able to do a lot of manual labor but to just stay alive? Sure. No problem. 

My target cost-per-serving in my household is $2 per person per meal. So I need to be under $14 for each meal in my household of 7. The absolute FAVORITE dinner meal here is homemade hash which is generally potatoes and pork sausage. I use about 3 pounds of potatoes (estimated cost of about $4) and two 1 pound tubes of smoked pork sausage ($3.39 each). That's just over $10, not including whatever spices I use for that evening. Lately I've been throwing in purslane and lambsquarters to stretch it out and everyone seems to like that as well. It's not reducing the cost any yet, but it's adding nutrition and getting everyone used to the wild fare (which is a challenge).


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## NickieL (Jun 15, 2007)

ladycat said:


> Now see, that's why I won't shop Aldis if they ever open the one here that they're supposed to. I get canned tomatoes and tomato sauce wayyyyyyyyy cheaper than that by combining coupons+sales. I often even get the Muir Glen for free.


Its a good price for me, I'm not spending 40 hours a week seeking coupons nor driving 20 miles one way to go to a grocery store that takes coupons.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

http://thethriftstorewhore.blogspot.com/2010/05/salvage-grocery-store-list-by-state.html

Here is a newer list of Salvage Grocers...

But I did find many more by googling my state. Some are within a reasonable drive for a looksee one day.

http://batchgeo.com/map/ac1a6ffbff376136dc9aa1b103f05723

Batchgeo has by states maps that show the salvage grocers as well.. It pops up when I do a state specific salvage grocery store search...


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## PhilJohnson (Dec 24, 2006)

I'm pretty sure I posted this before although I've noticed very people respond (perhaps they think I'm full of it). I ate on 10 dollars for a month. This was the month of January of 2008, no farmers markets, nothing in season, produce was mega expensive. I wrote what I bought at the beginning of the month and the prices I paid:

10 pounds of potatoes ($2.89), 2 pounds of spaghetti ($0.89)
three packages of muffin mix ($1.08) 
oatmeal ($.89)
two pounds of white beans ($2.18) 
4 pounds of black beans ($1.20) 
bag of corn tortilla shells ($.75)

I did get the occasional free meal but after a month the result was the loss of 17 pounds, loss of muscle tone, no energy. I was not as good at shopping for sales and such as I am now so I'm sure I could do better. I've ate on a buck a day too. As others have pointed out it is a lot easier when you spend a large amount of money at once to get a decent cheap meal than it is to spend a small amount. Very little can beat out processed junk food (like Little Debbie snacks) on a cost per calorie basis. The cheapest food for the money (when it's in season) are potatoes. Last fall I bought a 50 pound bag for 7 bucks. The most expensive food by weight are non-root type veggies and fruits. Eggs are the cheapest source of protein I can find. A dozen eggs goes for 1.25 from the Amish around here.

I regularly eat on 25 bucks a week. It's easy but not very healthy. A frozen Roma pizza is 1.50 on sale (2.00 regularly), that's good for two meals. A frozen dinner is 88 cents. Sometimes I'd throw in a package of Ramen or nuke a potato if I'm still hungry. Plus I'll usually have something to drink, until I couldn't get it anymore I used to buy Malta Goya at 35 cents a bottle. It is quite filling although most people think it's vile. It works out to 2.57 for the day, or 3.23 if the pizza isn't on sale. If I drink water it works out to 2.22-2.72 depending, a little more if I eat a potato or Ramen. 

I'm not loosing weight, I'm sorta fat actually. I could get by on less if I had to. Now eating a well balanced diet that is actually good for you would be pretty tough at 20 bucks a week, especially if I couldn't forage for food.


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## Txrider (Jun 25, 2010)

SquashNut said:


> I was wondering if you had $20 a week for food, paid weekly what would you buy to get enough calories and vit.
> This is for one person. No garden and no way to grow any meat.
> Nothing from the wild.
> What would be your shopping list.


Dunno if I could make it on $20 here... As a single person I do live on about $50 a week now though.

Veggies, chicken on sale, oatmeal potatoes and rice and beans.. Some peanut butter..

And I do take a multi vitamin daily.

The shopping list changes though. One week I'll buy more meat, next week I buy more rice and beans and oatmeal and such, and veggies every few days in small quantities. Probably a little carb heavy and protein light diet, and I don't get enough good veggies which is why I take vitamins, but I get by.

No sodas or processed stuff, no snacks, no desserts, no beer or alcohol..

I generally cook enough for 2-3 days at a time, lots of grilling, and eat on it for 2-3 days..

I'm hoping to drop the cost to $20 or so but it won't be until I move out to my property and start raising my own meat.


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## farmergirl (Aug 2, 2005)

I stock up on dried beans and lentils when I hit the salvage grocery. Got several pounds of lentils @ $0.39/ pound a few months ago 

Dried beans tend to average $0.50/pound there.


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## 3ravens (Mar 16, 2006)

chickenista said:


> http://thethriftstorewhore.blogspot.com/2010/05/salvage-grocery-store-list-by-state.html
> 
> Here is a newer list of Salvage Grocers...
> 
> But I did find many more by googling my state. Some are within a reasonable drive for a looksee one day.


Well, the one in Forest City isn't where your "new" list says it is. Care to give out the correct address? PM if you want. The one in Denver NC is the same listing of the store that doesn't exist. The one in Charlotte on Sugar Creek doesn't exist either, but there are a lot of Latino tiendas and Vietnamese/Korean/Thai/Filipino stores along there, so that trip wasn't a total bust. However, a single young lady shouldn't go alone. This ole fat abuelita didn't have a problem, but it's a cultural thing......:huh: And even I wouldn't go after dark.

What search terms did you use when Googling?

ETA: I'm pretty sure most of this list is just copied from the earlier one.


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

Del Gue said:


> I've been that poor too, looking backwards, $20 a week would have seemed like high on the hog eating. Everyone should be that poor at least once in life to get your world in perspective.


I remember eating only what the nuns brought my mom when I was growing up- my Brother and I never ever complained- we knew we were poor- and we knew my moms job at the sewing factory didn't make ends meet... I admit- it has made me the frugal non-wasteful person I am today.... we were the only kids on Wednesdays at school that didn't have the 23 cents for ice cream- or if we did- it was either me or my brother- and it was in pennys....and it wasn't more than 2 or 3 times in a school yr... I was never envious of other kids till I saw their lunches- we walked home from school for lunch... usually a slice of bread


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## Guest (Jul 13, 2011)

NickieL said:


> Its a good price for me, I'm not spending 40 hours a week seeking coupons nor driving 20 miles one way to go to a grocery store that takes coupons.


40 hours a week???? You must be watching that show with the crazy people.

2 or 3 hours a week is more like it, and that much only because I'm feeding other families.

And I have no choice on store distance, I gotta go the same distance whether I use coupons or not. That's why I'm keeping the trips to town down to about 3 times a month.


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

I could go there easily..... as long as I'm still in this same location. We buy very very little meat, as a ton of it comes home free each month, some of which is still 'in date'. (Rest goes to the dogs, along with trimmings).

Bag of flour, sugar, box of oatmeal, and rice... $17
Salt, baking powder, pepper sauces would push it to $20.

The oatmeal and flour would last two weeks, the rice a month.

So, the next three weeks, would be mostly 'gravy'. Stock up on whatevers on sale. I buy years worth of goods if they go on closeout.

I've done the $5/week thing before, but that included local scrounging (hunting and harvesting wild foods, and gleaning off the relatives).

Iffen these 'others' are verboten, and strictly 'buying' food, I'd recommend anyone that gets hungry learn their grocery stores schedules, and collect stuff before it gets to the dumpster. I've brought truckloads of bread and greens home... the bread is still good... I 'rarely' eat all my fresh bread on the 'first day'... it's usually day old anyway. Crates of fresh fruit and veggies are thrown away when they lose their prettiness. Really should get a dehydrator, as I'm starting to get the same deal with veggies as I do with the free meat... a couple crates of slightly spotted bananas... would be great for nana chips... right now the chickens go mad for them...


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## Guest (Jul 13, 2011)

farmergirl said:


> I stock up on dried beans and lentils when I hit the salvage grocery. Got several pounds of lentils @ $0.39/ pound a few months ago
> 
> Dried beans tend to average $0.50/pound there.


No salvage stores here, and dry beans are over $1/lb. Sometimes the pinto beans go on sale for around $3.89 or so for a 4# bag.


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## NickieL (Jun 15, 2007)

ladycat said:


> No salvage stores here, and dry beans are over $1/lb. Sometimes the pinto beans go on sale for around $3.89 or so for a 4# bag.


Thats really expensive for beans!!! I buy mine in bulk, works out to about 20 cents a lb where I buy em


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## Guest (Jul 13, 2011)

NickieL said:


> Thats really expensive for beans!!! I buy mine in bulk, works out to about 20 cents a lb where I buy em


Oh my gosh! 20 cents a lb. is unbelievable! :shocked: I haven't seen that price in many years.


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## NickieL (Jun 15, 2007)

Pays to know the faming families down the road.


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

we have a place where we can get lentles for $10 for 25 pounds. and $6 for split peas.
You have to buy 20 bags though. Usually we go and donate half to the food bank. 
Since gas has gone up though we haven't had the cash to buy any extras for the food bank though.
So we split the lentle order with feild peas and raise out rabbit on the feild peas.


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## time (Jan 30, 2011)

PhilJohnson said:


> I'm pretty sure I posted this before although I've noticed very people respond (perhaps they think I'm full of it). I ate on 10 dollars for a month. This was the month of January of 2008, no farmers markets, nothing in season, produce was mega expensive. I wrote what I bought at the beginning of the month and the prices I paid:
> 
> 10 pounds of potatoes ($2.89), 2 pounds of spaghetti ($0.89)
> three packages of muffin mix ($1.08)
> ...


Good Post.


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

probably cause you didn't eat meat. I was a vegetarian for 10 years, ad no matter how I tryed not to I put on weight.
But there is a big difference between $10 a month and $20 a week.


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## Guest (Jul 13, 2011)

NickieL said:


> Pays to know the faming families down the road.


Beans don't get grown here. Normally we have cotton and winter wheat, but with this prolonged drought, we don't even have anyone growing those. The land for miles and miles and miles around here is just brown dirt with a little bit of brown dead grass.


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## PhilJohnson (Dec 24, 2006)

time said:


> Good Post.


Thanks 



SquashNut said:


> probably cause you didn't eat meat. I was a vegetarian for 10 years, ad no matter how I tryed not to I put on weight.
> But there is a big difference between $10 a month and $20 a week.


Meat is right up there with fresh fruits/veggies has far as expense goes so it had no place in a 10 dollar diet. Hotdogs are pretty cheap, especially at Aldis. I don't really like them that much but I used to eat them all the time when I was on a buck a day food budget.


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

ladycat said:


> Beans don't get grown here. Normally we have cotton and winter wheat, but with this prolonged drought, we don't even have anyone growing those. The land for miles and miles and miles around here is just brown dirt with a little bit of brown dead grass.


This is going to be a hard year for every one. We went ahead and got a load of peas and beans, because With every thing so bad I am sure the silos at the pea and bean place will empty fast this year.


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## Trisha in WA (Sep 28, 2005)

SquashNut said:


> we have a place where we can get lentles for $10 for 25 pounds. and $6 for split peas.
> You have to buy 20 bags though. Usually we go and donate half to the food bank.
> Since gas has gone up though we haven't had the cash to buy any extras for the food bank though.
> So we split the lentle order with feild peas and raise out rabbit on the feild peas.


I know you or someone else near you told me the name of this place once before, but I have totally forgotten about it. It's in Spokane right?? What was the name?


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

Spokane pea and bean or North West pea and bean.


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## Elffriend (Mar 2, 2003)

I was at the grocery store today, so I thought I'd price a few things.
1 kg (2.2lbs) of white rice - $3.39
500 gm (about 18 oz) jar of peanut butter - $2.99
lg family (2 kg) bag of frozen mixed veggies - $4.99
a package of 3 chicken leg quarters - $5.50
a dozen eggs - 2.89
flake light tuna (one step above cat food IMO) - .89, and that was on sale.

These were all the cheapest brands, generic or store brand.

Ground beef at our local butcher is $2.75/half kilo and that's cheap compared to what it costs at the grocery store. Stew beef is about the same as burger. We buy all our red meat at the butcher, less expensive and better quality.

I don't think I could live on $20/week. I lived on $10/week for awhile back in the 80s and it wasn't easy. Lots of rice and dal, generic mac & cheese, ramen noodles and bread that was three loaves for $1.

Now I'm a diabetic and I eat extremely low carb. That means meat, fish, poultry, eggs, cheese, nuts and low carb veggies. I wouldn't last long on rice, pasta and potatoes.


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## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

Wegman's (if you are lucky enough to have them) have guaranteed prices on the 40 most popular items purchased by families for a year...
some examples are 80% lean ground beef 1.99
boneless/skinless chicken breast 1.99
18 oz peanut butter 1.29
bananas .39
canned veggies .39
frozen 1 lb veges .79
bagged garden salad .99
pork shoulder roast 1.29
frozen crinkle cut potatoes 2 lb 1.99
albacore tuna .99
and much more.
If you do coupon, you could easily eat pretty well, with meat (not hot dogs) if you buy a lb each of hamburger, chicken, and pork, you would have almost a half pound of meat a day. add three or four bags of veggies,a bag of the potatoes, bread, peanut butter, milk, tuna and fruit and you are set. Thay also sell the bulk stuff too, so you can buy a few cents worth of something. also, if you get there early, you can buy the marked down meat 

www.wegmans.com
I was surprised to see them near the Jersey shore, so maybe take a look see if there is one by you


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## NickieL (Jun 15, 2007)

Elffriend said:


> I was at the grocery store today, so I thought I'd price a few things.
> 1 kg (2.2lbs) of white rice - $3.39
> 500 gm (about 18 oz) jar of peanut butter - $2.99
> lg family (2 kg) bag of frozen mixed veggies - $4.99
> ...


Your chicken quarters are expensive, sheesh, Here you can get a packege of fresh ones, about 8-9 in a pack for 3 bucks.

At one of my neighbors farm, they have an egg, bacon and potato special to buy...a doz fresh medium eggs, 1 lb bacon (thier own homegrown home made), and their homegrown potatoes 3 lbs. for 1.99 with ANY other purchase...doesn't matter if you only buy a lemon, any purchace.


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

I once lived on 19 cent hamburgers,and struggled each day to eat.Some days didnt eat.Better believe I stuffed those burgers full of ketchup and mustard packs too.

Never want to see those times again.Now Im Scarlet O'hara when it comes to food.


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## partndn (Jun 18, 2009)

NickieL said:


> Your chicken quarters are expensive, sheesh, Here you can get a packege of fresh ones, about 8-9 in a pack for 3 bucks.
> 
> At one of my neighbors farm, they have an egg, bacon and potato special to buy...a doz fresh medium eggs, 1 lb bacon (thier own homegrown home made), and their homegrown potatoes 3 lbs. for 1.99 with ANY other purchase...doesn't matter if you only buy a lemon, any purchace.


Good heavens I wish you were my neighbor. I'd give that guy a heckuva business! :grin:


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

partndn said:


> good heavens i wish you were my neighbor. I'd give that guy a heckuva business! :grin:


wow!!!!!


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## whatrset (Apr 13, 2010)

elkhound said:


> heres soemthing else...sams club..its a rip off...last time i was there the cheapest chicken they had were leg quarts at ...99 cents a #.my local store has it regular for .49cents a #.
> 
> if you dont know ya prices ya got troubles.
> 
> ...


lol. My local W-M had 10# chicken LQ for 3.99/bg a while back. I tried to buy 100# and the store mgr came out and limited me to 50#. Grrr. I set the other 5 bags aside and sent my wife to anorther regisdter and she bought them.


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## farmergirl (Aug 2, 2005)

I regularly buy 40 or 50 pounds of the Walmart leg quarters at a time. Since I feed it to the dogs, it's like buying a big bag of kibbles, lol.

So far no one has said a word about me buying so much chicken at one time. Probably assume I'm bbq'ing for family or something.


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## Tracy Rimmer (May 9, 2002)

NickieL said:


> Your chicken quarters are expensive, sheesh, Here you can get a packege of fresh ones, about 8-9 in a pack for 3 bucks.


Your chicken is cheap in the States because, as I understand it, your battery chicken farms feed corn, and corn is a crop which is subsidized by your government, and therefore, cheap. 

Canada doesn't do this, and therefore, our meat is more expensive.


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## stormrider27 (May 31, 2011)

I think people In these type of forums are ahead of the curve. Most know how and do regularly cook from scratch. That in it self will give you a financial head start. You have to pay for that processing and packaging. 

I can regularly get boneless skinless breast for 1.99\lb. I once bought split breasts with bone and skin for 1.19\lb. I skinned and boned them out and weighed them to see if I came out ahead. Based purely on the breasts I was behind but when I threw in the trimmings and fat and made stock from the bones and skin I was way ahead. I don't have the actual numbers anymore but I might try the exercise again. 

It is important to use everything when you are on a budget. Stuff thrown away is lost money.

A book on this subject you all might enjoy is "how to cook a wolf"
how to cook a wolf

Storm


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## Elffriend (Mar 2, 2003)

Beaglebiz, I second your recommendation for Wegmans. Being in Ontario, I don't have a Wegman's nearby. But we're 2 hrs from the border, we make a trip every 3-4 months to stock up at the Wegman's in Buffalo. I'm pretty sure you can only get the $1.99 price on beef and chicken if you buy the giant family packs. But that's what we do. We take a couple of coolers with us and load up. The last time we were there I also bought 120 cans of albacore tuna. .99 there and over $2/can here. Pasta was .69/lb there and it's usually twice that here.

Even with the cost of gas, we save A LOT by making that trip.

Nickie, chicken is very expensive here. Even if I go to Costco, which has the cheapest chicken around, a package of 7 chicken breasts (with bone and skin) costs $22-$24. Thighs are somewhat cheaper, but even so, I try to make the chicken we buy in NY last until the next trip to NY.


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

whatrset said:


> lol. My local W-M had 10# chicken LQ for 3.99/bg a while back. I tried to buy 100# and the store mgr came out and limited me to 50#. Grrr. I set the other 5 bags aside and sent my wife to anorther regisdter and she bought them.


My hero! :bow:

Albacore for .99,another steal!


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## Del Gue (Apr 5, 2010)

Tracy Rimmer said:


> Your chicken is cheap in the States because, as I understand it, your battery chicken farms feed corn, and corn is a crop which is subsidized by your government, and therefore, cheap.
> 
> Canada doesn't do this, and therefore, our meat is more expensive.


Another reason that corn is evil.
Monsanto makes it a genetic monster that you can overproduce, and the government pays the farmer a subsidy for growing a crop that costs more to produce than it's worth. We feed it to the factory farmed chickens that are also overproduced to be nearly worthless. We feed it to the cattle who didn't evolve to eat corn to make them put on weight. 

One has to wonder why anyone would want to be a farmer, it's a hard life for very little return. Everyone gets rich but the farmer.

Subsidies create an illusion of prosperity.


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## belladulcinea (Jun 21, 2006)

This was what I did at the frugal forum. Several of us participated, some with food allergies and gluten intolerance issues. 

Grocery challenge 2008
There are 2 of us so 14.00 for the week.

Hillshire all beef polish sausage 1lb. pkg. .99 
1 lb of marked down hamburger 1.25
1 pkg of chicken thighs marked down to 1.56
1 lb bag of reg. carrots .99
1 very large head of cabbage .33 from 3 heads for 1.00 sale
1 dozen eggs 1.00 from a friend, I will give her my apple/potato/carrot peels
1 5 lb bag of russett potatoes 1.99 which is about 7-9 good sized potatoes.
1 large box of quick cooking oats 1.25 on sale
1 lb bag of pinto beans .89
3 of the tuna in water pouches 1.00 each on sale had 3 coupons so free
1 small onion .40
1 pkg. marked down sliced mushrooms .75
1 1/2 gallon of milk 1.79
2lbs of apples .99 on mark down about 10 nice apples

Total 14.18 + 1.71 in tax brings it to 15.89. Good thing I keep change in the bottom of my purse! Course some of this is from the sale papers.

Breakfast 
oatmeal flavored with chopped apple or cinnamon and sugar for dh
1 egg scrambled with a few of the mushrooms and some of the sausage chopped into it for a frittata
Homemade biscuits with apple syrup
Cornbread with a glass of milk
Sliced apple

Lunch
I will eat whatever is leftover from dinner or 1/2 pkg. of tuna with mayo on homemade bread
dh eats on the road so I don't do lunch for him 5 days a week

Dinner

Prep cook the pinto beans, chicken thighs and 2/3 of the hamburger, saute the mushrooms

the other 1/3 of the hamburger will become meatloaf

Dinner #1 
Meatloaf, 2 baked potatoes, coleslaw using 1/3 of the cabbage
While baking the meatloaf, bake 4 more potatoes for the next 2 days

Meatloaf
1/3 lb of hamburger
1 tbs. of chopped onion
1 egg
1/4 cup of oatmeal

Since I am assuming I have some of the basics like flour and we are making do, I will use some of the sauted mushrooms and make a quick mushroom gravy for the meatloaf from some of the beef fat/broth that I cooked the hamburger in. I usually boil my hamburger but I will only put in some water and use the broth and fat for this. It won't be but a tablespoon of the fat with the broth and some milk added to the roux.

Dinner #2
Baked potatoes with left over mushroom gravy and chunked up meatloaf on top, carrot sticks and scratch made apple muffins, using flour, oats, 1 apple. 

Dinner #3
Pinto beans flavored with some of the polish sausage, a little chopped onion, 1 shredded carrot and a little cabbage. Homemade cornbread since I always have cornmeal, use 1 egg, baking powder, flour and a little milk.

Dinner #4
1/3 of the hamburger, homemade noodles using 1 egg, flour and water, thickening made with roux from broth/fat from cooking the hamburger earlier in the week. Cooked sliced carrots and steamed apples with cinnamon and sugar

Dinner #5
Chicken soup made with chicken broth from cooking the thighs and the 1/2 the thigh meat, sliced carrots and potatoes. Make scratch biscuits and cook down 2 apples with cinnamon for apple syrup which is like apple butter but quicker and easier to make. My mil taught me this, she was raised during the depression.

Dinner #6
Pinto beans with 1/3 lb of hamburger meat, fried potatoes, steamed cabbage and carrots. 

Dinner #7
Leftover steamed cabbage and carrots with 1/3 of the polish sausage or leftover beans with sliced apples and homemade cornbread.

I would make refrigerator dough and use for rolls or short loaves. I would also make a couple homemade loaves of oat bread.

We have actually had to do this type of menu from time to time, but we or our parents always had a garden. Since it's so close to spring I've got dandelions springing up everywhere so we could have some fresh greens. There are wild onion growing on the other side of the fence and the other spring greens should start showing their little faces soon.

If I did this for 2 weeks I would add

1 frozen bag of corn, on sale for 1.50
2 cans of Delmonte green beans on sale for .53
1 bag of rice for 1.69
2 cans of diced tomatoes on sale for 1.00 a can
1 lb bag of black beans for 1.59
8 oz. block of mild cheddar cheese for 2.15
1 green pepper .75
2 cans of green chilies for .89 a can 
2 cans of tomato sauce .35 a can
2 lbs of spaghetti 2.00

That's another 14.52 but it would certainly go a ways to add some variety to our meals. Plus 1.71 in tax again. My total would be 32.12 with tax 4.00 over. If I only had the 28.00 I would put back the rice, the green chilies, buy only 1lb of pasta and that would get me closer to 28.00 but still add some variety to our meals.

I'll have to redo the menu to include the other groceries. Do that after dinner!


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

Well if you can do this, I don't see any problem with $20 per person.
It's not that I would want to eat like this, but if I had to. I would want to walk into the store with a plan. So I don't just buy a bag of doughnuts and a bag of potatoes. (I had a freind do this.)


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## Tracy Rimmer (May 9, 2002)

Del Gue said:


> Subsidies create an illusion of prosperity.


Truer words were never spoken.


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## GoldenCityMuse (Apr 15, 2009)

Lentils, rice, black eyed peas or pinto's. 
Oatmeal and maybe some eggs for breakfast.


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## NickieL (Jun 15, 2007)

partndn said:


> Good heavens I wish you were my neighbor. I'd give that guy a heckuva business! :grin:


and thats just the tip of the iceburg.:bow: I can get so much produce during the summer there for really cheap, grown right there. This is why I don't bother growing corn, potatoes, and things as I can get it way cheeper from Mr Remus then I could ever grow it for. Leaves me more space in my garden for other things this way. Still, even some things that I do grow I also buy there since I can't grow enough to can a lot from my garden since it's pretty small. Right now he has 4 lbs of pickle cucumbers for $2 (they will go down in price as the summer goes on) and big bags of bell peppers for for the same, etc, etc.
They also sell their own turkeys and hams too, along with all the pork products like bacon, hocks, ribs etc so thats nice.


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## hsmom2four (Oct 13, 2008)

I think I came up with an okay plan. These prices are at my local Aldis as of today. 
Week one
1 lb ground turkey 1.49
1 loaf white bread .99
18 oz jar peanut butter 1.49
32 oz jar grape jelly 1.59
1/2 gallon milk 2.19
26 oz jar spaghetti sauce 1.19
2 lb pasta 1.39
2 lb box baking mix 1.49
1 bottle syrup .99 (this is from walmart the one at Aldis was too $$) 
1 doz eggs .99 
1 lb frozen veggies .79
1 lb margarine sticks .79 
2 8 oz cans tomato sauce .58 
1 packet chili seasoning .39 
1 can kidney beans .55
8 oz block of cheese 1.99 
1 cannister salt .35
1 can tuna .55 
total $19.79 

Meals
Breakfast--eggs scrambled or boiled, toast with marg and jelly, pancakes syrup, milk to drink. 
Lunches-- grilled cheese, or peanut butter and jelly (probably PB&J almost every day), left overs
Suppers-- ground turkey will be browned and divided into 4 equal portions, spag sauce will be divided into three 1 cup portions. 
Spag (1/4 ground turkey, 1 cup sauce, 3/4 cup cooked pasta) 2 times
tuna casserole (canned tuna, 1 TB marg, 2 TB baking mix for thickener, 1/2 cup milk, 2 oz cheese, 3/4 cup cooked pasta, 1/2 cup veggies) 
chili (1/4 ground turkey, 1/3 packet chili seasoning, 1 8 oz tomato sauce, 1 can beans, 1 oz cheese for garnish) 
mac and cheese (1 TB marg., 2 TB baking mix for white sauce thickener, 1/2 cup milk, 2 oz cheese) 1/2 cup veggies with margarine for a side dish 2 times 
chili mac (1/4 ground turkey, 1/3 chili seasoning packet, 1 8 oz can tomato sauce, 3/4 cup cooked pasta, 1 oz shredded cheese) 

Carry over to the next week-- 1/2 bag veggies, 1/2 jar PB, 1/2 jar or more of jelly, 1/2 box baking mix, 1/2 or more bottle syrup, 2 sticks margarine, 1 lb pasta 

Week 2 
1 whole chicken 4.12
1lb ground beef 2.69
1 gallon milk 2.49
1 dozen eggs .99
1 loaf wheat bread 1.49 (i hate white and suffered through the last week)
8 oz block cheese 1.99
1 lb frozen veggies .79
1 box flavored oatmeal packets 1.39 
18 oz mayo 1.49 
3 lb bag rice 1.69 
1 packet ranch dressing mix .65 
1 onion .43
Total 20.21

Meals
Breakfast--oatmeal packets with milk, eggs with toast and jelly, pancakes
Lunch--PB&J, grilled cheese, left overs
Suppers--the chicken would be boiled down with some onion and frozen veggies then divided into at least 5 portions. Broth saved for soup and to flavor rice. ground beef would be browned with some onion and divided into 4 portions
spag with the remaining 1 cup sauce from last week and 1 portion gr beef, 3/4 cup pasta
chili mac with ground beef
chicken with buttered rice and veggies (make extra rice)
chicken soup using 2 portions of chicken, veggies, left over rice and broth--left overs for lunch the next day
chicken pasta salad--1 portion chicken, 3/4 cup cooked pasta, veggies, ranch dressing
chicken casserole--same as the tuna cass above, but with chicken instead
Mac and cheese

Carry over to the next week--rice, 2 portions gr. beef, ranch dressing, 1/2 gallon milk, eggs, frozen veggies, mayo, jelly, a little less than 1/2 loaf bread

Week 3 
5 lb chicken leg quarters 3.99
26 oz spag sauce 1.19
2 lb pasta 1.39
1 packet chili seasoning .39
1 can kidney beans .55
2 8 oz cans tomato sauce .58
1 lb margarine .79
1 6 pack English muffins
8 oz block cheese 1.99
5 lb flour 1.79
4 lb sugar 2.39
1 box baking soda .49
1 jar cinnamon .99
48 oz oil 2.49 
total 20.01 this is the week where some breathing room starts to come because i was able to stock up on some pantry items. the next week that would free up some $$ for more stocking up.


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

I went to the grocery store today, hadn't been in almost 3 weeks. So at $20 per week per person, my budget would have been $180. I spent $190 between the grocery store and Wally World, BUT, back out pet food and stock-ups and my personal luxury, premium local milk in glass jugs ($11 per gallon with the jug deposits), and I was WELL within the budget. However I already have staples on hand and homegrown beef and chicken in the freezer as well as other meats bought on sale. The only protein I bought this time Louis Kemp faux crab and faux lobster on sale 10/$10. 

Starting from zilch with that $20 for one person and building up stores would be a lot tougher. You would have to sacrifice balanced nutrition for awhile. It would actually be easier with a family, the extra dollars would give you more flexibility.


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## Freeholder (Jun 19, 2004)

Yes, we are going to sacrifice balanced nutrition for a while, but it won't be long enough to cause any health issues.

I'm starting the challenge tomorrow, rather than Sunday, because I'm going grocery shopping tonight, and won't be in town again until after church on Sunday. I've started a blog about it, http://repentrestquietlytrustthelord.blogspot.com/2011/07/repent-rest-quietly-trust-lord.html , if anyone cares to follow along -- please post comments! Especially if you are also doing a challenge, even if not exactly this one. I'm hoping to get some readers who need help with their grocery budgets, and I'm sure you all can come up with lots of helpful advice and ideas for them that I may not think of, or might not have time to write down.

Kathleen

ETA: This is going to be a bit of a pain, because there's more perishable stuff in the frig than we can eat up before starting the challenge, so I'm going to have to add a couple of things into the first week that I wouldn't normally have purchased the first week!


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

I'll eat that EVIL corn before going hungry any day of the week and PRAISE GOD for having that.

And the evil Ramen,and the evil 19 cent Hamburger Barn burgers I ate.

Great nutrition,nope,keep you alive for another day,you betcha!


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## Del Gue (Apr 5, 2010)

Ramen isnt too evil.... A whole pack is the same as eating 2 slices of bread. I had to check the label, I thought it was much higher.

Ramen for dinner! I bought a whole case for 3 bucks! 40 packs! lol

Those greasy cheap hamburgers are fine, thats health food. 
Except for the soy fillers. Soy is another one of Monsanto's demon children.


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## Freeholder (Jun 19, 2004)

I can't do ramen (even if I liked it, which I don't!) or corn or very much oatmeal or rice -- I have diabetes, or prediabetes (have symptoms of diabetes but blood tests said my sugar levels were within normal range). If I eat more than a small amount of carbohydrates each day, I get so tired I can't function, and if I do it for very long, I have worse symptoms. No matter what happens, I've GOT to eat a primarily low-carb diet. Even if it means eating a lot less calories than I might normally eat.

Kathleen

ETA: I'm also limited on the amount of legumes I can eat, for the same reasons. They are high in protein, but also high in carbs. I'll use them on my challenge diet, but only in small quantities.


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

Ive already done the starvation crud nutrition diet,I'll pass.


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