# 10 bucks per person per week groceries



## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

This is a what if question.
So if your budget goes really tight and you only have 10 dollars per week per person
to spend, what would you need to buy ?
You have food in the refrigerator, freezer and on your shelves, hopefully.
What would you need to fill in the holes going forward ?
Would your meals change a lot ? Let's say this would last a month. 
Your shopping list would be ?


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## ldc (Oct 11, 2006)

I'd just starve! I eat way too much for this challenge! When I had a big garden, 2 months of the year - usually April and October - I'd just buy protein. Those months were frugal. I have a 9ft sq garden in pots now at my apt., and the food bill runs over $100/month. Also have food allergies so can't do peanut butter and bread for a month.

Good luck with this challenge!


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

A lot of pinto beans & lard.


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## TerriLynn (Oct 10, 2009)

Last summer money was tight and I had to get by with $30 a week for 7 of us. Luckily I had a cow and a pig and about 20 chickens in the freezer. I can so have lots of fruits, veggies, jam, broths, and meats on the shelf, and also keep a well stocked pantry anyway, with sugar, flour, pasta, rice, etc. Spent the budget on milk and bread (bought at discount store, 89 cents for a large loaf), butter, and Toilet paper, then whatever was left would go towards one or two other things that we might be out of, like pepper or cream cheese (mixed with homemade jam is a relatively cheap substitute for butter on toast or bread). I also ask to have my fat back when having a cow or pig processed and having that cooking fat saved us $$ too.


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## tonasket (Oct 20, 2004)

2 dozen eggs, evaporated milk ( to thin w/water to make gravy), some flour out of bulk section for gravy. bag of taters, loaf of cheap bread and a pound of burger and couple pounds of beans and canned tomatoes. gravy on taters is very filling, and 10 pound of taters is only $1 now, a half a pound of flour in bulk is pennies, evap milk usually 2/$1, eggs, $2, burger, can find for $3, beans in bulk- about 50 cents a pound, tomatoes a buck a big can. wouldn't be my favorite, but I'd survive. I'd make a big ol pot of chili, plain, over taters, or taters w/gravy, scrambled eggs w/a tater, bread to have w/an egg. Now, if it was just to supplement what I already have....I'd spent it on fresh grapes(cheap right now), milk, bread and a few veggies.


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## MichaelZ (May 21, 2013)

Bananas at 38 cents a pound. About 6 pounds at $2.
Eggs at $0.99 (or less a dozen). 2 doz at $2.
Qt of OJ, the cheap type. $2
Bag of spinach. $2.
Half gallon of milk. $2

There you go. Not too much variety, but I think one could almost live on this. There are other economical items like potatoes, rice, and beans that could be switched in for some of these items.

My kids give me a hard time for all the bananas and eggs I buy. 
For 6 of us, I try to keep our food cost down to a hundred a week, which is not too much more than this. Usually, we are more at about $120-$150 a week. We have some deer meat in the freezer too.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

Not much would change here. I don't think we average 1/2 that in a year, including toilet paper, paper towels and my special bath soap. We spent $12.85 last week, hadn't been to the store in 3 months, stopped because we were going by and might not make for another 3 months. we were getting low on 2 things, got in the store and could only think of 1 other we might need before fall. Saw 2 things that were too cheap to pass up. Jimmy Dean sausage for $1.79/lb and bananas for $0.24/lb. We could live for 2 years on what we have on hand, grow, get at the free produce day and what we have put up. We would have to go on a good stock up run after 2 years for things like salt, brown sugar, black pepper, a few spices, lemon juice, vanilla, as we would be running low but wouldn't miss much. Last week I got 2 oranges, a lemon, couple fresh dill heads, a cucumber, small cauliflower and 3 small red potatoes and a nice parsnip....James


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

$40 a month, that would be nearly 100% carb diet (all starches and not good ones either). As a T2 diabetic, thats just not possible without doing lot damage or going back on insulin which would cost lot more.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

I wasn't planning on doing this as a challenge. More a what if situation.
Trying to get some economical ideas going here.

Like now, we are a household of 2, so $ 20 a week. And when I say groceries,
I mean food. Not counting dog food, or paper products, or non food items you
can pick up at the store.

I remember years ago, when my kids were little and my first husband done a 
number on the checking account balance. He went to a auction and got stupid.
I had $ 5 in cash to go to the store for groceries for a family of 6 for the week.
I remember that so vividly. Thank goodness I had my own canning jars full and
a freezer with some meat in it.


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## mzgarden (Mar 16, 2012)

Good question - made me stop and think. There's two of us and we have a full freezer and pantry. We are milking goats and our chickens are laying, so I think we start out pretty flush. Garden is just seedlings so fresh stuff is our gap. If I had to think what I would buy it would have to be fresh produce for salads and a few bananas.


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## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

Thanks to a full pantry and freezer, I really could go about 5 - 6 months without buying anything at all. For variety, I'd buy lettuce, tomato, carrots and onions for a simple tossed salad, and/or cabbage to make coleslaw. Also eggs after about a month. After about 3 months I'd need to buy a gallon of milk. I freeze 3 1 quart containers as I only use about a quart a week. 

If I didn't have so much in the freezer and pantry, then I'd buy rice, beans, chicken (on-sale) and frozen vegetables (also on-sale) to fill in the gaps. 

On sale right now: 
Iceburg lettuce .99 head, tomatoes .79 lb., apples .79 lb., bananas 3 lbs./$1.00, hamburger $1.77 lb, chicken .59 lb, eggs .79 doz, milk $1.79 gal., frozen vegs .99 each. With these prices a person could eat pretty good with the addition of starches and more vegs.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

HermitJohn said:


> $40 a month, that would be nearly 100% carb diet (all starches and not good ones either). As a T2 diabetic, thats just not possible without doing lot damage or going back on insulin which would cost lot more.


I am also Type 2 and so I could not do it and stay healthy. I eat more meat and fewer carbs in order to keep my blood sugar steady.

If I could, I would make a lot of Chinese food, using garden vegetables, rice, and whatever meat was very cheap. Cheap meat HAPPENS, I just bought us some chicken thighs for 69 cents a pound, and chicken quarters are even cheaper. As it is I just spent $54 for a weeks worth of groceries for 2.5 people at Aldi's, and that included potato chips and cookies.

Now, how do I get half a person, you might ask? My son stays over a couple-three days a week helping around the place. He is unemployed and we send him back with eating money for a week.


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## CountryMom22 (Nov 27, 2014)

With the prices around here, I don't think I could do it! You are all mentioning grocery prices that are way cheaper than anything you could find around here, even at Aldi's. Even with the garden, and venison and having our own chickens I couldn't make meals resembling anything "normal". But we probably wouldn't starve to death either!


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## CircleC (Feb 22, 2017)

Rice, lard and salt. Beans if theres cash left


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

tonasket said:


> and 10 pound of taters is only $1 now


Really, Where is that?


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

CountryMom22 said:


> With the prices around here, I don't think I could do it! You are all mentioning grocery prices that are way cheaper than anything you could find around here, even at Aldi's. Even with the garden, and venison and having our own chickens I couldn't make meals resembling anything "normal". But we probably wouldn't starve to death either!


Right now I am only buying meat at the loss leader sales, which is why the price is so low. I have a credit card I am paying down so if the meat is not VERY cheap I do not buy any that week, but use what is in the freezer instead. I hate being I debt but last summer a storm ruined our roof and blew apart our shed, the transmission went out on our Honda which had 220,000 miles on it, and last winter I flew to California twice on family matters.

On the good side I have meat in the freezer, the salad greens are 3 inches tall and soon I will be using them, the hens are laying well, and the strawberries are in bloom. Thanks to the homestead we always eat pretty well, though grocery store purchaes costs us much more than $10 a week!

So, currently I am reading threads like this one and paying down the credit card ASAP. Insurance paid for most of the storm damage and I moved the remaining debt to a 0% interest card, where I will not have to pay interest 0n it if I get it paid off within the next year. I will do my best!


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## whiterock (Mar 26, 2003)

10 lbs for a buck? wow! .89 a pound for large bakers here and you got to go through the whole bin to pick the least damaged ones. 5 lb bags are $2.89 and so small you have to look twice to see them. If you peel em instead of using the skins you lose half the tater.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

I like to read threads like this also. I am always looking for a idea new to me and trying to think outside the box.
It's hard when you are on a fixed income to keep a budget balanced. In our situation, I can tweak the grocery budget
if I need money for elsewhere in the budget. Like recently he had some repairs to his truck. He has just started his seasonal
part time job and it really helps. But that is not budget money. That is his money to spend on what he wants. So the
household budget had to pay for the first truck repair. The second time, he went to visit the mechanic, he paid for it.
He got out of the second visit cheap. So in order to keep the budget balanced for this month, I had to spend less on groceries.
I get groceries 1x per week, and the last 2 times, it has been less than $ 20 per visit. I been using cash from a few items that
I sold recently. I figure if I can keep the money in the bank going toward bills, we stand a chance.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

So if you can't spend $ 10 a week per person, what would be the lowest you could go ? 

Or is your grocery money off limits ? 

When you have a unexpected $$ problem come up, what is your plan of attack ?


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

My own grocery money is off-limits until AFTER I have bought the groceries. After I have bought what we need any savings I have gotten from careful shopping can be put to where I think it is needed.

However, I sometimes have to play catch-up with the groceries, because there will be times when I need to buy many staples all in the same week. I can do many things, but I cannot make bread without flour. biscuits without baking powder, or deviled eggs without mayonnaise. (I produce the eggs). So, when I pare the grocery bill down as far as I know how to do there will be weeks when I spend much more.


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## Ann-NWIowa (Sep 28, 2002)

I could manage on $10 a week for a long time by depleting my pantry and freezer. I could use powdered milk instead of buying fresh. Canned, frozen, dehydrated fruits and vegetables instead of fresh. Frozen or canned meats, commercially canned tuna and salmon. Bake my own bread, cookies, etc. That's the whole purpose of keeping stocked up -- so an emergency situation does not become a starvation crisis.


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## alida (Feb 8, 2015)

$10/wk for one month. I had to do some thinking about this and actually took a look in my pantry before answering.

I'd pick up 18 eggs ($3) and a gallon of milk ($4) every other week plus one loaf of whole grain bread ($2 each) per week. I have quite a lot of beef, chicken and fish in the freezer and my pantry has quite a few a lot of staples, and cans and jars of soups fish and vegetables/fruits already so I think I'd spend the rest on fresh vegetables to make stews and soups, and some fruit. I have enough put away in my freezer and pantry that I would be okay for about six months at $10/wk if I absolutely had too - we were brought up to always have enough food around to last months. Around the four month mark I would have to re-evaluate what was left in my pantry and probably change my purchasing to replenish things the staples. Interesting question.


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## krackin (Nov 2, 2014)

I buy bulk. Flour, yeast, cheese,rice, pasta, peanut butter. Store purchases, butter. I get local eggs for resale, week old are mine. Leaning towards raising my own. Raise and shoot meat. Use old boots for soup stock. I do ok I guess. 

Who is sending the 10 bucks? I'd rather kids in need get it.


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

I just bought a gallon of milk today $4.45 if I had looked at the price before standing in line I would nt have bought it. I have food put back but I open the pantry and nothing catches my eye to eat.


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## Grandmotherbear (May 15, 2002)

here's a thread from the preparing board.
http://homesteadingfamilies.proboards.com/thread/4207/feed-on-20-week
There's been a huge crop of acorns thi month. I am guessing I would be leaching and crushing acorns for meal.


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## MoBookworm1957 (Aug 24, 2015)

Still eating from freezer, pantry. Will be another couple of months.
Chest freezer is stuffed to gills,have master list of what's in there.
Eating leftovers chicken casserole today, tomorrow will make into pot pies.
Nothing goes to waste here.


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## tonasket (Oct 20, 2004)

mnn2501 said:


> Really, Where is that?


South western Washington state


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

Our little freezer is about 1/2 full as is usual this time of year. Making room for spring fish, 2 wild spring turkeys and strawberries from the greenhouse each week. We are sustainable on a yearly timetable, frozen, canned, stored, smoked, dehydrated and fresh from the hoops and greenhouse. We do fill in the gaps some with free produce Friday now. Also lets us be lazy on growing as much fresh produce in the winter and gives us a wider range of foods. This week I took 3 oranges, 2 avacodos, 2 mangoes, a parsnip, head of lettuce, a pint of blackberries and a small package of gluten free, non GMO tortilla shells. We had everything else, we don't eat prepared foods, bread, chips and sweets. 

We pick up 100 banana boxes full each week. Not as much produce this week so we finished filling the truck with 8 cases of tortilla chips, 12 cases of Carolina BBQ Kettle chips. More bread and sweets than usual, from Easter, 1/4 sheet, cakes, 45 pies, U-bake dinner rolls, 30 of bread and 30 of sweets this week, usually 20 of bread and 10 of sweets. 4 boxes of 2 lb bags of pinto beans, fresh carrots, cabbage, apples, pears, celery, onions, potatoes, oranges, little sweeties, salads with dressing, all kinds of bagged greens, 6 boxes of pint blackberries, raspberries and strawberries and other assorted exotic fruits and vegetables. We also get some leftover things from 2 other church food box giveaways, soy curls, some canned foods, hazel nut flour and rolled oats, this week. We were also given frozen fried chicken and chicken pot pies left over from the weekly free church dinners. We can only get produce and "breads" from the food share warehouse because we have no refrigeration and because of the other 2 monthly food box giveaways in this small town, they don't do any fresh produce. Many weeks we do get dairy things that they have so much of that is close to the sell by date and would go to waste over the weekend, dips, cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt. Some times eggs, non dairy yogurt, tofu. We load all we think we can give away and then finish with chips if they are available and we have room. This week we didn't have a lot of apples, oranges, celery and pears. This week 2 bags of chips and 1 tortilla chip until they were gone. We had 2 cases of potato chips left for next week. We serve 80 to 100 families a week, about 200 children, 160 in district + homeschooled and some from outside the district. About 90% of everyone in town and some from outside of town. 40% elderly....James


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

jwal10 said:


> Not much would change here. I don't think we average 1/2 that in a year, including toilet paper, paper towels and my special bath soap. We spent $12.85 last week, hadn't been to the store in 3 months, stopped because we were going by and might not make for another 3 months. we were getting low on 2 things, got in the store and could only think of 1 other we might need before fall. Saw 2 things that were too cheap to pass up. Jimmy Dean sausage for $1.79/lb and bananas for $0.24/lb. We could live for 2 years on what we have on hand, grow, get at the free produce day and what we have put up. We would have to go on a good stock up run after 2 years for things like salt, brown sugar, black pepper, a few spices, lemon juice, vanilla, as we would be running low but wouldn't miss much. Last week I got 2 oranges, a lemon, couple fresh dill heads, a cucumber, small cauliflower and 3 small red potatoes and a nice parsnip....James


Oops, should have said....at the free produce Friday


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

tonasket said:


> South western Washington state


Have not seen potatoes for less than $3.99 for 10 pounds in years (Dallas area)


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## Hitch (Oct 19, 2016)

We have an extensive supply of staples. I assume we'd spend it on vegetables and dairy products. I'd have to start hunting and fishing if it was for a prolonged period of time.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

Lots of potatoes grown in the Northwest. Washington, Oregon and Idaho making them cheap here....James


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## tjlmama (Apr 26, 2016)

We have preteens so we'd starve


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## dyrne (Feb 22, 2015)

Salt, beans and lentils, potatoes, cheap meat with bones so you can cook, strip and use bones to make stock, unbleached flour (easy to make loads of bread), eggs. Commercial pork is kind of nasty but super cheap. Commercial milk is super cheap and you can make yogurt out of that with a little viili starter. This time of year I'd be picking wild onions, dandelions etc. I wouldn't spend money on a ton of veggies.


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## Clem (Apr 12, 2016)

I like to keep a couple of years worth of canned stuff. We've put up more than 1200 jars a summer on occasion. I also can chicken and venison in winter. I try to keep a few hundred pounds of sugar on hand, since I use it for brewing and such. All kinds of spices, home grown and dried, along with some store bought. Whole lot of flour, and stuff.

All that being said, I'm aware that to have 2 years of food on hand, you have to replenish your supplies, just not on a weekly basis. Still, I honestly believe I could deal with $10 of potato chips and ice cream. 

Separately, of course.


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## WolfeMomma (Oct 29, 2015)

10$ a week per person wouldn't be that hard for us. We have a cow in the freezer so we wouldn't be without meat. We have a decent amount of beans, rice and pasta ,flour and sugars stocked up. So realistically all I would be spending the 10$ on would be fresh veggies/fruits when its not the season for a garden, or for things I can't grow like bananas that my kids love. Milk would take up a significant part of that budget, so would bread, but bread I am willing to make my self if need be.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

On a slightly different note, I would buy a lot of flour and rice and soy sauce at Aldi's. I would make bread, noodles, and biscuits. Some of the fat for the biscuits would come from shortening and some from the cheap, fatty pork I would buy at one of their loss leader sales. A lot of stores will sell some items at a loss to bait the customers in, and Price Chopper often does this with pork.

Garden vegetables- and i start picking cabbage leaves when they are 3 inches tall- and soy with a bit of pork makes a good stir fry. Dehydrated milk I cheaper than liquid though I do not like it as well. Peanut butter for sandwiches. Oatmeal for breakfast.

If it were not for the diabetes I probably could do it. But, I *DO* have diabetes, and that meal plan would mean higher doses of meds and a less stable blood sugar.


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## MoBookworm1957 (Aug 24, 2015)

Terri said:


> On a slightly different note, I would buy a lot of flour and rice and soy sauce at Aldi's. I would make bread, noodles, and biscuits. Some of the fat for the biscuits would come from shortening and some from the cheap, fatty pork I would buy at one of their loss leader sales. A lot of stores will sell some items at a loss to bait the customers in, and Price Chopper often does this with pork.
> 
> Garden vegetables- and i start picking cabbage leaves when they are 3 inches tall- and soy with a bit of pork makes a good stir fry. Dehydrated milk I cheaper than liquid though I do not like it as well. Peanut butter for sandwiches. Oatmeal for breakfast.
> 
> If it were not for the diabetes I probably could do it. But, I *DO* have diabetes, and that meal plan would mean higher doses of meds and a less stable blood sugar.


Not really, I have T2 diabetes, I manage just fine with diet, exercise, gardening, and a puppy named Strawberry. NO Medicines for diabetes, just for Migraines,blood pressure.


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## Alder (Aug 18, 2014)

We could eat for a long time out of the pantry, freezer and what is home canned. So always on hand have meat, dry goods, fruit and vegetables, jams and preserves, homemade bread, chickens and eggs (both meat birds and layers) orchard, berries and garden. I certainly do shop for fresh stuff, milk, (I don't choose to be tied to a dairy animal, but have plenty of dry dairy products stored) produce, etc. on a weekly basis, but mostly for variety and fresh out of season stuff. I often laugh at my grocery purchases, since they must be far from the normal basket in the check-out line. 

To stretch on "short" weeks, make soup, stew, beans, chili along with plenty of fresh yeast bread/cornbread/quickbreads. Then use your basic pantry items to round things out. Having your own eggs helps a lot - that's one good high protein meal/day for everyone, plus the makings for many baked goods, custards, etc.


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

Wow that list from the food bank is great. Our food bank is not good. I have not gone for a while. The last time we got a brown bag with 6 cans of sorecherrys. 1 corn. 1 string bean. 1 box corn flakes. 2 servings box milk. moldy bread. 1/2 gal bag of gravy. 1 can pumpkin. 6 chicken legs. 
I would like to see the list of things food banks can order cause im not sure what people are to do with a bag like this. No sugar corn starch flour to use cherrys. No rice or potatoes to make use of half gal gravy. Ect. I know beggers cant be choose ie but it don't make sence to use the gas for this kind of food handout.


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## Ann-NWIowa (Sep 28, 2002)

I think the key to free food is its meant to supplement not furnish full meals. I can't imagine moldy bread being handed out as the food banks are stringent about out dated foods.

My former daughter-in-law gets free food every other month plus food stamps and manages very well. When the free foods are not something she will use she passes them on to others living in her senior/handicapped complex or gives them to me to take to the church's food bank. The people at the complex carpool to get their free food.

Also, I think something like the 6 cans of sour cherries which are a pricy item would be good to trade with someone for rice or potatoes.

I also help out my former daughter-in-law by saving coupons for items like denture adhesive that she needs but is very expensive. If I find a buy one get one free, I'll give her the free one. Little things can be a big help when you're on an extremely limited income. Extra garden produce is taken to the complex and put on a table in the common room for anyone to help themselves to by many local gardeners.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

What we pick up is from the Polk/Marion Food Share. They distribute to food banks and the free produce day. The SDA Church's monthly distribution is tuna, vienna sausages, peanut butter, canned salmon, canned fruit, lots of tomato products, soups, vegetables and beans, all canned.Then frozen, vegetables, meats and fruits. Dry goods like beans, soy curls, cereal, protein bars, grains. Milk, eggs, other dairy products, toilet paper, juice, gravy mixes, bottled herbs, toothpaste, soaps, other personal items. Not the same every month, different things and sometimes none of certain items. They give out 2 boxes 18 to 22lbs each for a family of 4.

This all comes from the same big warehouse. The food share also makes weekly boxes distributed through that facility. This is also where the Church, free meals, James II dinner program gets their food to make those meals.

What we get at the free produce day is things that are perishable, things that would go to waste, or large volume items. This is the reason we do it on Friday as a lot would go to waste over the weekend. A lot of it is on it's last legs, lot of waste sometimes, some mold and rot,especially on larger bagged items like 10lb bags of potatoes and onions at the end of their storage life. Sometimes there is a lot of waste that goes to livestock. Sometimes a lot of work sorting good from bad. Many times excellent produce, just large volumes donated all at the same time. We have seen 50 4'x4'x4' totes of the same items that we pick up for 4-5 weeks straight. Never know what we will get, lot of times a lot of organic, gleaned from the fields. Other times things like onions, potatoes, corn on the cob, berries, watermelon, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower straight from the fields, fresh, beautiful produce. No questions asked, all you need to do is sign a name and how many people are in the household. It is part of the USDA Food Desert Program, areas that are a ways from affordable shopping centers....James

http://americannutritionassociation.org/newsletter/usda-defines-food-deserts


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## Oregon1986 (Apr 25, 2017)

I'd stock up on rice,beans,oatmeal and potatoes.we have fresh eggs available daily and freezers are loaded with meat we butchered. It's amazing what you can come up with money is tight. Cream of mushroom is great too when trying to stretch your food


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

Forcast said:


> Wow that list from the food bank is great. Our food bank is not good. I have not gone for a while. The last time we got a brown bag with 6 cans of sorecherrys. 1 corn. 1 string bean. 1 box corn flakes. 2 servings box milk. moldy bread. 1/2 gal bag of gravy. 1 can pumpkin. 6 chicken legs.
> I would like to see the list of things food banks can order cause im not sure what people are to do with a bag like this. No sugar corn starch flour to use cherrys. No rice or potatoes to make use of half gal gravy. Ect. I know beggers cant be choose ie but it don't make sence to use the gas for this kind of food handout.



My parents were depression babies.

Tear off and throw away the moldy parts of the bread. Toast well any good part of the bread immediately to prevent mold on the rest of it. A good dinner is gravy over toast and a cooked chicken leg or two and half a can of vegetables.
I do not know what to do with the sour cherries, as my folks did not use them. They DID use fruit in their cereal, and it is possible sour cherries might have made a bowl of cornflakes and milk taste special. Or not. We had the sweeter fruits in our cereal: mostly bananas. 

In that bag I see enough meat and gravy for 3? dinners, vegetables for 4 dinners, and *IF* you could supply milk (dry milk?), flour, sugar and spices you have the makings breakfast for a week and small cherry pies. I have heard that pumpkin makes good soup but I have never done it.

Our food pantry is run by people who are wiser than yours, I think. When a client goes in they are allowed "x" number of cans of vegetables, for instance, and the client chooses the vegetables so that people get what they can use. The client pushes a cart and takes her allowed number of cans from the vegetable section. Etc.

Personally, I would never choose a can of pumpkin unless I had the spices and such to make it taste good. We never ate a lot of pumpkin, and even pumpkin bread uses spices and flour and such.


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## prairie hill (Jul 14, 2002)

Good food for thought as I sometimes don't buy as frugally as I ought. We do not currently have animals, so alas - some things come from the store. There are two of us, and with food out of the freezer, theoretically divvying $20 a week: beef roast on sale (cheaper and better quality meat than buying hamburger; grind it at home or use as is). Fresh greens (until the greens are fresh out of the garden). A gallon of milk. Farm eggs $2.50 a dozen here, so could make 1 dozen last through the week. Hope the toilet paper already on hand lasts because I buy it in large pkgs - one would use up one of our $10 allowances plus a couple dollars!  (I do try to keep one as "back stock". Same with coffee, so I didn't mention coffee. Always keep an extra can on hand.)


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

We use pumpkin in muffins for breakfast, or anytime. This week they opened the food bank on Tuesday from 4 to 6pm. We saw it last minute on facebook and went. Got a few things, a can of yellow hominy and a can of salmon. So I made salmon patties on a bed of lettuce, red onion, celery leaves, carrots and cabbage with mango dressing, fried the hominy in butter with diced onion for lunch today. Used about 1/2 the liquid from the hominy and let it cook down while I made the patties. I used diced onion and celery, Mrs. Dash, an egg and 4 butter crackers in the patties and fried them in a little butter. 

We also got some frozen sour cherries and mangoes that Sweetie uses in her smoothies. 2 chicken breast halves, 4 pk of toilet paper and a quart of grapefruit juice. They are going to twice a month, first Tues 4-6 pm and 3rd Wed 12-4 pm. We don't need much but they are wanting as many people to show up, to keep the program going. They said 26 families showed up and they made 14 deliveries....James


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## Grandmotherbear (May 15, 2002)

Jwal I love hominy. Sometimes I think we're the only people in the State of FL that do love it and eat it. Have you ever made pozole-tomato+hominy soup with peppers + onions, maybe garlic, a little bit of smoked meat for flavor, and buttered flour tortillas? Yum yum.
Right now I'm cooking a 1 qt crockpot of mostly cherry tomatoes. Will have to strain thru the colander to remove tomato skins. Will add some corn starch * milk for cream of tomato soup.
As a welfare mm I baked my own bread and pizza crust, and made homemade noodles rolled out with a hand roller, using the Joy Of Cooking's Cornell Triple Rich Flour Recipe to enrich the bread products. In the bottom of the measuring cup went a spoonful of wheat germ, a spoonful of dry milk solids, a spoonful of soy flour, then the cup was filled with sifted flour. As the years passed and dry milk got more expensive I gradually left that out and used ground flaxseed instead.
When money is scarce, that is when clever use of staples calls for clever use of herbs and spices. Chamomile tea is good for anxiety and digestion. Cinnamon reduces blood pressure, blood sugar and blood cholesterol. It also tends to increase feelings of happiness. catnip tea is another good herb for anxiety and insomnia. Savory brings more flavor to beans. Garlic- who could make pizza without it?In the regular groceries the spices by Badia are very inexpensive. If you go to a bodega they're cheaper still


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

Terri said:


> Personally, I would never choose a can of pumpkin unless I had the spices and such to make it taste good. We never ate a lot of pumpkin, and even pumpkin bread uses spices and flour and such.


Plain pumpkin (not ready to use pumpkin pie filling!!!) is fairly diabetic friendly and makes good soup base. Rather have can pumpkin than can green beans.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

*Pumpkin.* I would use it in pumpkin bread or make pies out of it.
*Sour cherries.* Add sugar and make pies. Or make jam out of them.
Or put some in a bowl and add sprinkling of sugar and eat as is 

We have some free food giveaways locally. No income guidelines.
I go to 2 a month. The last trip got me 2 heads of cabbage, concentrated
cranberry juice ( 12 pack ), 3 # bag empire apples, 2 cans of soup, 64 ounce
bottle of grape juice, 6 pack of raisins ( individual size boxes ), 3 loaves of
bread ( they freeze them, so no mold ), choice of 6 fresh produce items
( I got a package of strawberries, 3 pkgs tiny tomatoes, spinach salad greens,
and a bag of cole slaw ), 5 # bag of wheat flour.
I try to work all this stuff into our meals. So no menu planning here. What
needs to get used up asap, takes priority. The strawberries I cut up real quick
and put into a freezer bag for jam. I only lost 1 berry out of that container. 
It really helps our budget to get this free food. I am very thankful we have
such a program locally.


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## TRAILRIDER (Apr 16, 2007)

Wow! You are so lucky ladytoysdream! That is a wonderful windfall. I often budget a very small amount for groceries and make do on what is on hand. I might have something I am working towards. Lately it has been trying to squeeze an extra two mortgage payments into the months money. I don't make much to start with so that means living on next to nothing!
As far as the original post goes....I would buy several dozen eggs (if I didn't have my hens...sometimes Aldi has eggs for .69 a doz) a few loaves of outlet store bread, milk (if I didn't have my goats) maybe some chicken leg quarters and carrots or some other super cheap veggie. I can do a lot with eggs. And lucky for me I don't mind eating the same thing over and over again.

Of course in reality, when you have farm eggs, fresh milk, fresh fruit and veggies or canned items on hand. You can bake your own bread etc. With a well stocked pantry you can survive without any money for a long time. That's always my goal.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

Do a google search for your local area for free food giveaways.
This one I drove 30 minutes 1 way. The one I will do on Monday is 45 minutes one way.
I actually could go to more but usually the 2 per month, are plenty enough for this household.
There is one about 15 minutes from where I live but what they get is pretty poor quality.
They get from a different food bank warehouse in a different county.


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## krackin (Nov 2, 2014)

ladytoysdream said:


> This is a what if question.
> So if your budget goes really tight and you only have 10 dollars per week per person
> to spend, what would you need to buy ?
> You have food in the refrigerator, freezer and on your shelves, hopefully.
> ...


My parents and grandparents went through the depression and WW II. I was raised to be self sufficient and to not waste anything. I have canning jars from the early 1900's that were handed down. I use them as reminders. 

I try to keep fairly well stocked up. I can't do much canning because when the produce is on I have to grow and sell it. I do dried and freezer and buy bulk. I also love to barter my produce for other produce. Last thing I bought in a store was a few slices of pizza after dropping hogs off at a processor. That was almost 5 months ago. 

If it's all the same, I'd rather somebody else gets the 10 bucks. I'll manage.


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## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

A bit off topic, but do you know about Bountiful Baskets? It's not available everywhere, but for $15.00 they provide a huge box of fresh fruits and vegetables. Since I'm single it's too much for me to use up before it goes bad, plus I no longer have an extra fridge to store things in. But for a family, it's a great deal.
http://bountifulbaskets.org/


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

krackin said:


> If it's all the same, I'd rather somebody else gets the 10 bucks. I'll manage.


I am not sure I am understanding this sentence. 
The 10 bucks is YOUR own money. What you would be spending on groceries. No body
is passing out free food money. Unless you are poor enough to qualify for food stamps.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

Belfrybat said:


> A bit off topic, but do you know about Bountiful Baskets?
> http://bountifulbaskets.org/


You could maybe share a basket with somebody ?

We have a similar program here locally. It is called *food sense*. I think it is $ 15 also. You can buy more
than one unit if you want to. They also have a few other bonus things you can buy. I tried it a few times,
but they usually have a couple of things we don't like. That puts the value of it to me in the negative.


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## krackin (Nov 2, 2014)

ladytoysdream said:


> I am not sure I am understanding this sentence.
> The 10 bucks is YOUR own money. What you would be spending on groceries. No body
> is passing out free food money. Unless you are poor enough to qualify for food stamps.


LOL. There ain't 10 bucks, it is hypothetical. I'm giving my nonexistent 10 bucks away. Do what you want with yours.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

Well in our situation, 10 bucks per week out of the grocery store, is not hypothetical, it has become reality. 
If the husband didn't need his fresh milk and his white store soft bread, we could do even lower here.

*Krackin* ....I would like to hear more from you. So you mention, you buy bulk. How often is that ?

Used to visit with this old lady and she mentioned that she parked her car in November and it wasn't till
spring, that she went to town to get stocked up again. I was amazed. Then I got to thinking more about her.
She lives on a main road and across from her house is a church. It has a senior center in it that serves
lunch. And it also has a food pantry. So all she has to do is walk across the road for a meal and her social
activities.


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## krackin (Nov 2, 2014)

I generally start ordering in the fall, Oct., Nov. and keep looking all winter for deals. There are generally specials then. Come this time of year I'm running low on flour but I don't have so much time as field work has to get done. By July, forget it, I can't do any baking, no time. I have about 15 lbs left, short on yeast too. I calculate 1 lb yeast per 50 lb flour. 

I'll get 100# all purpose flour, couple pounds of yeast. Each year I swap off with 50# of farina, oatmeal, mixed grain, corn meal etc. 50# of brown sugar sometimes, a couple gallons of blackstrap, honey. I get #10 cans of other grains too. Bags of brown and enriched rice. Cases of pasta. Dry milk. Sometimes Walmart has decent prices on name brand canned items. On and on. 

Honeyville Grain has good flour and grains. I used to like netgrocer but they closed up. They had great prices on about everything and lots of sales.


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## Grandmotherbear (May 15, 2002)

My cherry tomato soup was a little bitter, even after adding butter, cornstarch, and milk, so we added a ich of salt and a pinch of sugar. Took out the bitter!


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

Today I splurged at the local fresh veggie stand in town. Bought four locally grown vine ripened maters and a pound of new red taters.... Six bucks but they are just soooo tasty! And the poor old widder can use the money.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

Grandmotherbear said:


> My cherry tomato soup was a little bitter, even after adding butter, cornstarch, and milk, so we added a ich of salt and a pinch of sugar. Took out the bitter!


Next time add a pinch of baking soda....James


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## Wanda (Dec 19, 2002)

I


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## Wanda (Dec 19, 2002)

Stopped at the store this evening and bought whole milk for .90$ per gallon ans whole boneless pork loins were $1.20 per pound, no limit on either!!!!!!!!!


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## krackin (Nov 2, 2014)

I forgot to mention that I get my spices from myspicesage.com . Totally amazing quality. I've never seen any as good except fresh home grown and I've never seen dried home grown nearly as good, the milling and flavor retention is excellent.


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## pixiedoodle (Sep 24, 2014)

WOW! YOU ARE ALL AMAZING WITH KNOWING, THINKING, DREAMING & BEING ABLE TO LIVE & FEED A FAMILY ON 10 BUCKS A WEEK! I GREW UP LIVING ON BEANS , STEW & RICE. WE DIDN'T KNOW ANY DIFFERENT. STEW WAS JUST A NEARLY NAKED KNUCKLE BONE MY MOM SIMMERED ALL DAY, LET IT SET OVERNITE & SCRAPED OFF THE HARD FATTHAT CAME TO THE TOP OF THE BROTH, ADDED S&P, A FEW VEGS, MOSTLY POTATOES I AM SURE & THE FAMILY OF 5 ARE IT FOR AT LEAST 2 DAYS... BREAKFAST- CEREAL, LUNCH BOLONY SANDWICH, EVENING MEAL SIMPLE BASIC MINIMAL MEAL, FRESH APPLE OR ORANGE LATER IN THE EVENING IF LUCKY. WE DIDN'T KNOW LIFE ANY OTHER WAY & WE NEVER STARVED. CAME CLOSE A FEW TIMES BUT TEHRE WAS ALWAYS SOMETHING. MY MOTHER ALLOWED $13. A WEEK FOR GROCERIES FOR 5 OF US FOR AS LONG AS I COULD REMEMBER AFTER I TURNED 12 & WE MOVED TO A DIF TOWN. WE DIDN'T KNOW ANY DIFFERENT & ALWYS HAD SOMETHING TO EAT EVEN THO AT TIMES IT WAS SKIMPKY, SHE'D FILL US UP WITH BISCUITS ETC. EVERYTHING MADE FROM SCRATCH. I WISH I COULD SAY I DO AS WELL AS SHE DID. I TRY NOT TO WASTE FOOD. WE EAT LOTS OF LEFTOVERS & TOSS A LOT OF ODDS & ENDS TOGETHER TO BE MADE INTO SOMETHING NEW, WHETHER IT IS CASSEROLE FOR 2, PASTA WITH LEFTOVERS , SOUP, ETC. JUST DO THE BEST WE CAN WITH WHAT WE HAVE. JUST GUESS MOST ON HERE DO THE SAME. BUT $10. A WEEK WOULD BE NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT OTHER ITEMS ALREDY IN THE FRZR, PANTRY ETC.


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## ChocolateMouse (Jul 31, 2013)

My parents had a clever solution during the housing crisis. Living in the rust belt, the economy had been bad for a long time already, so when the market crashed and the war draining the nation's income, we realized there was no way Dad was getting a job any time soon. Mom was so mad, she always wanted them to own a farm so it never came to situations where she couldn't feed her family. (I'm the youngest of 7, but there were only three of us still at home by that time and one moved out shortly thereafter.) But she was clever and a hard woman, so despite her arthritis and my suburban dad, Mom and Dad started dumpster diving.

Some days they'd come away with nothing. Some days they'd come home with several dozen bagels. Half would go into the freezer for later, half into a covered sunporch with open (but screened) windows where they'd stay fresh during cold months. I remember those bagels intensely. My friends were even jealous about us getting to have bagels all the time. Sometimes they had light mold or went bad quick, but they were a staple for us. They were nice bagels, too, not the bagged kind, cinamon raisin, asiago, garlic, onion, poppy seed, sesame, wheat, rosemary... I really miss eating all those bagels. I looove bagels and we got so many different flavors so it never got dull.
I remember one time they brought home a 40lb box of tilapia filets, still mostly frozen. We'd get apples, potatoes, all kinds of vegetables but the things that held up best were always the harder/more solid things. Still, sometimes we'd get a bag of grapes or clamshell of strawberries here or there. Boxes of cereal and pre-made meals (ricaroni type things) cropped up regularly. The number of great things that got thrown out by grocery stores ended up disgusting the family far more than the occasional bag of half-rotten greens.

Mom was careful, if she thought it might not be good, the answer was to get rid of it. But we all knew how to pull some mold off of a bagel. We ate what was in the house. Dinners actually got better after they started dumpster diving. The staples of just being poor instead of absolutely flat broke were worse... Mom would buy things, but like some of you here we had a weekly meal plan. First it was chili, then leftover chili, then the chili became spaghetti, then leftover spaghetti, then baked spaghetti. We ate the same pot of food Mom made on Monday til Friday. On saturday it was usually rice with tuna and vegetables, then Sunday was a nice meal, meatloaf or pot roast with fresh veggies. After they started dumpster diving, we ate fancy food all the time. Kashi cereals, fish, bagels, nice cuts of meat, a wide variety of fruits and veggies... And it was all free.

To this day I am grateful for what my parents did to keep us well fed during hard times. And it was delicious and free. Except that to this day I still can't handle spaghetti in red sauce or chili unless it's made perfectly because of how much I ate low quality leftover food (and hated it). And I will throw baked spaghetti out the window before eating it.  Bleh.

Tuna rice is still very tasty tho. Good stuff.


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## Oregon1986 (Apr 25, 2017)

I need to find more ways to eat frugally. Our grocery bill right now is about $700 a month for family of 5


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## Oregon1986 (Apr 25, 2017)

ChocolateMouse said:


> My parents had a clever solution during the housing crisis. Living in the rust belt, the economy had been bad for a long time already, so when the market crashed and the war draining the nation's income, we realized there was no way Dad was getting a job any time soon. Mom was so mad, she always wanted them to own a farm so it never came to situations where she couldn't feed her family. (I'm the youngest of 7, but there were only three of us still at home by that time and one moved out shortly thereafter.) But she was clever and a hard woman, so despite her arthritis and my suburban dad, Mom and Dad started dumpster diving.
> 
> Some days they'd come away with nothing. Some days they'd come home with several dozen bagels. Half would go into the freezer for later, half into a covered sunporch with open (but screened) windows where they'd stay fresh during cold months. I remember those bagels intensely. My friends were even jealous about us getting to have bagels all the time. Sometimes they had light mold or went bad quick, but they were a staple for us. They were nice bagels, too, not the bagged kind, cinamon raisin, asiago, garlic, onion, poppy seed, sesame, wheat, rosemary... I really miss eating all those bagels. I looove bagels and we got so many different flavors so it never got dull.
> I remember one time they brought home a 40lb box of tilapia filets, still mostly frozen. We'd get apples, potatoes, all kinds of vegetables but the things that held up best were always the harder/more solid things. Still, sometimes we'd get a bag of grapes or clamshell of strawberries here or there. Boxes of cereal and pre-made meals (ricaroni type things) cropped up regularly. The number of great things that got thrown out by grocery stores ended up disgusting the family far more than the occasional bag of half-rotten greens.
> ...


That is amazing your parents did that,kudos to them


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## ChocolateMouse (Jul 31, 2013)

Mom was a really great lady. Crazy as a bat out of hell, but great. Dad's wonderful too, but he has never had the ingenuity and determination that she did. She got us through some hard times that Dad wouldn'ta been able to. It's a really good thing our family had a diversified skill set!


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## MoBookworm1957 (Aug 24, 2015)

HermitJohn said:


> $40 a month, that would be nearly 100% carb diet (all starches and not good ones either). As a T2 diabetic, thats just not possible without doing lot damage or going back on insulin which would cost lot more.


You could do it,but you really have to work at it.


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## MoBookworm1957 (Aug 24, 2015)

I'm type 2 diabetic, been one for about 20 years now.
I eat a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Very little processed foods.
For spaghetti and meatballs if I don't make my own pasta. I use spaghetti squash instead.
I make my own breads,pasta,broths,soup,stews,pot pie, make my own crust for pies.
I spend $20.00 every two weeks for fresh fruits and vegetables.
$20.00 grocery bill would be something like this. This is what I spent last week.
Bag of sweet mini peppers(red,green,yellow,orange)(2.97 for 16 ounces) , 5 lbs of red potatoes(1.98),Whole Portabella Mushrooms(2.18)( 8 ounce package) Whole white button mushrooms(1.87 for 8 ounces) Bag of carrots (16 ounces of fresh carrots 2.98) 1 bundle of Leeks (2.98)Bananas 29 cents a pound got 3 pounds), tomatoes ( 2 pounds at 1.00 a pound)
It can be done, but you have to work at it.
Out of all this I will have approx. 18 meals.
Took the last of the chicken out of the chest freezer this week.
Mainly just got fruits and vegetables left in the chest freezer, along with extra flour,coffee, teabags.
Refrig. freezer is stuffed to the gills, will get another month of meals from there.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

Because am a diabetic I would never risk a vegetarian diet. That being said, some people hunt and fish a lot, so they probably COULD eat meat and live off of $10 a week.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

Terri said:


> Because am a diabetic I would never risk a vegetarian diet. That being said, some people hunt and fish a lot, so they probably COULD eat meat and live off of $10 a week.


The devil is in the details. Its about both total carbs and the glycemic load of carb foods you do eat (glycemic load means how fast your body turns the carbs to glucose, the more fiber, the slower, the better). Eat all the green leafy veggies you can stuff down your gullet with as much olive oil and vinegar as you want, and blood glucose wont raise an iota. Meat really not much of a factor, doesnt help nor hurt blood glucose, except if you eat it in excess, your body can turn the protein into glucose. Nuts and oily seeds provide plenty protein. Fat is only thing your body cant turn into glucose. Grains and starchy veggies are the only really big no-no. You want your calories mostly from healthy fats, not carbs.

Alas cheap carbs are nearly always grain based. Thus my original post that you will be hard pressed to eat on $10 a week without lot grain products. Meaning boughten food. If you raise your own or glean from the wild, then of course you can eat much cheaper, probably free if you devote all your time to such, though that assumes your time valueless.

I do use some eggs but otherwise rarely eat animal products. You really have to watch on dairy as things like cheese and yogart tend to be cheapened with various starches as a thickener/extender. Starches not good for diabetic.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

MoBookworm1957 said:


> You could do it,but you really have to work at it.


Without using any grain products? Have you priced nuts and olive oil and "fresh" produce lately? Grain based products are the only cheap foods and can only be used in very tiny quantities if at all.


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## vickinell (Oct 10, 2003)

I know I am a spoiled brat. This thread makes me want to figure out how much I do spend on my food. I use mostly coconut oil. I make my own personal toothpaste, oil pull, etc. I also use sunflower oil, olive, avocado, almond, sesame, castor oils. I buy organic and non gmo when it is available.

Use to keep better track of my food expenses when I was raising the girls, but now that I am older and use a charge card for groceries plus buying other stuff included in the bill, I am not sure what I spend.

This summer I am planning on finding out about retiring next spring, to see if I can afford to. I will have my age plus years of service in and I would like to retire before I am 70. I will be 69.

The granddaughter I raised graduated from college and has a teaching position so she will be paying the phone bill and her car insurance. I want be buying books, school clothes and such for her so I will be seeing how much I need per month.


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

Think the biggies are is your home paid off,car payment insurance , home owners, property tax ect. Even if mortgage and car payments are done we still have insurance and taxes.


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## pixiedoodle (Sep 24, 2014)

WE'D THINK WE WERE FILTHY RICH IF WE DIDN'T HAVE A HOUSE PAYMENT! WE CAN DREAM ABOUT IT BUT DON'T SEE IT HAPPENING UNLESS WE INHERIT SOME BUCKS!


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## MoBookworm1957 (Aug 24, 2015)

HermitJohn said:


> Without using any grain products? Have you priced nuts and olive oil and "fresh" produce lately? Grain based products are the only cheap foods and can only be used in very tiny quantities if at all.


Why yes I have priced fresh produce as I posted in my other posting. I buy bread flour when on sale.


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## MoBookworm1957 (Aug 24, 2015)

MoBookworm1957 said:


> I'm type 2 diabetic, been one for about 20 years now.
> I eat a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables.
> Very little processed foods.
> For spaghetti and meatballs if I don't make my own pasta. I use spaghetti squash instead.
> ...


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## MoBookworm1957 (Aug 24, 2015)

MoBookworm1957 said:


> Why yes I have priced fresh produce as I posted in my other posting. I buy bread flour when on sale.


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## ed/La (Feb 26, 2009)

If money is that tight get food stamps. Some churches give out food. At ten bucks a week we'll be eating the dogs. If you have a deer or two in freezer and someone likes to fish it would help. Oat meal, rice and beans and what ever you can steal, I mean grow. $5/day minimum


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

MoBookworm1957 said:


> Why yes I have priced fresh produce as I posted in my other posting. I buy bread flour when on sale.


Bread flour, pasta, etc are GRAIN. Oily seeds such as sunflower, flax, and sesame are the low carb or rather low glycemic load alternatives. But alas not cheap like grain. 

I make a hotcake from milled flax seed and wheat bran (true bran, just outer bran with no carbs) held together with egg. Close to bread as I can come. Thus my egg use. There are other binders but egg is by far easiest. 

If I opted instead for say wheat flour, I might tolerate one saltine or a triscuit. Grain just isnt worth it when you can only have a taste. Plus you start eating grain the desire for ever more grain abounds. I have weaned myself off grain and not going back to that evil. Evil for a diabetic that is, though not that convinced its a good thing for anybody, and frankly the human population is currently pretty much supported on grain heavy diet.


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## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

pixiedoodle said:


> WE'D THINK WE WERE FILTHY RICH IF WE DIDN'T HAVE A HOUSE PAYMENT! WE CAN DREAM ABOUT IT BUT DON'T SEE IT HAPPENING UNLESS WE INHERIT SOME BUCKS!


Why are you shouting? We would hear you better if you used small case letters


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## pixiedoodle (Sep 24, 2014)

I USE CAPITALS BECAUSE I HAVE VISIUAL PROBLEMS & THAT'S HOW I SEE IT. .


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## MoBookworm1957 (Aug 24, 2015)

HermitJohn said:


> The devil is in the details. Its about both total carbs and the glycemic load of carb foods you do eat (glycemic load means how fast your body turns the carbs to glucose, the more fiber, the slower, the better). Eat all the green leafy veggies you can stuff down your gullet with as much olive oil and vinegar as you want, and blood glucose wont raise an iota. Meat really not much of a factor, doesnt help nor hurt blood glucose, except if you eat it in excess, your body can turn the protein into glucose. Nuts and oily seeds provide plenty protein. Fat is only thing your body cant turn into glucose. Grains and starchy veggies are the only really big no-no. You want your calories mostly from healthy fats, not carbs.
> 
> Alas cheap carbs are nearly always grain based. Thus my original post that you will be hard pressed to eat on $10 a week without lot grain products. Meaning boughten food. If you raise your own or glean from the wild, then of course you can eat much cheaper, probably free if you devote all your time to such, though that assumes your time valueless.
> 
> I do use some eggs but otherwise rarely eat animal products. You really have to watch on dairy as things like cheese and yogart tend to be cheapened with various starches as a thickener/extender. Starches not good for diabetic.


I grow alot of my vegetables,or go to Farmer's Markets I have several raised beds,wash tubs, access to fruit trees.Hunt and fish, so Yes I can do it. I also can my own vegetables, dehydrate, cold pack,smoke fish,pork,beef.


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## Clem (Apr 12, 2016)

pixiedoodle said:


> I USE CAPITALS BECAUSE I HAVE VISIUAL PROBLEMS & THAT'S HOW I SEE IT. .


If you are on a computer running Windows, you can hold down ctrl key and click the = or + key, the page size will get larger each time you click = . If you make it too large, hold down ctrl key and click the - key, it will get smaller each click. 

I am running Windows 7, so I do not know if that is true of all Windows versions, but I expect it would be.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

Clem said:


> If you are on a computer running Windows, you can hold down ctrl key and click the = or + key, the page size will get larger each time you click = . If you make it too large, hold down ctrl key and click the - key, it will get smaller each click.
> 
> I am running Windows 7, so I do not know if that is true of all Windows versions, but I expect it would be.


I think the zoom function pretty universal on all windows and linux. But if you dont want to do it manually, perhaps you can make it automagical. In Chromium/Iron browser, there is setting in preferences to let you set a default zoom. Handy on small screen laptops especially. On Firefox easiest to get an extension called "page zoom". It gives lot options besides universal zoom setting.

And maybe you noticed you can print large here without using capitals. Use the "T" with a bidirectional arrow after it before you start typing your message and choose size of font you want to use. Then whatever you type will be size you chose.


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## pixiedoodle (Sep 24, 2014)

I HAVE A MAC


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

Look at the image and where I circled the "T". Now look at the box where you post on this forum. Before you write anything, click on the "T" and choose the font size you want to use for your post!










Now the browser setting is how you view webpages. Chrome/Chromium/Iron has a default zoom setting you can change to any size you want. Unless you have a tiny screen, I suggest no bigger than 150%, I find 125% plenty. Firefox needs an extension to set a universal default. I suggest Page Zoom. Now if you use Safari or some other Mac only browser, you will need to research it yourself if its possible to set a default zoom setting.


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## Scottswife (Nov 24, 2014)

Family of 3 so $30 a week:
Bag of potatoes $4, gallon of milk $3, 6 cans of biscuits $3, Bread $.89, Hotdogs $.69, can of tomatoes $.79, can of kraut $.79, 4 cans of tomato sauce $3.16, hamburger $3, 3 cans mixed veg $2.37, small roast on sale $4, Box of spaghetti $.69, Box of ziti $.69, Box of macaronni $.69, eggs $.69, Bag of cheese $2.

This all comes out to 30.45 so if I had to cut anything I'd change the roast on the last day to sausage (1.99) with green pepper (.89) and onion (on hand). This would put the total completely under $30.

Day 1:
Breakfast would be biscuits, gravy & eggs. Lunch would be soup (already in pantry) & sandwich (already have supplies). Dinner would be Spaghetti & bread (toasted with butter & garlic). Normally put hamburger in the sauce for meat but would skip that so could use on day 6.
Day 2:
Breakfast would be eggs, biscuits, fried potatoes. Lunch would be fried fritters (flour & onions on hand) & potatoes. Dinner would be kraut & weiners (just cut up hotdogs and add to kraut as it cooks), can of veggies from pantry, and leftover biscuits from last two days or buttered toast.
Day 3:
Breakfast would be biscuits, gravy & eggs. Lunch would be grilled cheese and soup or baked potatoe. Dinner would be ziti (think I'd use breakfast sausage already on hand in the sauce instead of any hamburger so could have it on day 6).
Day 4:
Breakfast would be biscuits with honey & jam. Lunch would be fried potatoes, cornbread (on hand already) & some small meat already in freezer. Dinner would be Baked Spaghetti (from leftover spaghetti on day 1) & bread (toasted with butter & garlic already on hand).
Day 5:
Breakfast would be potatoes, scrambled eggs, toast. Lunch would be leftover ziti. Dinner would be Macaronni & tomatoes (not sure if anyone makes this where you are from but we love it.)
Day 6:
Breakfast would be eggs, biscuits with honey & jam. Lunch would be homemade fries & hamburgers (toast the bread for buns). Dinner would be Veg soup. (Any leftover hamburger can be added to soup.)
Day 7:
Breakfast would be eggs, gravy & biscuits. Lunch would be grilled cheese & leftover veg soup. Dinner would be Roast with potatoes & any vegetables I have on hand.


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

Scottswife you have some good food price in your area. Milk is 4$ bread is $2 here.


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## light rain (Jan 14, 2013)

Hopefully no one is having any kidney problems in your house Sw. The amount of sodium in those meals would be astronomical...


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## Ann-NWIowa (Sep 28, 2002)

When I was a teenager we lived on a farm. My best friend also lived on a farm. At our house we had our own milk which also became butter, cottage cheese and lush whipped cream. We had a freezer with our own beef and pork. Chickens lost their heads if they quit laying so we had eggs. Mom always threatened the chickens and said it worked. Mom kept a garden and canned. We always had good meals and plenty of food for the five of us. On the other hand, my friend's mom felt she was too good to do menial tasks like keeping chickens, gardening, canning etc. I was at their house more than once when the main meal of the day was two pieces of white bread (no butter) and a slice of bologna. Her dad farmed and kept a garden, chickens, milk cow, but none of that was maximized because his wife didn't do her part. I could never comprehend being so uppity that your kids went hungry.

It takes good planning and a lot of work to provide good food on a budget. I live on social security and a large percentage of my income goes for insurance premiums and medical/dental/eye care not covered by Medicare or insurance. My home is paid for but property taxes and insurance are not cheap and this year upkeep has been a budget buster. I've not gotten free food yet, but I do plan to do so in the future. It will help me keep my pantry stocked. I currently budget $148 a month for food, but have been trying to keep it under $100. I'm so thankful we have an Aldi store and I shop specials at HyVee and Fareway. Walmart is also available but I don't buy food there. All the stores are close together so its easy to shop at all of them if I choose.


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

TV dinners 5 for $5 at FoodLion


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## Oregon1986 (Apr 25, 2017)

It can be hard to budget shop and not end up with all crap. We try really hard to cook everything from scratch because processed food is so bad for our bodies. While things like top ramen are super cheap,I don't think it's worth eating all that salt


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## Oregon1986 (Apr 25, 2017)

Our newest venture in food cost savings is raising our own meat rabbits


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## ChocolateMouse (Jul 31, 2013)

Ugh, I can't stand top ramen. Top ramen is a joke, it's bullion on noodles with some parsley flakes. You can make it at home for less.

It's kinda funny because across Asia, ramen is inexpensive, not so salty, and filled with nutrients. Eating ramen through all of college, while not healthy, isn't considered the worst option. It's made with fish stock, noodles, tofu, vegetables and seaweed. Egg or meat is usually there, but considered somewhat fancy (especially beef). Even their instant ramen are better, containing real amounts of nutrients, dehydrated vegetables, and they taste like more than salt. If you get the opportunity to try something like Shin-Black, do it. It's really good. They're korean and sometimes show up at Costco. Still a huge sodium content but they are more like a genuine meal.
http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/10/taste-test-shin-ramyun-instant-noodles.html

Actually, learning to make your own, real vegetable/egg ramen at home is a great inexpensive food option.


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## ChocolateMouse (Jul 31, 2013)

For those who are wondering, this is what a bowl of real ramen would look like for me;

Ramen noodles (either from a packet or bulk from an asian grocery); $0.10ish
Dashi stock, $0.10
low sodium beef broth (about 3/4c) $0.30
Mushrooms, about 1/4 box; $0.25
One egg; $0.12
Small amount of scallions/green onions/whatever; Free from my garden. If you can't grow green onions, you can't grow ANYTHING.
A carrot; $0.20
3/4c spinach $0.20
Tofu chunks $0.35
Seaweed about $0.15

About $1.75. Not a bad cost for a meal, but expensive for ramen. That cost reflects the nutrition. It would probably go down depending on how much bulk you got, what you could scrounge for free, or grew at home.
This breaks down to about 550 calories or so. If you need more calories and cheap nutrients, adding another egg or carrot is sufficient. DVs are somewhere around
Iron 19%
Vitamin A 250%
Vitamin C 19%
Vitamin B-6 10%
Vitamin B12 10%
Vitamin D 11%
Magnesium 2%
Calcium 28%, 
Protein 30% (15g)
dietary fiber 8%

Sodium is, unfortunately, about 700-750mg. Ramen is salty. But that's still less than 1/3rd the recommended amount of sodium from dietary guidelines for healthy people.
This is what real ramen looks like. We like ramen in our house. But top ramen is a shame upon the world! *shakes fist*


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## light rain (Jan 14, 2013)

Thanks for sharing CM. Just wanted to point out that 1/3 of recommended sodium for the whole day in the homemade ramen. And you are right...for healthy people.

Read an article today that 1/3 of Americans are at risk for kidney disease. Two years ago I would have thought that was a typo. What percentage of Americans are on BP medicine and diabetes medicine? Both precursors to kidney disease along with obesity and other factors.

I hope folks start asking their physicians and assistants how to keep their kidneys functioning for as long as they can. Kidney health is NOTHING to be underestimated.


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## ChocolateMouse (Jul 31, 2013)

Yup. Not an every-day kind of meal, but hardly the nutritional equivalent of top ramen. In Japan especially, ramen is considered a good meal, usually as treat with fish cake, thinly beef or roasted pork on top. (I've made roast pork ramen before with pork broth. SO good!) They eat it after work as a nice meal. Even cheap ramen has vegetables and tofu and tastes good. I think the idea of eating ramen as a nice meal would make most Americans cringe, given our propensity for horrible packet ramen.


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## oceantoad (May 21, 2009)

Scottswife,
Is it ok if I come over for breakfast on days 2 and 5, or actually any day for breakfast?


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

Monday I made up some ground chuck (1 pound), one medium onion, handful of small sweet peppers and some spices. Took a spoonful of sour cream on a large soft tortilla, load up with meat and veggies for a burrito of sorts. One per meal, lunch and supper. Finished off last of it for last nights supper.


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## Heritagefarm (Feb 21, 2010)

Yeesh... I spend about $400-500 a month for two people. I've got no idea what I'd do with only, what's that, $80 for the month. Lots of crash and dent shopping.


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

Heritagefarm said:


> Yeesh... I spend about $400-500 a month for two people. I've got no idea what I'd do with only, what's that, $80 for the month. Lots of crash and dent shopping.


Less caviar, more rice and beans?


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## Oregon1986 (Apr 25, 2017)

Our go to frugal meal is Mac and cheese with tuna


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## Heritagefarm (Feb 21, 2010)

Yvonne's hubby said:


> Less caviar, more rice and beans?


I don't like caviar. I could cut out the Haggan Diaz, I suppose.


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

Heritagefarm said:


> Yeesh... I spend about $400-500 a month for two people. I've got no idea what I'd do with only, what's that, $80 for the month. Lots of crash and dent shopping.


Back in the eighties I was feeding, clothing and housing three kids and a useless wife on less than $80 a week, more like fifty. Now you know why road kill comes up on the menu at my house.


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## Heritagefarm (Feb 21, 2010)

Yvonne's hubby said:


> Back in the eighties I was feeding, clothing and housing three kids and a useless wife on less than $80 a week, more like fifty. Now you know why road kill comes up on the menu at my house.


That's the equivalent of $664 a month in 2000. My mom fed, clothed, and sheltered herself and three kids on $600 a month. We ate expired food and blue cheese, but we never had to eat roadkill.


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

Heritagefarm said:


> That's the equivalent of $664 a month in 2000. My mom fed, clothed, and sheltered herself and three kids on $600 a month. We ate expired food and blue cheese, but we never had to eat roadkill.


I never fed my kids tainted or out of date foods, and we never looked at roadkill as a bad thing. It was an adventure in the culinary arts world. It's just a free, healthy, wholesome food source.. Similar to other types of foraging here in the backwoods of Kentucky. Mushrooms abound as well as berries and nuts, honey.... All excellent foods just waiting to be gathered.


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## Jennifer L. (May 10, 2002)

If nothing else, road kill is a good way to supplement your dog food bill.


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## Heritagefarm (Feb 21, 2010)

Yvonne's hubby said:


> I never fed my kids tainted or out of date foods, and we never looked at roadkill as a bad thing. It was an adventure in the culinary arts world. It's just a free, healthy, wholesome food source.. Similar to other types of foraging here in the backwoods of Kentucky. Mushrooms abound as well as berries and nuts, honey.... All excellent foods just waiting to be gathered.


So roadkill is fine, but expired food and tomatoes with fuzz on one end is out of the question? Culinary source? LOL. ****.


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

Heritagefarm said:


> So roadkill is fine, but expired food and tomatoes with fuzz on one end is out of the question? Culinary source? LOL. ****.


I wouldn't feed my kids out of date foods... Expiration dates have meanings. Fresh clean venison on the other hand can be not only tasty, but perfectly safe. I could use another snapping turtle too, it's been a few years.


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## light rain (Jan 14, 2013)

Curious Y's h, who did most of the grocery shopping back in the 80's...?


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## light rain (Jan 14, 2013)

I've dressed out roadkill on a warm fall day and had a roast on the oven when my husband got home. To let it sit for his return would have wasted the deer. 

Couldn't partake though, sort of sick to my stomach that day...


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## gilberte (Sep 25, 2004)

Heritagefarm said:


> Yeesh... I spend about $400-500 a month for two people. I've got no idea what I'd do with only, what's that, $80 for the month. Lots of crash and dent shopping.


Dang, I don't think the two of us could eat $500 worth of food in one month, not with what we like to eat anyway


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

light rain said:


> Curious Y's h, who did most of the grocery shopping back in the 80's...?


That would have been myself. In those days we didn't buy many groceries past salt sugar flour. Mostly ate what I grew on the farm or could get from neighbors orchards.


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## no really (Aug 7, 2013)

Yvonne's hubby said:


> I wouldn't feed my kids out of date foods... Expiration dates have meanings. Fresh clean venison on the other hand can be not only tasty, but perfectly safe. I could use another snapping turtle too, it's been a few years.


There is a group of guys here that are called for fresh roadkill, they go get the animal clean and package it than give it away to those that need and want it. There is a list that folks can put their name on for the meat. It is greatly appreciated by many.


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

no really said:


> There is a group of guys here that are called for fresh roadkill, they go get the animal clean and package it than give it away to those that need and want it. There is a list that folks can put their name on for the meat. It is greatly appreciated by many.


That's so cool! We have lots of folks in our area that could benefit from something like that.


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## Oregon1986 (Apr 25, 2017)

no really said:


> There is a group of guys here that are called for fresh roadkill, they go get the animal clean and package it than give it away to those that need and want it. There is a list that folks can put their name on for the meat. It is greatly appreciated by many.


I love that


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

Heritagefarm said:


> He seems to have some interesting views.


Life does get interesting sometimes. (If ya let it)


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## Ann-NWIowa (Sep 28, 2002)

I just averaged my food spending per week for first 6 months of the year at $18.86. I think it would be difficult to reduce spending an additional $8.86, but if I had to, I would. I'd have to give up Pepsi for sure and a lot of fresh fruits and veggies. Don't eat much meat anyway. I'm thankful that I currently do not have to cut the $8.86!!


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