What Would You Buy If You Only Had $20 To Feed Family For A Week?

[Toby'sFriend]

and besides which, the $21 is an "average" food stamp allowance. Many people who apply for food stamp have other income or assets which disqualify them from receiving the maximum amount. They are expected to spend some of their own resources toward food also.

The "maximum" food stamp allowance was actually around $35 a week a person last time I looked.

Still not alot of fun - but not anywhere near $20 for a family for a week either.

 

[sarahlovesmickey]

WOW! I used to work in a grocery store in college and I have to say most of the people on foodstamps ate better than my family does! They thought nothing of buying shrimp and steaks. And then they'd throw in a carton of cigarettes for good measure. UGH! I'm sorry, I do NOT agree with raising the food stamp alottment for people. Whatever happened to supporting the children you make???? Sorry, don't flame me, just my opinion.

 

[punkin]

I could do it for a week or two. Then, I would have to spend more. This a not a diet you can permanently live on.

Assuming I have nothing in the pantry or fridge:

2 dozen eggs ($2)
10 lb flour ($3)
5 lb sugar ($2.50)
vegetable oil ($1.50)
margarine ($1.25)
carrots ($.79)
onions ($1)
powdered milk ($1)
peanut butter ($1.50)
Jelly ($1.50)
whole chicken ($4)

I am $.04 over, but with this I can feed a family of 4 on soup, pancakes, pie with leftover chicken, quiche, stuffed chicken skin (not as bad as it sounds), bread, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, margarine sandwiches, sugar cookies, chicken fricasee w/ dumplings. fried chicken patties (ground chicken breast w/ breadcrumbs and egg as filler).

If I had another $5, I would buy a bag of potatoes and a box of pasta.

Notice, there are no green veggies; no fruits or fruit juices. This is not a sustainable diet. I could do it for a week in an emergency, but it is unhealthy for the long term.

 

[Cindi0511]

WOW! I used to work in a grocery store in college and I have to say most of the people on foodstamps ate better than my family does! They thought nothing of buying shrimp and steaks. And then they'd throw in a carton of cigarettes for good measure. UGH! I'm sorry, I do NOT agree with raising the food stamp alottment for people. Whatever happened to supporting the children you make???? Sorry, don't flame me, just my opinion.

It can be a tough decision. There are always going to be people who abuse everything, and then there will be the people for whom the program was truly intended who can't make it work.

I just found chicken leg quarters on sale for 39 cents per pound. Five pounds came to less than $2. They also had boneless/skinless for 1.77 a pound. I bought some of both and then "begged" my friend to take some of it because my "poor DH will never eat this much chicken without sprouting wings!" She's got a 19-year-old and DH who has lost his job and they're hurting. I'd like to see them get some help, but it doesn't ever seem to work out that way.

On the other hand, food prices down here in SW Florida seem to be completely out of control.

 

[sarahlovesmickey]

Yes, food prices up here can be out of control depending on where you shop. Like Shaws up here is OUT OF CONTROL, but sometimes they have some really good sales and I take that time to stock up!!

I also agree that there are people who truly need the help but it seems more and more there are the people with the "entitled" attitude who are on every program the government has to offer. UGH! Drives me crazy. I guess that comes from being raised by a single mother who worked 60 hours a week so we didn't have to be on welfare. I guess I just wonder where the work ethic is in those people. Oh well, the government seems to allow people to take advantage of the system. oh well...

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Egg drop soup: Drop and egg into a bowl of Ramen noodles and stir.

Cool, is this as easy as it sounds??

 

[sarahlovesmickey]

Cool, is this as easy as it sounds??

On the rare occasion that I do buy Ramen noodles, my hubby has made the egg drop soup. Ramen noodles aren't bad, but I ate one too many in college...I am scarred for life by Ramen noodles!!!

 

[IDoDis]

This would only be for one week and not a forever thing, correct? Okay, assuming it is for one week, you'd have to throw out the food pyramid (or whatever they call it now) and eat as cheap as possible. Here's what I'd get:

1 gallon of milk $2.50

1 box of powdered milk Mix enough with the gallon of milk to make 21/2 gallons. When it's gone, it's gone. .75 cents

One large bag of bagged cereal (the cheapest I could find) $2.00

8 boxes of Mac & Cheese (and use strictly the powdered milk in this) $6.50
3 packages of cheap hot dogs ($3.00)

3 loaves of bread from a bread store that sells day-old bread ($2.00). I would also use this bread for the hotdog buns, toast in the morning and peanut butter sandwhiches.

1 large bag of pinto beans (cook up in crock pot and serve w/ mac & cheese or w/ hot dogs or both) $1.00

1 jar of peanut butter: $2.50

One dozen eggs

Meals would be the same: cereal & toast for breakfast, hot dogs & beans for lunch or a peanut butter sandwhich, Mac & Cheese, beans and bread for dinner. Hard boiled eggs for snacks. The protein will help them hold over unitl the next meal.

It doesn't sound great, but for a family of 5 that's about how it would look.

 

[Kat77]

$20 for a family of 5 equals only $2.85 day! OMG, this was so hard and would be impossible to actually do. As a PP pointed out it would be per person if food stamps were involved, so hopefully this would be a one time emergency and not a way of life. My poor make-believe family gets no milk or veggies this week. They do get a little protein and calcium. If they receive WIC it would provide them some milk and eggs (right?). A visit to a food pantry might supply most of the nonperishables for the meals below and then they could put the $20 towards meat and veggies instead. Assuming it was not spent on gas for just getting to the food pantry I sure hope they have tp in stock cause they will not have any money left for such a luxury.

First meat: 1lb. rolls of frozen ground turkey are $1.40 at Wal-Mart so I’d buy 2.
Each roll would be split into three for a total of six dinners. So I have just spent $2.80.
Add each 1/3 lb. turkey to:
Meal 1: Two boxes of mac & cheese for Cheeseburger Mac .66 cents ($3.46 Total)
Meal 2: Box of Spaghetti .89 cents and can of sauce $1 ($5.35 Total)
Meal 3: Bag of pinto beans .89 cents and tortillas $1.50 for Burritos ($7.74 Total)
Meal 4: Two pouches red beans & rice $1.78 ($9.52 Total)
Meal 5: Two cans of tomato soup $1.50, can of corn .50 cents and pkg. mashed potatoes .75 cents for Sheppard’s Pie ($12.27 Total)
Meal 6: Cheeseburger mac again! ($12.93 Total)

Breakfast this week- all week: PB toast and bananas
(1) loaf bread .89 cents ($13.82 Total)
(1) jar peanut butter $1.50 ($15.32 Total)
(1) bananas $1 ($16.32 Total)

Lunch
(1) loaf bread .89 cents ($17.21 Total)
(1) pkg. cheese slices $1.50 ($18.71 Total)
(10) pkg.’s ramen noodles ($20 ALL GONE)

 

[sameyeyam]

The first thing I would do is spend $2 of my $20 to go buy a Sunday newspaper with all of the grocery store ads and coupons in it and then go from there. They always have the weekly loss leaders. In addition I would shop the day old bakery section and clearance bins.

The next thing I would do is go buy some seeds and plan on planting a garden. For about $5 I can buy all the seeds I need to grow a nutritious vegetable garden that will feed us nicely for a couple of months. Because if I only have $20 a week for grocerys I'm in real trouble and need to make my dollar stretch. Even if I lived in an apartment I would get pots to plant veggies in on my patio.

I would also hand the kids a fishing pole and go hit our local lake for trout. Kids here don't need a fishing license, it's free and we have plenty of lures in the tackle box.

Depending on the time of year also, I would send DH hunting. Or perhaps pick some FREE blackberries, apples, pears, etc.. alongside the road.

I would also buy a bag of potatoes, they go a long way and can be used many different ways and are cheap.

 

[Gillian]

WIC here in NJ seems to give a decent amount of the staples. It's a little complicated to use, but you can get the basics like peanut butter, dried beans, juice, milk, cereal, and I'd guess bread. i have a friend who uses it, and it's sometimes a pain to get the exact allowed foods (like store brand, non-organic, not sugary) and dealing with cashiers who are not familiar with the program, but she's happy to get it.

We'd have a hard time spending $80/week, and $20 would be difficult for the 4 of us, but it would be fun to try!

I need a good bread maker recipe, any sources?

 

[dawnball]

Since the study was $20 per person, I'm assuming a family of just me. I'm going to assume that I have salt and pepper too, since the per-week cost of salt and pepper is nil. I'm using local sale ads for prices/prices at this week's farmer's market, but assuming that there's no transportation penalty for visiting multiple stores.

Proteins:
1 dozen eggs $1 (5 servings)
1 lb boneless chicken breast - $2 (3 servings)
1 lb hot dogs $1 - 5 servings
1 lb lentils $.50

Carbs:
1 box grits - $1.50 (17 servings)
corn (it's in season, I can't resist) 4 ears $0 (corn stand gives 4 ears to anyone, just do something nice for someone else)
1lb rice $1.50

produce:
2 small onions $.35 - for soup and greens
1 lb tomatoes: $1 - 3 servings
small cantaloupe $1 - 4 servings
1 lb zucchini $.75 - 2 servings
carrots (.5lb) $.35 - for soup
bag raisins $1 - lots
2 lb bananas $1 - 5 servings
pint blueberries $1.50 - 2 servings
misc bitter greens, 1.5lb $1.50 - 3 servings
coffee $2

Misc:
margarine $.50
peanut butter $1

That gives you:
seven meals of lentil soup (at least)
3 meals of chicken and rice with greens
5 meals of hot dogs (with corn on the cob for 4 of them), zucchini with 2 of them, and misc with 2 of them)

breakfasts of grits/eggs, grits/broiled tomatoes, grits/raisins with coffee.

I should have enough grits for at least 2 weeks, 3 if I don't snack on them much, and enough margarine/raisins/coffee for at least that long too. That means that next week I could buy more/healthier fruit/veg.

Given that I'd be likely to buy things as I wanted them, it would probably change substantially as the week went on and foods lasted longer or less long than expected. The soup in particular would be likely to augment more meals, and there's some opportunistic items that I can reliably get but haven't counted on here. There's also some economy of repetition that you can get and I haven't particularly planned to get into that.

 

[kaw1218]

I just want to know where everyone is getting milk for under $3 a gallon.

it's about $4 at the grocery store. $4.50 at convience stores, and it was $3.50 at BJ's when I bought it the other day. Milk alone would put me over budjet.

 

[sarahlovesmickey]

Some milk (Like the name brands) are over $3 here, but I get our milk for like $2.50. We buy mostly soymilk because that is what our kids drink and also what I drink and that is $2.50 for just a half gallon.

 

[neatokimmo]

I guess if I had a family of 4 and only had $20, I would head to the scratch & dent surplus store first.

I'd get
7 packs of White Lily muffin mix and make it with water 2.33
6 bags of navy beans - 3.60
2 packs of taco seasoning, 2 packs of white powdered gravy and 2 packs of stew mix (for beans to make them taste different) - 2.00
1 bag of flour 1.00
1 small oil 1.00
1 jar of PB 2.00

I'd use my sour dough starter for bread. I'd spend the other 8.07 on bananas and frozen peas.

 

[Cindi0511]

I agree with the milk question: Occasionally, Walgreens or CVS will have it for $2.89 or so, but Walmart, Publix, SweetBay and WinnDixie are all at least $3.35 per gallon, and that's the low side, generic.

This is absolutely fascinating to watch, though. It does make me so much more thankful that God has blessed us that I can buy produce every week and my youngun's can eat fruit and veggies and protein of some sort every day. We take so much for granted ...

 

[momof2disneybabies]

Wow! $4.50 for milk? Milk is normally on sale here for $1.67-$1.99 a gallon!

If I only had $20 to spend for the whole week, and little to nothing in my pantry, I would buy-

3 boxes mac & cheese $1
2 lbs bananas .50
10 lbs potatos $3
Watermelon $4
3 bags beans $2.40
1 bag lentils 60¢
huge bag of rice $2.50
Grits $1.50
Eggs 80¢
Salsa $1
1 box angel hair pasta .50
Butter $1
2 cans of peas .80
1 can corn .50
= $20.10

It would sustain us, and it's not too bad for you. I tried to add fruits & veggies. A huge watermelon would last us a week, and 1/2 a banana here and there. Then peas, corn, salsa for veggies. Lentils and beans are good for you, and white rice is ok. Potatos, eggs & grits aren't too bad either.

Jennifer

 

[tink2dw]

Not so long ago, we were very poor. I could only spend $100.00 every 6 weeks on groceries. At first I went to Salvation Army for a food box. 1 apple box of food. No meat. This was for 1 month.

2 boxes of Mac and Cheese
1 twist tie baggie half full of powder milk - no directions - I never used it. I would never buy a box that was cut open or leaking in the store either.
1 small bag of rice
1 box hamburger helper - no hamburger to put in it
1 can of pinto beans
1 can of corn
1 box jiffy corn bread mix
I live in the Northwest,beef and potatoe country and I had never ever heard of those before. {These got donated back to a food bank, at The Cans Film Festival,[you donate canned food to see a movie free.]}
1 can of black eyed peas
1 can yellow hominy
1 can of spinach - What? ewwwwww

This box of food was no help at all. There were missing ingredients, and nothing went with anything else to make a meal.

 

[IDoDis]

Since the study was $20 per person, I'm assuming a family of just me.

I read the OP's question as being $20 for a family of five, not $20 per person. Is that correct or am I confused?

 

[Starlady01]

Beans (2 bags) 1.50
Rice (2 bags) 1.00
Romaine noodles (case) 4.80
Oranges I grow my own (Free)
Banana's I grow my own (Free)
Eggs 2.00 From save a lot by the flat for 2.00
Flour 2.00
Syrup 1.30
Bacon (2 packs ) 4.00 To season the beans
Jiffy corn muffin mix(4 boxes) 1.00 I love this with my beans and rice.
Trip to the local food charity place to pick up bread and other staples they may be giving out that week. They always got bread Hopefully Peanut butter

I can make Pancakes from from scratch and a cake since I already have Vanilla flavoring at home.
If I got enough money left over walmart has the 12 pack of microwave popcorn for 2.98 I think it is.

The following week I would possibly exchange the romaine noodles and get spaghetti , spaghetti sauce along with a jar of peanut butter.

I've always been poor most of my life and the salvation Army or catholic social sevice give out food(monthly goverment give away gives you a can of beef and or chicken, the beef is great for making sloppy joes and the chicken is great for either chicken and dumplies or cassarole).


The dryed milk is better if you half and half it with another gallon of milk or add chocolate milk or chocolate power to it.

Always remember when using food stamps you don't pay taxes so this could mean and extra 50 cents for an extra 2 box of jiffy corn mix or other item.