Food Costs

[CalCare]

Omg ha! Our organic milk gallon is like 5.99-6.99.

[hwichlaz]

Cost of living in a small town....eesh,

$1000 per month for 6-8 kids, plus my 17-year-old, myself...and my 7-year-old. Food program covers about $500 of that consistently.

Our grocery prices are higher because of fuel surcharge...we don't have any major highways or a freeway through our county.

[hwichlaz]

I spend so much more than everyone here. I don't understand how you do it. I always feel like I'm going as cheap as I can, too. For example, what yogurts do you use? What eggs? I have to buy really good yogurt - brown cow. And I do free range (not cage free) eggs. I feel like I get generic sugar, flour, canned beans... Chicken, I do buy free range or sometimes when I feel the bills are just too much, I buy conventional chicken... Do I just have to drop all that to make it work? Bread, I use Milton's whole grain. Cheese, I do buy shredded cheap cheese for the sake of time and money. Cold cuts, I buy, again, pricey ham which is like Applegate or similar - it doesn't have all the additives or anything. I do buy generic whole grain pasta and generic brown rice. I don't usually buy organic fruit and veg, too expensive. We have no Aldi's and our TJ's which people say is supposed to be equivalent, just isn't equivalent! TJs costs more than others and their produce is always bad. Help me learn the magic ways of spreading my food dollars!

Mine's expensive too. I'm not brand loyal or organic...I'll buy local over organic, and organic for produce on the dirty dozen list...but if it's too much more than conventional we just don't get to have it. Sticking with in season produce helps. I only serve 100% whole grain bread, pasta, cereals, and brown rice, quinoa, etc. Non-organic dairy. But I get a mid range price on dairy. There's a semi local company, Clover, that my step dad worked for. He says they use organic practices even with their non-certified herds, and the cattle all get to graze on green pasture every day.

The only yogurt that it flavored that meets the new food program regs in Oct, that doesn't have artificial sweeteners and is available to me is Chobani. Otherwise, I have to flavor the plain stuff myself.

I save money by serving mostly vegetarian meals and cooking from scratch. I save the meat proteins for fishy Fridays and my own family's dinner. The kids eat a lot of eggs, cheese, beans, yogurt, for their protein. Then on Fridays, I rotate between tuna sandwiches (tuna melts in winter) and salmon patties.

After standing in the aisle and reading forever, I found a cereal that is 100% whole grain and has less than 6 grams of sugar per dry ounce (new regs) that's generic. It's the Safeway brand bite sized frosted shredded wheat. The kids will also eat Chex, and the babies are willing to eat plain Cheerios but my older kids just go hungry if I serve it. In winter I make porridge...Old Fashioned Oats, Cream of Wheat, etc.

[Controlled Chaos]

Omg ha! Our organic milk gallon is like 5.99-6.99.

That's what it is here too. Location has so much to do with price.

I am mostly vegetarian here for cost reasons. For protein Monday is eggs, Tuesday beans, wed cheese and then usually another cheese day and Friday is sometimes a meat or eggs again.

[LysesKids]

That's what it is here too. Location has so much to do with price.

I am mostly vegetarian here for cost reasons. For protein Monday is eggs, Tuesday beans, wed cheese and then usually another cheese day and Friday is sometimes a meat or eggs again.

I have to do my veggie meals sans cheese daytime due to a dairy & soy allergy with 2 babes. And I can do eggs on the day my Egg allergy isn't here - thank goodness for Kite Hill Almond "cream cheese" spread - I can do cheese & toast/bagels this way but it is very spendy, so it's a treat, not a weekly. I get my milk directly from a local farm & I make my butter, yogurt and even farmers cheese when I have a little left at end of week - it's actually cheaper to buy directly from XXXX Dairy than it is to buy the same gallon of their milk in the store ( about $5 a month but still)

[hwichlaz]

The cheap milk that the kids won't drink...and neither will I, is just under $4 a gallon. The midline good milk is 5.99. Organic is 7.99

[midaycare]

The cheap milk that the kids won't drink...and neither will I, is just under $4 a gallon. The midline good milk is 5.99. Organic is 7.99

That is horrifying.

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

Around $100-$150 per week for 12 children (1 is our own), my husband, and myself. That includes gluten free items for my own family since we have Celiac Disease (daughter and myself) and are gluten intolerant (husband). I was doing a good job of making Paleo meals for my own family and then it kind of went into the toilet these last few months due to exhaustion. ::
SOME of the items are organic. I shop at Aldi and Sprouts (their sales for organic produce are GREAT!). Someone else is right...if I shop at Walmart my bill is A LOT higher.

Milk is around .99-2.00 a gallon depending on time of the year. Eggs are around .30-1.75 depending on time of the year. Buying only seasonal produce saves me a TON.

I am only open 4 days per week and most children are not present for breakfast (only 1-4, MAYBE). So, we only go through 2 gallons of milk per week since it's mostly at lunch and my own family doesn't drink it.