I would dive into the reduced bins to see what was marked off. I did this recently & picked up several bags of organic meals for $1.50 each.

My thoughts exactly. A temporary helping hand...

We all could do better spending our money. Everything is getting way overpriced. I use coupons when I can.

oh deleted my rant

What I bought would depend on what is on sale-- and what coupons I can find. When I was first married, I had $20 for groceries for the month for the two of us. I would buy what I could get discounted, but we ate grilled cheese and hot dogs a lot (since they were cheap). With the rising prices of everything and the increased withholding from our retirement income, I am having to start counting my pennies again.

yet

Beans, lentils and dried peas are a cheap, healthy base to build on. Soups, chili, lentil sloppy joe's, salads, and burritos are a few of the meals you can make with them. I would add brown rice next, oats, peanut butter, potatoes, onions, and then whatever veggies and fruits are in season. Right now squash and apples are in season and cheap.
Avoiding the processed crap is a lot cheaper and healthier. As a long-time vegetarian, I can tell you that eating healthy can be done on a limited budget if you eat a whole foods plant-based diet.

wk 1. 5$ worth of any meat on sale, 5$for flour and yeast, 5$ for any fresh veggies/fruit on sale, 5$ for onsale/cheapest pnut butter and butter, cheapest eggs on sale (use the eggs to cook with, not for hard boiled or eating everyday)

wk 2. 5$ any meat on sale, 5$ worth of noodles on sale, 5$ for 5 1$ store brand spices: onion pd, garlic pd, italian spice mix, cinnamon, any other I liked. (I would think everyone has salt and pepper)

wk 3. 5$ any meat on sale, 5$ any canned veggies on sale (we currently have a store selling peas, corn, tomatoes, grn beans for .50C a can), 5$ cheapest process cheese on sale, 5$ sugar on sale, if any money left here cheapest tea bags on sale.

wk 4. 5$ canned or dried beans (canned black beans can be crushed w/ a fork and mixed in by half with ground meat to make burgers, meatloaf, or meatballs - any leftover veggie can be added here if ground down or added to a pot of soup) / lentils/barley on sale, 5$ canned tuna/salmon on sale, 5$ coffee on sale (only if you can't live w/o it - I cant!), 5$ for as much boullion I could get on sale chicken, beef, ham, vegetable bases)

you should also work in some breakfast cereal like slow cook oatmeal, some dried fruits, some concentrated on sale store brand juices, store brand cream soups, basic all purpose vitamins. make a list of everything and then break it down with store flyers, if you shop and see something you have for next week to buy, on close out now buy it instead, switch out, be flexible.
all processed food (except for the cheese) is off the list! milk is only necessary for small kids and babies, buy vitamin D, in the long run its cheaper -

go to the library or online and find some basic cookbooks, if you dont know how to cook then learn - it actually is cheaper when you have a stocked cupboard (with the basics for spices, flours , sugars etc) to cook at home. Find a cookbook that says meals in 5 or 4 ingredients or less. you re not going for gourmet here, you want to eat the cheapest most nutritious you can on 20$ a week.

Find out how many calories you actually need to live and cut back on the food, never waste a mouthful and dont throw away leftovers. If you do it properly you shouldnt have leftovers.

Living like this isn't a game, there are so many people having to live day to day now lie this - a lot of them never had to before and are a bit shell shocked by it all. sharet

I would buy a box of oatmeal, a package of noodles, a small bag of rice, a small package of cheese slices, a loaf of bread, a couple of onions, one pound of hamburger, a couple of small cans of tomato sauce and a couple of cans of tomato soup.

Menus for the week would be oatmeal for breakfast. Neither of us eat lunch so suppers would be noodle goulash, grilled cheese and tomato soup and rice mess.

Rice mess is rice, a little bit of hamburger and tomato sauce and seasonings.

I lived on a pretty limited food budget when my kids were growing up. We got paid once a month so I had to really make things stretch.

Nobody has mentioned planting something to eat. You can raise a little food stuffs in planter pots even. And grow some around flowers in their beds. Then there's dandelions that can be dug up, cut low and replanted in pots or planter beds where dogs don't get to.
Onion roots can be replanted and re-grow for the rest of your life, as do most all of that family. Tomatoes and other veggies can be planted..save a few seeds of some you buy.