I have $7 for groceries.

AJinBirmingham

Dried lentils

aepdx

Lentils! Good nutrition for little $. You could make lentil soup with just lentils and water. I would get rice or pasta, marinara and curry sauce can go on either one.

Def. hit up the food shelter, that is what they are there for.

LoosingMyLast15

And they have to last me til March 11th or as long as possible.
I have currently: condiments, feta cheese, marinara sauce, and Indian curry sauce.

What should I buy?

spaghetti, eggs, dry beans, old fashion oatmeal, pizza dough

dwalt15110

Definitely call your church and if you do not have one, call one in your neighborhood. Most of them have a "Friends of the Needy" account and will give you assistance most often in the form of a local grocery gift card.

meshashesha2012

if you have a chinatown near you visit there because you can get 2 dozen eggs for the price of a dozen at a grocery store.

dried beans : black eye peas, pinto beans, black beans are good

if you have a dollar store near you go visit because very often they have canned veggies 2 or 3 for a dollar. especially canned tomatoes, canned green beans and corn.

oatmeal or grits : these are usually cheaper than rice for more quantity.

also keep track of any free food events in your area. for instance i recently went to a thing where there was free brunch but i had to pretend to look at some condos :laugh:


good luck. i've been there before. you WILL be sick whatever you get but i'll go by quickly.

also in the future it's good idea to have some staple stuff in your cabinets for these type of emergencies. i alway try to keep oatmeal, rice, canned tuna and salmon, dried beans, canned tomatoes and beans for when these things come up.

ldrosophila

call your local church or food shelter. don't let shame stop you. when you are in better $ position, donate in return to place that helped you!

Agreed! Go to a few of them if you need to; this is why they exist.

This is a good idea too. Some communities offer low income coops. Some times if you talk to the director and share your story they can wave qalifications if you dont qualify as low income.

I would also look at legumes, beans, rice, canned tuna, sometimes you can find canned vegetables for cheap. Get some flour and some oil you can make tortillas dont even need a rolling pin just shape them. Not the healthiest but if you portion control it plus youll get a mix of protein, fat, and carbs mac and cheese in the box. If you bought 3 boxes for a dollar and portion it out you could get 9 meals out of it.

ldrosophila

if you have a chinatown near you visit there because you can get 2 dozen eggs for the price of a dozen at a grocery store.

dried beans : black eye peas, pinto beans, black beans are good

if you have a dollar store near you go visit because very often they have canned veggies 2 or 3 for a dollar. especially canned tomatoes, canned green beans and corn.

oatmeal or grits : these are usually cheaper than rice for more quantity.

also keep track of any free food events in your area. for instance i recently went to a thing where there was free brunch but i had to pretend to look at some condos :laugh:


good luck. i've been there before. you WILL be sick whatever you get but i'll go by quickly.

also in the future it's good idea to have some staple stuff in your cabinets for these type of emergencies. i alway try to keep oatmeal, rice, canned tuna and salmon, dried beans, canned tomatoes and beans for when these things come up.

oh this is a good idea. Churches often have community dinners.

DollyMiel

I hope you're joking.

Hunger is never a joke.

WeightWatcherCindy

I would get a pound of dry beans , brown rice , eggs and if I could swing it a jar of peanut butter . I wish you luck . That would be hard .

pamelalk

its impossible, sorry but you need some fresh foods to, please contact a church or food bank, i know whats its like to live on a very limited budget..such a hard place for people to be at..good luck

AMYJK7110

I noticed in your profile that you are a full time student. I am assuming it is a University...? If so, please contact someone through school. They can lead you in the right direction so you don't have to go hungry.

Britton12

I agree check out your local food pantry's and church food banks. Also for the future couponing is a great way to get things for FREE!

michelle7673

www.sandiegofoodbank.org

In the short term, I would buy 5lbs of brown rice and a dozen eggs, or a big jar of peanut butter, or a gallon of milk. That isn't likely to last three weeks, but it should cover a week and change, during which time you might be able to work something else out.
In the longer term, if this is a temporary rough spot, I would stockpile a few staples. Your profile says that you are a full time student, so I am not sure what your living conditions are (as in, can you bake, etc)...you can make really good bread out of nothing but flour, yeast and water.

pseudomuffin

Get some rice (mahatma often has manufacturer coupons you can find on the internet, you can get a bag for very cheap/almost free, I suggest jasmine to go with your curry sauce, buy the smallest bags you can with the coupon if it says "any product" because you might be able to get it free), buy a flat of eggs (2 dozen for around $2-$3 and a good source of protein, you can add to curry or ramen for more substance), $1 for a box of a dozen ramen, and look for "manager's special" at the supermarket on the biggest pack of meat you can afford. The meat you can cut into slices and freeze, cooking as little as possible to add to your meals. I also suggest buying few oranges (navel are in season right now and really cheap) and some potatoes (always cheap) and a large onion.

Also, I agree with the church pantry suggestion, LOTS of churches have donation services like this and you can get some canned goods/pasta to supplement your $7. You should do this before you go shopping so you know what to get and don't waste money buying doubles. If you can get all of the non-perishibles from the food pantry, focus on buying fresh stuff like potatoes, onions, some fresh fruit and vegetables, and if you can afford it get a pack of meat on manager's special (make sure your freeze it though, it'll keep it from going bad), so you don't make yourself sick.

Don't be ashamed to ask for help, everyone needs it from time to time. If you're on good terms with your parents, see if they'll give you a loaner until you get back on your feet. See if friends will help you out, in college I'd invite friends over to dinner a few times a week if I knew they were low on grocery money for the month. Good luck! Things will get better.

s07civic

Shop sales at your local markets and find some lettuce and other veggies for cheap. I say this because veggies will fill you up...more bang for your buck :-)

peasantsong

How many people do you have to feed? I hope it is just yourself.

Lentils - $1.00
Potatoes - $1.50
- Make a large pot of lentil soup and it should last you at least 3 days.

Any dried bean - $1.00
a bag of brown rice - $1.00
- Make a large pot of beans and rice and it should also last you at least 3 days.

A large bag or box of noodles - $0.50
- Use the marinara sauce to make the largest batch of pasta you can. There's another 3 days.

A large bag of frozen vegetables - $1.00
- Add to the the curry sauce and the rest of the potatoes to make a large batch of curry. There's 2-3 days.

6 Bags of Ramen - $1.00
- Add some of the frozen vegetables and make enough soup to last 3 days (2 bags of ramen a day)

That's $7 and 15 days food. You can probably stretch that out to the 17 days that you need it to last. I got the prices from what I usually pay for these items when I shop at the dollar tree or at Walmart.

Lastly, if you don't have enough food to eat, please don't be afraid to ask for help. One thing I learned in my life growing up poor is, if nothing else, there is ALWAYS someone willing to feed you if you're hungry and you ask.

sally_jeffswife

I would buy canned beef broth, hamburger,cabbage,stewed tomatoes....make a cabbage soup. It will make alot and is pretty low calories. And then I would check out where your local food shelf is and just make sure to donate yourself when you have more money. Or talk to your church alot of them are willing to help out alot and same thing just donate money back when you have it.

iggyboo93

$7 will not last you for 3 weeks. At best you could buy a bulk box of ramen noodles and a couple dozen eggs. Concur with the other posters - get to a food pantry. The food banks in my town offer quite a variety of fresh produce, dried beans, pasta, peanut butter and tuna. I've been in a place where I had more month than money. Rice, boullion cubes, and eggs got me through some dark days.

rumplesnat

Tuna, eggs, oatmeal.

erg2013

Just wanted to say that I think it is wonderful that so many members put so much thought and care into the responses posted.