$13.30 for three days of food

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  • fitmom4lifemfp
    fitmom4lifemfp Posts: 1,575 Member
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    Oh gosh, this is easily done. I found these in the grocery ads.

    2 pounds chicken breast = 4.00 (1.99 a pound)
    small pkg American cheese = 2.00
    small carton milk = 1.50
    eggs - 1.50
    rice - 1.00
    bananas or apples = 1.50, or 2 lbs frozen veggies - 2.00
    loaf of bread - Walmart - 1.00
    (Also there is a 5 pound bag of potatoes, right now at Food Lion for 2 bucks...so there's that too)

    Check out the ads online, and decide what you want. Easy peasy.
  • xmichaelyx
    xmichaelyx Posts: 883 Member
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    ritzvin wrote: »
    ritzvin wrote: »
    ritzvin wrote: »
    mburgess458 wrote: »
    AgidGirl wrote: »
    Rotisserie chicken for sure, you can stretch that to feed you for 4+ meals! Shred all of the meat from the bird and then boil down that bones/carcass and make a soup base for another meal. Get a small bag of beans and rice and you can eat beans and rice w/chicken and then make a bean, rice, chicken soup for another meal.

    Awful advice. You're trying to stretch your money, don't buy something someone else cooked... do you think they do that for free? It's going to be much cheaper to buy a chicken (or chicken pieces) and cook it yourself.

    Precooked food is for convenience. Great if you have more money than time, not a good idea if you're super poor.

    If OP doesn't know how to cook, it's not terrible advice. The rotisserie chickens are usually only slightly more expensive than the raw birds at a lot of groceries (I've seen them range from $4-6 at various stores around here. The raw birds are sometimes just as much) and is more than enough for 1 person for 3 days. (The protein source is expected to be the most expensive item, and will come in at less than half the budget here).

    (I usually get about 11 servings of meat off of one $5 rotisserie chicken. About the same amount I get from a $3-4 pack of chicken thighs, but tastes much better and didn't utilize an extra session of cooking to cook the chicken before I could do meal prep).

    The negative for someone who is truly poor, is the possible requirement to make an extra trip to a higher end supermarket to buy said rotisserie chicken, since you will typically not find them in a discount grocery store like save-a-lot/Aldi's/Price Rite (which is where you would want to do the bulk of your shopping - the price differences on produce (fresh, frozen,canned), rice, beans,... will add up fast if you try to buy the majority of items at the main large supermarket chains).

    It's cheaper to just buy a small chicken and put it in the crockpot, no "high end supermarket" necessary. I do this for 79-cents/lb. and make chili out of everything but the bones. OP could easily eat this for 3 days without going over $13.

  • NewMeSM75
    NewMeSM75 Posts: 971 Member
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    Everyone has great suggestions. My other would be to make extra of what you have for dinner and have it leftover for lunch the next day.

    Pasta and eggs are cheap and very versatile as someone said.


    Also those suggestion eggs mixed with leftover vegetables makes for a frittata which could serve as a dinner one night.

    Utilize leftovers for sure.

    Also look in sales paper for meats on sale.

    You can turn chicken into so many things: also, shredded chicken tacos, in pasta, chicken salad...


    :)
  • chubby_checkers
    chubby_checkers Posts: 2,353 Member
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    https://cookbooks.leannebrown.com/good-and-cheap.pdf
  • LilacLion
    LilacLion Posts: 579 Member
    edited March 2017
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    Go vegan, or at least vegetarian and shop in a store with bulk bins. try to avoid processed and/or prepared food. If you live in a high-income area (where some colleges are) try shopping in a different neighborhood. If Farmer's Markets are an option take advantage of it. $4.43 a day is quite easy where I live if I stay out of restaurants.

    PETA'S Vegan College Cookbook is a great reference and is offered on Amazon. you can sample the book and get some good ideas if you want. It only requires a microwave for cooking any of it. Good luck on the assignment. Good nutrition will help with all your studies.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,136 Member
    edited March 2017
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    Clearance section is a great place to look if you're going to eat/make something on the day, I often pick up mincemeat/chicken at 50% reduction because of the time of day I shop and make chilli or a pasta bake out of it then freeze the portions. Check with supermarket staff what time of day they are doing their reductions.
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
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    store brand bread, noodles, ramen soup, rice, bagged dried beans are some of the off hand staples I can think of that are super cheap

    eggs are probably the cheapest protein you will find
    go with frozen veggies and fruit, typically cheaper that way than fresh
  • RachaelRenk
    RachaelRenk Posts: 116 Member
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    whirlyruns wrote: »
    https://cookbooks.leannebrown.com/good-and-cheap.pdf

    Came here to suggest this. LOVE Good and Cheap.
  • chunky_pinup
    chunky_pinup Posts: 758 Member
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    Rice, Beans, Frozen Veggies.
  • Silentpadna
    Silentpadna Posts: 1,306 Member
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    Jruzer wrote: »
    Not advice per se, sorry OP. But am I the only one who hates these kinds of assignments? I know I've seen this exact assignment here before. It's artificial and agenda-driven.

    The people who are receiving this aid are supposed to use it as "assistance", not as their sole source of support. Those receiving assistance are free to use food banks, to get help from friends and family, and to work part time to earn more money. None of which the students are free to do for the assignment.

    I have a family member who has hit hard times lately, in no small measure because of choices he has made. Because of his circumstances, he doesn't qualify for any public assistance. If he hadn't been able to rely on friends and family for help, he would have starved. Should the students therefore have to live for three days on 0 income?

    You're not the only one who hates these assignments. As a 54 yo male who finally finished a degree a few months ago (a long circuitous route), I was amazed at how different college is now compared to 30+ years ago when I started (and stopped....and started.....and stopped...etc.).

    This is obviously an agenda-driven assignment. Yes it's supposed to give you empathy toward those who don't have it as well. With the inequality buzzword right off the top, it's easy to tell. As that type of assignment, I don't really think the OP is "cheating" in that sense at all. The point of the assignment isn't the type of "research"...it's the supposed eye-opening that students are expected to experience.

    Don't have any particular help to offer here other than to say the internet makes this "research" easy. Lots of great suggestions. The OP is still going to have to find prices for all of the suggested items in this thread.
  • JANAE77035
    JANAE77035 Posts: 1 Member
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    Approx cost:

    One box pasta ($.89)
    One pound brown rice ($.79)
    One can white (cannellini) beans ($.49)
    One can garbanzo beans (chickpeas) ($.49)
    One large jar or can tomato sauce ($2.99)
    Two bags frozen vegetables of your choice ($.99 each)
    Two chicken breasts (or other lean meat) ($1.65)
    *If money is still avail after taxes grab some eggs

    Meals:

    Tuscan-Style Pasta
    Chicken Marinara
    Asian Stir-Fry
    Bean Salad
    Pasta Salad
    Egg w/ rice, boiled eggs, scrambled eggs
  • dpwellman
    dpwellman Posts: 3,271 Member
    edited March 2017
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    I agree: the suggestions are great. Those just starting out trying to eat healthy can get intimidated with how much more expensive "healthy" food can be than "not-quite-so-healthy." Eating right on a budget requires more planning and dedication (stick-to-it-ivness). But once the planning is done and refined, it moves to trying to keep from getting bored with one's food choices.
  • dawnna76
    dawnna76 Posts: 987 Member
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    BREAKFAST: TWO EGGS AND TWO SLICE TOAST W/BUTTER
    LUNCH: MIXED GREEN SALAD WITH TUNA FISH AND DRESSING
    DINNER: RICE AND BEANS ( WHITE RICE WITH DICED TOMATOES AND CHILIES AND BLACK OR RED BEANS)

    at my local grocery store prices are approximately this

    DOZEN EGGS .88 cents
    LOAF OF WHEAT BREAD $2
    1# BUCKET OF ORGANIC MIXED GREENS $5
    CAN OF TUNA .50 cents x 2
    salad dressing store brand $1.50
    RICE IN BULK FOOD SECTION 1# FOR 75 CENTS
    BEANS CANNED (FOR EASY USE) 89 CENTS PER CAN
    CANNED TOMATOES WITH DICED GREEN CHICLES 89 CENTS

    you will only use 6 of the eggs so hard boil the rest and you can eat two a day as a snack. add another piece of bread or two at dinner to scoop up the rice and beans. you can also eat an extra salad with dinner minus the tuna. you may even have left over food after the three days are up. total cost for 3 days $12.91

  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
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    Things I can think of that fall in that limit that would cover you in a multitude of ways:
    Since I feed four people (including 2 teens) on about that per day, its pretty easy to bend that the other way and make something you could eat three days in a row.
    Rice, chicken thighs, eggs, peanut butter, frozen veggies.

    I understand the "no bulk" thing. A lot of times if you're living that close to the edge you find yourself with a bare pantry and no actual cash. However, if you're cooking for a family you're likely to have the family's benefits grouped together, so rather than eating one meal three times you could eat three meals once, which would improve variety and nutrition.

    And there's also a movement afoot to actually disallow food aid recipients from buying in bulk, which I think is stupid, but few people who make the laws understand how food works either.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    Last night for dinner I cooked a pound of pork breakfast sausage ($1.99) and added in a package of shredded cabbage, carrots (slaw mix, marked down as its sell by date is soon for $.89). Seasoned with soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sesame oil from the cupboard. (Does your project allow for items that you buy once but use over time, like seasonings?) Anyhow, that is about $3 plus perhaps $.75 from staple items. (Garlic about $.89 per head and I used a few cloves; ginger I used about 1/20th of it - cost $2.99; soy sauce $1.39 and used only 1 tablespoon, sesame oil $3.39 used 1 tbs.)

    Anyhow that was enough for 4 meals. Hubby & I ate it for dinner and I'm having it for lunch today & tomorrow.

    Other ideas: loaf of bread, peanut butter. Package of uncooked beans. You can buy 3 bananas for $1 or less, to get a little fruit each day.


    sarahaflood wrote: »
    Hi everyone!

    I'm a college student and I am currently in a class that addresses all different types of inequality. For an upcoming project, I have $13.30 (around $4.43 per day) to use to eat for three days (mirrors average assistance in my area).

    I cannot use any food I already have, I cannot eat any free food (from friends, promotions, etc.), and I cannot buy from any restaurants. Unfortunately, I am also not allowed to buy in bulk (even though it would equal out to the correct cost for day).

    For this time period, I will not be too worried about my calorie count or my particular fitness/health goals. I was just wondering if anyone has any ideas or sample meal plans for me?

    Thank you in advance!

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