How much do you spend in groceries each month?

[ltlmrs]

A few threads here got me thinking, "how much do people actually spend each month on food?" The USDA "thrify" plan has $507/month for a family of four (with kids 2 and 5), which seems like a whole lot to me since they are not calculating this based on organic and pastured food.

Please post
a) How much you spend each month
b) What sort of foods do you buy: organic/conventional (which items), pastured/conventional, raw, etc.
c) Where do you shop?

For me:
a) In a great income month we spend around $400 for DH, me and Ladybug (2), at the moment my budget is $300 and we'll probably stick to it.
b) We buy mostly organic dirty dozen, conventional everything else, pastured eggs and poultry, either conventional or pastured beef (depending on the budget that month) and organic grains/legumes. We also drink mostly raw milk but we're cutting that down as the budget gets tighter.
c) We order our grains/beans in bulk. We get chickens and eggs from a farmer and have a cow share for milk. Most of our produce comes from the CSA right now and the stuff I can't get through CSA I get from a chain grocery store that has some organic items. My mom lets me tag along on a Costco trip twice a month for cheese, butter, sour cream, peanut butter, juice & frozen fruit for smoothies. If I get conventional meat I usually get it at Costco or on sale at a regular chain. The only thing I get at WF these days seems to be coffee. There's no TJ's near by

[Chamomile Girl]

Wow, I'm really impressed you can get all of that with just $300. I think we probably spend closer to $400, some months more some less. Honestly its usually more, although we have been eating garden tomatoes like gangbusters lately so that's helping. I shop at Trader Joe's and Costco (and some stuff, like coconut oil I can only find at Whole Foods). We eat a ton of eggs, probably two dozen plus a week so the eggs alone run us about $40 a month. I can't afford pastured...around here they want like $8-$10 a dozen for them. Crazy.

I buy organic everything if I can find it for a good price. Usually if I can't find organic I go without. I try to buy local stuff as much as possible as well...easy to do where I live. I get most of my produce from the farmer's market or from my garden, and we make as much food as we can from scratch. No boxed dinners. Its been to hot to bake bread so I've been buying that...but in the colder months I do that too. We eat mostly vegetarian.

Our grocery budget also covers lunches, which is tricky because my DH eats A LOT. Seriously, he is never full. So we feed him lots of high fat foods like cheese and stuf cooked with lots of butter which helps.

Sorry this is all over the place...I should just go to bed already!

[karika]

I don't know how you get all that with that little money OP! We get $450 in FS for the 4 of us and it is not enough (xdh was laid off months ago and can't find a job). We eat organic, GFCFSF and us girls have gone nearly vegan (still having organic free range eggs, some salmon(once a month) and dd1having some chicken breast, like once a week). I have figured out I am celiac so I need to stay GF. We buy pasta sometimes which is expensive for GF, and the Udi's bread is expensive, but I save all that for the dds... I made my own refrigerator jam from discounted strawberries and buy ground peanuts instead of peanut butter... We are probably spending around $600 (I say probably because I only shop with the card, anything over that is bought by dd1's father, my xdh- roommate and parenting partner, he keeps up with all the receipts, not me). and that doesn't even allow us to get the coconut ice cream we like.... I shop at our local organic store, and they have a small installation inside a bigger regular store (their parent company) down here near me, and sometimes xh goes to another major chain that has an organic section. I just found a local farmer's market that has food at it (the others I found were plants and jam and bread, etc) and I did buy some organic stuff there last week. They take FS but I used cash xh gave me because the card was all used up. We don't buy any convenience foods except corn chips and rice crackers to eat with homemade guacamole... I need to figure out how to spend less, guess I will read this thread again soon...

[ChristyMarie]

a) How much you spend each month

My goal is under $800. 2 adults, 1 child, 1 grandma who is over just about every weekend.

b) What sort of foods do you buy: organic/conventional (which items), pastured/conventional, raw, etc.

Mostly conventional, some organic but I don't really worry about it too much. I buy food. LOL. Um, meats, fresh veggies and fruits, grains. I think my splurges are sparkling water; kashi, zone and luna bars; some organic snacks DS loves, brown rice pasta.

c) Where do you shop?

Jewel and Costco with occassional trips to Trader Joe's and Fresh Market.

[amyjeans]

with a family of 6, and 1 big dog we spend between 6-800$ per month.
We try to stay with meat/fruit/veggies as we are semi-Paleo diet. (Went off it due to outrageous cravings during this pregnancy)
We shop at a butcher shop for meats when we can afford it, and at Pricerite (2nd hand grocery)

[MaddieMay]

How much you spend each month

If I had to be totally honest, I'd say close to $800/month. That's for DH, me (pregnant), and DS who eats as much as I do. The number includes expensive dog food and paper products like TP and diapers.

What sort of foods do you buy: organic/conventional (which items), pastured/conventional, raw, etc.

Organic when possible, but we're probably 50/50 at best due to availability. We do buy some convenience items.

Where do you shop?

Military commissary and farmer's market.

[Youngfrankenstein]

a) I have $860 budgeted a money for our family of 6. (Youngest is still a baby)

b) I buy quite a combo of stuff. A lot of organic. I spend more on "better" meats. I buy a little junk food but what's on sale. I'm like ChristyMarie.

c) Now I mostly shop at a major grocery store since my pregnancy and birth. As this little one gets a little older, I will be going back to my old routine of hitting the discount grocery first, then the major store right after. I also shop at BJ's Warehouse club about once a month for mostly non-food staples.

[Coconut Chronicles]

Originally Posted by ltlmrs

Please post
a) How much you spend each month
b) What sort of foods do you buy: organic/conventional (which items), pastured/conventional, raw, etc.
c) Where do you shop?

a) 400 to 500 a month depending on time of year, whether we have family visiting etc.

b) Organic (pasteurized) milk, cheese, yogurt, eggs, greens and meat (when we eat it). The rest we buy conventional.

c) Publix (southern chain grocery store), Whole Foods, farmers market, Chamberlains (local natural food grocery), local West Indie market and Costco for bulk items.

[SubliminalDarkness]

a) How much you spend each month
$650. 2 adults, 2 growing boys! (and a lot of dinner guests. I also prepare lunch for a friend/DH's co-worker every day)
b) What sort of foods do you buy: organic/conventional (which items), pastured/conventional, raw, etc.
Mostly organic.... some local/organic. All produce, dairy, and grains are organic. 90% of meat is pastured/antibiotic-hormone free. Eggs are cage free/antibiotic free, but not organic. The only thing that's truly conventional is filler items, like seltzer water for DH and anything the natural foods market might not have, like occasionally an herb I need.
c) Where do you shop?
Natural foods grocery store, Earth Fare to be specific. Occasionally Food Lion for the filler items.

ETA: It slipped my mind that our milk isn't organic. It is local, non-homogenized, and hormone/antibiotic free. Organic is the same price, but it's not local and it's homogenized.

[Alyantavid]

a) How much you spend each month
between $300-$400

b) What sort of foods do you buy: organic/conventional (which items), pastured/conventional, raw, etc.
all of the above. I buy very few processed foods, but I do buy some. We raise our own meat and some produce so that lowers my bill alot. When I shop, I stock up on things when they're on sale.

c) Where do you shop?
Mostly our little chain grocery store. We do go to Fred Meyer a few times a month for some non-dairy items since they have them at the best price.

[The4OfUs]

a) How much you spend each month
I budget $125-150 a week for our family of 4 (2 adults, a 6yo boy and a 4yo girl) This also includes basic household toiletries/cleaning supplies. Sometimes we're closer to 100, if it's a week I'm not buying meat or replenishing staples or getting toiletries.


b) What sort of foods do you buy: organic/conventional (which items), pastured/conventional, raw, etc.
Try to do the dirty dozen organic and mostly do (couldn't find organic grapes for a while at the store I shop at); the cost of organic dairy and meat kills me; and I'm having a hard time getting over it. I need to just take the plunge and make cuts elsewhere. I mostly "perimeter shop" and don't buy a ton of processed stuff on interior aisles - we do have our favorite snacky kind of stuff we buy packaged, but actual meals are 95+% from scratch.

c) Where do you shop?
Almost exclusively at one of the regional chains here in the MidAtlantic. On occasion, I'll go to the even smaller local chain a few blocks from the house, if we're out of something we need for a specific meal and I don't feel like driving across town.

[Caneel]

We spend a lot on food. I tracked expenses a year or two ago and I think it was in the $700 range, maybe more, for 2 adults and a young child. We entertain a lot so we are actually feeding more then just the three of us.

I buy very little processed foods, meats are from the farm and aren't necessarily organic but are grass fed, free range. The last round of chickens I bought were $4-$5 per pound. We rarely eat out.

I know our food bills are lower now because I intentionally avoid some of the pricey things I used to buy without a thought.

One thing that I don't read about in these types of threads is that some people simply need more food then others. I am amazed when I read about how some families can get two or three (sometimes more!) meals out of a roast chicken.

Seriously, a roast chicken of average size is one meal in our house. My DH is physically active during the day and barely grazes for breakfast and lunch, so come dinner time he packs away the food. We rarely have leftovers.

I have girlfriends who also have partners in the construction trades who say the same thing, their guys are bottomless pits at the table because they burn so many calories during the day.

[rhiOrion]

Probably around 600 for two of us (I'm baby doesn't eat solids yet).

I need to reign this in, as the additional expenses of having a baby (day care, etc) have made money very very tight. We're spending a lot more than we're bringing in, and that's bad.

I buy a mix of organic, non organic, processed, non processed, etc.

I mostly shop at Kroger. But sometimes whole foods or trader joes.

[dealic]

We have been spending $200 a month for DH and I, conventional foods, local grocery stores. It was tough.

As of this month we are spending $300 a month, plus buying half a cow and some chickens. So we will have organic grass fed beef, organic chicken, organic vegetables from the CSA. Then having the same $200 a month left over for grocery stores, and we will see what we can get with it after we no longer need to get meat or the bulk of our vegetables. Hopefully more ogranic ingredients, free run eggs, etc. Haven't found a source for local eggs yet.

[ChristyMarie]

Originally Posted by Caneel

One thing that I don't read about in these types of threads is that some people simply need more food then others. I am amazed when I read about how some families can get two or three (sometimes more!) meals out of a roast chicken.

Seriously, a roast chicken of average size is one meal in our house. My DH is physically active during the day and barely grazes for breakfast and lunch, so come dinner time he packs away the food. We rarely have leftovers.

We get 2-3 meals out of a chicken.

First night is just chicken.

Second is either tacos, casserole, soup, etc. This is less meat per person than just eating a chicken breast.

Third is soup if there's enough left or at least stock. Depends on how big the chicken was.

[Youngfrankenstein]

I forgot we are also in a spring/summer CSA with an egg share which was $700 for the season.

[Amys1st]

First, great thread! We are a fam of 4. DH, myself, and our 2 girls aged 4 and 8. Right now, we are averaging around $550 a month. Some months can be as low as $400 and some as high as $600. I track our grocery receipts and invoices from our deliveries.

How much you spend each month?

It varies month to month mainly, such as summer vacation I have snacks in mid morning, later on in the afternoon etc. When school is in session, DD1 takes a lunch most days to school and its usually a sandwich like turkey or cheese plus 2 pieces of fruit, some chips etc. DD2 on thursdays goes to a PDO program and has to bring a "commercially prepared lunch". So I have a few pieces of turkey in the deli bag she can roll up for lunch plus a yogurt drink, bag of chips and a piece of fruit.



What sort of foods do you buy: organic/conventional (which items), pastured/conventional, raw, etc.

We purchase a side of grass fed local grown beef in Jan/Fed from another MDC mama's father the farmer.
We purchase a full pork in Nov each year
Both together and adding picking up, freezing all year, its about $1300 a year or avg about $111 per month I factor into my monthly grocery spending.

We have two places locally that does a produce box and dairy delivery which is organic or hormone free milk and eggs (from ill) and the produce is all organic. One place focuses on local, the other tends toward organic produce so some is from Ca, sometimes foreign etc. I get deliveries from either place at least 3 times monthly. It averg about $40 per deliver with produce box and my dairy order.

Where do you shop?

Aside from my deliveries, I make a Trader Joes run and Aldi run about twice a month since they are right next to each other.

I go to our local grocer about 1-2 times monthly as well for anything like canned goods or their deli for school lunches I make daily.

I buy our bread from the local bakery to support them.

[honeybunmom]

I budget $600, but probably spend closer to $700/$725. I'm in the city and we're a family of 4. Baby is 17 mos, but, he's a whole foods and bm eater!

I shop primarily at Whole Foods and this summer, our local Farmer's Markets for veggies. I do shop one of our local chains for Breyer's ice cream, organic cheese (much cheaper than Organic Valley at WF), D&D coffee beans, bread (often 2 for 1 on whole wheat with no HFCS), some organic veggies and some fruits and veggies not on the dirty dozen. For instance, the price on their organic bell peppers is always cheaper than WF. Plus, this place is just across the intersection from WF, so, time wise and gas wise, it's not a big add on to go there as well.

We get our beef and chicken through a local farmer and pick it up once a month. This also includes 4 dozen eggs. If I run out or need something else on the meat or egg front, back to WF I go. We only eat organic eggs and grass fed beef and hormone free chicken.

I'm also in a raw milk co-op, but rarely have it together to get my order in on time. I can get cow and goat milk, cheese and butter products through it. Plus, my kids don't drink much milk. When they do, it OV vanilla or chocolate.

We were also blessed this summer with some of our next door neighbor's string beans and tomatoes from her garden!

[damona]

a) How much you spend each month?

we get $765 in FS for the 6 of us, and that's usually gone by the 3rd week of the month. i also get about $20/week for the farmers market, and i've learned to bargain hard!

b) What sort of foods do you buy: organic/conventional (which items), pastured/conventional, raw, etc.?

i buy organic strawberries and tomatoes in season, and some of the other stuff. i would love to get organic everything, but sometimes... is it worth it to get the organic grapes that are $6 a pound and flown in from south america, or better to get the regular ones that are $1or $2 a pound and grown in my region, but they may have been treated? i tend to opt for the cheaper ones and just wash stuff well.

i usually get local eggs, cheese and meat at the farmer's market, but i buy some meat at the grocery store, too. i haven't bought eggs at the grocery store in months, the ones from the farmers market are so great and she usually gives them to me for $4/18 eggs. i also get deals on local beef and chicken since i know the lady that runs that stand pretty well now.

i don't get too much stuff that is processed. i buy some chips, some cereal and gogurts (my oldest would go on strike without these). gf pasta is expensive, but it's one thing i just haven't got the hang on making from scratch. lunch meat, cheese spread and a couple varieties of crackers are the other processed stuff i buy most often. other than that, i mostly do stuff from scratch.

c) Where do you shop?

aldi's, walmart (boo, hiss, but it's what's here), or a local-ish grocery in the "city" 30 miles away, depending on what day my son has therapy in the city. sometimes i'll hit sam's or costco if i have extra cash to buy a few things in bulk. farmer's market.

[applecider]

a) How much you spend each month

I try to spend between $350 and $400 for but it is usually closer to $400. This is for me, DP, DS5, and DS1

b) What sort of foods do you buy: organic/conventional (which items), pastured/conventional, raw, etc.

We buy organic dirty dozen, organic chicken, regular cheese, raw milk, pastured eggs when I can, otherwise organic, very little processed foods

c) Where do you shop?

grains/legumes in bulk from Azure Standard (also where I get coconut and olive oil in large quantities), sometimes shop at Costco for good deals on organic produce (which I preserve, dry or freeze)also buy organic chickens there, local co-op for pastured eggs and raw milk, I garden for veggies, otherwise buy at the co-op or store, get 1/4 grass-fed beef from a farmer.