Well, I started planning my shop for the Welfare Food Challenge next week (starts October 16, 2012).
I have only spent $20.23 of my $26 budget (78% of my budget).
Basically, I had to shop at 3 local grocery stores and have just 20% left on the budget to spend. I needed to keep a little extra room in the budget for when the new flyers come out next week. I have most of the meals planned but I left some room for the last few days.
One of the major challenges I had with an ingredient list was the balance of needs and wants. I love fresh fruit (pineapple, bananas, strawberries), but no room was available in the budget. I ended up with apples, and great looking oranges.
I also found that getting fat in my diet would be important so instead of buying a fresh fillet of salmon or frozen, I bought 2 cans of wild salmon (from Alaska) and 1 avocado.
I have not decided to buy rice and potatoes to avoid an over-concentration of starch in the diet.
I love to eat eggs so this week it will be fun to try so many different ways to prepare eggs (I plan to surprise myself)!
The grocery shop, took more time than I thought. It gave me more appreciation of how much time is required for someone with a limited grocery budget to plan effectively.
Here is my ingredient list:
| Item | Price | Total | Store |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avocado | Avocados $0.67 each | $0.67 | Walmart |
| Cinnamon (Bulk) | $1.34/100g | $0.54 | Save-on-Foods |
| Apples (MacIntosh) | $.58 /lb | $1.07 | Oxford Foods |
| Carrots | $1.79 for 3 lb. | $1.79 | Walmart |
| Dried Lentils | Green Lentils | $1.79 | Walmart |
| Curry Spice (bulk) | 1.79/ 100g | $0.36 | Save-on-Foods |
| Eggs (Dozen) | $2.67 | Walmart | |
| Broccoli | Not purchased yet. | ||
| Cabbage (Green) | 1.01 kg $.49/lb | $2.16 | Walmart |
| 1 570g loaf of 100% wholewheat bread | 0.98 | $0.98 | Oxford Foods |
| 10 lb of potatoes | Not purchased yet. | ||
| 1 lb of onions | .62 /kg | $0.6 | Oxford Foods |
| Quinoa (bulk) | Not purchased yet. | ||
| Wild Salmon (Can) 213g tin | 0.98 | $1.96 | Oxford Foods |
| Seedless Oranges $0.77 lb | $0.77/lb | $2.58 | Walmart |
| Rolled Oats | $.39/100g | $2.06 | Save-on-Foods |
| 1 Can Tomatoes | Great Value Canned Tomatoes $1.00 each | $1 | Walmart |
| Total | $20.23 |
Some of the meals planned include: Lentil Burgers, Frittata, Onion Soup, and Cabbage Rolls.
What are your thoughts?
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25 Comments
I think you’re on the right track in terms of semi-vegetarian diet to keep costs down. Have you considered dried split green peas for soup or dried bulk chickpeas for homous?
Fruits and veggies are great but they don’t keep your tummy full very long. I have been on Welfare before, with a toddler and baby. You are going to need whole grains, complex carbs to keep you full. Try bulk bins for granola, any kinds of flax seeds you can add to cereal or sandwich. Think of it as trail mix. Peanut butter is pure protien, tuna and potatoes will keep you full longer than rice.
The food bank is where you will have to get your extras, sugar salt, peanutbutter and they always give you KD and a can of tuna. You will need it.
When you are receiving Welfare you quickly realise that you must accept any help you are offered and be thankful. It is a disgrace that one of the wealthiest countries in the world has our most vulnerable living like 3rd world citizens. Minimum wage isn’t much better. I’m a nurse. I was in between my EI claim and long term disability claim.
I have been on welfare and and currently on disability in BC. Here we get 1100 a mth plus we can earn another 800 a mth with no deductions. Being on disability has made a huge difference because of the extra money I am able to make ends meet and eat properly. I eat everything fresh and use canned and packeged foods rarely. If you are able to cook for yourself this will make a huge difference for you. ground beef is cheap and the superstore has some great deals on some products in these 10$ bags in the frozen section and frozen veggies are usually on sale weekly. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO GET BY ON THE MONEY YOU GET AS A WELFARE CLIENT. WHEN YOUR RENT IS $375 AND YOU ONLY HAVE LESS THAN $150 LEFT FOR THE MTH FOR FOOD AND BILLS YOU HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO USE FOOD LINES AND FOOD BANKS.At least for me after my rent and bills are paid I still have close to 600$ left for the mth. It makes me sad to think that people are out there starving on welfare.
I think this looks much healthier than what most of us eat on a weekly basis – the processed foods are the expensive things, and if you have the staples and “google” you can make lots of satisfying treats. Looks like you have all the ingredients for a lovely vegetable stew!
My goal is to eat GMO free for 2 adults – a tough squeeze for 26.00/week. But I am determined.
Hetty, I think it would be $26 per person, so you would have $52 to spend for the week. Just a thought.
Oh, and I meant to say, great job on the variety of menu items. I like that you’re showing that you don’t have to eat boxed KD when on a budget. It would be interesting to see someone do this for a family of four, with $100 to spend each week. I think that’s a bit easier, because you can get the price breaks on larger quantities of some things. I’m looking forward to seeing how this plays out.
Holly,
I currently have a family of 3 and altho we have a lot of money to spend on groceries we definitely do under $100 a week for groceries and still eat organic meats, lots of fresh veggies etc. I do coupon A LOT…but under $100 is definitely doable…check out my blog 241b0g0.blogspot.com
Curious as to why you had to go to three stores? If it’s a matter of one store not having an item, I completely understand, as I have that happen to me quite often, which frustrates me to no end. I agree that someone who is actually on assistance might not have a car. Maybe that’s something to plan into one of the weeks: how to adjust if you can’t find/get something at one store.
I wondered how you would do nutrition wise, but seems like you have everything covered. Good luck
Did you purchase reduced items? We can’t even get bread on the reduced rack for under a dollar. Thanks for the update on your progress.
Nice! I think it’s very doable, as Brian and I always shop at $100 per person per month… and we usually have money left over to splurge! I suggest doing stirfrys to use up veggies found on-sale and making your own sauce with end-of-season tomatoes. Good luck!
During university, I spent a summer living with friends. Out of interest, I gave myself a $100 food budget to survive one of the months. This was back in 07 but, honestly, it was easy. If I had kids or a partner to support, $100 would be near-impossible — but welfare rates are adjusted for dependents. I wasn’t even 1/10th as creative as you. I ate a lot of bread, canned meat, and Mr. Noodle.
I have actually never eaten canned meat (that I know of) and had Mr Noodle at a friend’s place in university (I was lucky I lived at home during school – 20 minute walk).
I know what you mean about having dependents or any special diet (very challenging if not impossible to eat healthy).
I honestly enjoy this challenge coming up.
If you do decide to try canned meat, keep in mind there’s a difference between “canned ham” and “canned luncheon meat”. Canned ham is literally ham in a can – very salty, but nothing too nefarious. If fry up a slice and pop into into a baguette with fried egg and tomato, it’s pretty tasty…
Canned luncheon meat, or “spam” is a mechanically separated grab bag of chicken, pork bits. No redeeming value, as far as I’m concerned!
Great Shop Steve! I just got in from doing the shopping and will post my first post on the blog. Tomorrow I will post the actual shop in The Grocery Game Challenge. It should be an interesting week but today brought on quite a bit of emotion for the 2 of us. Looking forward to your week mate. Cheers Mr.CBB
mmm love onion soup and even the kids love it too. They even love hamburger soup, and we try to use leftovers constantly here or try to do a menu where if we have taco’s one day, the left over meat/sauce combo can be used in spag sauce the next day. I think if you can buy veggies as you need them it works better, otherwise I find that they can go bad quite fast
The onion soup sounds interesting. I’m curious to see how you make it. The quinoa is defiantly a great nutritious choice with the leftover cash although no coffee is going to be tough! I’d be more inclined to get the caffeine fix.
LOL, you and me both Lina! Good Luck Steve
Don’t forget, most people on welfare don’t have cars. So going to 3 different stores by walking/bus might be quite a challenge!
I’m on disability, and my food budget is $50 a month for one person. I’m lactose intolerant, sensitive to gluten, allergic to eggs and chicken, sensitive to nuts, I have oral allergy syndrome, and I cannot eat most food products without vomiting blood (my stomach is shot to hell), all of which makes eating on a budget of $50 a month very hard.
Do you have any advice for eating on that little a month? Right now I’m having to fast for the last week and a half of a month due to an empty pantry!
I don’t have inexpensive grocery stores here, like Wal-Mart, No Frills, Food Basics. I have a Freshmart only. I don’t know what to do. :(
Hi Jen,
This is a tremendous challenge for you. I would recommend seeking out more gluten-free recipes with an emphasis on lactose-free ingredients. We don’t drink much dairy anymore but you will see more and more alternatives pop-up. You will find more people online with a restrictive diets so the information is out on the Internet.
Best wishes!
Hi Jen,
I am not sure if you are aware, maybe you already receive it. If you are on disability in Ontario anyway, there is a supplement for special diet requirements. I believe that you need a Dr’s. note to go to your disability worker, but they will give you a little more money (not sure how much) to help you with your special diet requirements. I understand how tough it is, I have been on disability for a few years. Good luck and take care!
Some of those items are a bargain. 67 cents for an avacado is really hard to find in Vancouver. Sounds like an interesting challenge. Soup is good. Drinking lots of water will help make you feel not hungry. Good luck!
I usually drink about 2L of water during the week – but I will need to increase this to 2.5-3L of water because I fear I will be hungry during this challenge.