This week, from June 2-10, I’m participating through the Food Stamp Challenge along with at least 75 others who registered at BeCentsAble to participate. You can read more about the challenge here.
According to a document available through this link at Harvesters, the maximum food stamp benefit my family of three would receive is $102 a week. However, the maximum food stamp amount an individual could receive is $38 and the average amount residents in Kansas and Missouri actually receive is little more than half that, $20. Given that information, I decided to set our grocery budget for the week at $50. Generally, this is around the amount my family spends on weekly groceries, but I am hopeful that by using a little creativity and all the savings strategies I’ve been practicing over the last year, I can stretch that amount to not only buy enough food to feed my family for a week but also purchase several items to donate to those who are truly in need.
I haven’t done any grocery shopping for this week yet. We’ve been busy visiting with family in town and working on house projects so I simply haven’t had the time. We also have several items in the freezer and pantry to eat up so shopping is not yet a necessity. I’ll share details from my shopping trip if I do end up going.
Today we kept our meals simple. We ate cereal from the stockpile for breakfast, had lunch with a friend who graciously picked up the tab, and I made omelets for dinner. Eggs are an inexpensive source of protein, and our toddler’s favorite. I picked up a dozen for $0.79 and made three omelets out of five eggs (cost $0.33). I added about 1/2-3/4 cup of grated cheddar and grated Parmesan cheese to all three omelets (cost $0.50). We also ate about half a bag of Green Giant Steamers red potatoes and green beans from the freezer. It’s the last bag of the Steamers I got for free after combining a sale and coupon a couple of months ago. Anna and I drank milk with dinner and my hubby had orange juice (cost $0.50). The total cost for this meal was less than $1.50. It was really easy and really good! Somehow I think the cloth napkins make the meal seem more fancy than the eggs and frozen veggies it really is.
How are the rest of you doing so far?
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