How did September get here so quickly?? For the past month I’ve been trying to decide if I was going to attempt last year’s SNAP Challenge again this year. It was a tough decision because the challenge itself was extremely difficult, but also extremely insightful. In the end, I decided to compromise. It’s not the SNAP challenge, but it’s similar. I’m calling it my “September Challenge”.
Why I’m Not Doing the SNAP Challenge
Last year’s SNAP challenge was hosted by Feeding America, but I noticed that this year they had removed all references to the challenge from their website. I’m not sure why they’re not promoting it this year, but not having them backing the challenge makes it difficult for me to explain the concept of the challenge to those who are unfamiliar (and it also stinks because now all the links in last year’s challenge go nowhere).
I also feel like my life is SO different than it was last year and that I don’t think it’s fair to say that I’m attempting to replicate the experience of someone on food stamps. Not only do I have all the “advantages” that I had last year (walking distance to grocery stores, ample kitchen equipment and pantry staples, a lot of cooking experience, no family to care for, etc.), but I also work from home now. So, yeah. I have all day to plan and cook my budget meals. I think it’s borderline insulting to say that I’m going to try to live like I’m on food stamps, because honestly it’s just not even close.
Last year’s SNAP challenge was incredibly insightful into how hunger affected my mental state (stress, concentration, emotional stability) and the social effects of food restriction. I’m not sure doing the challenge again would produce different effects, so I think for the most part, that aspect would just be a rehash. If you haven’t read through last year’s posts, I highly suggest it because I experienced many unexpected mental and social effects that were quite eye opening.
Why I Still Want To Do a Challenge
Doing the SNAP Challenge last year reconnected me to my roots. This blog was born out of my own personal challenge to eat on $6 or less per day, so going back to a regimented grocery budget helped me refocus the efforts of this blog. Some of my favorite recipes came out of that month of restriction because I was forced to really tap into my creativity.
It also forced me to do more menu planning, which is one of my least favorite tasks. I think that was also beneficial to many of you. Seeing how someone else pairs recipes to form complete meals or even a day’s worth of meals can be very helpful.
I like having the opportunity to show you the full picture – the entire grocery receipt, a photo of all the goods purchased, what was eaten each day, and how much it costs ingredient by ingredient versus the actual grocery receipt. The big picture is very important.
What is the September Challenge?
So here is what I decided to do. I’m going to stick to the $4.50/day, $31/week budget because it truly is a challenge. I’m going to do it for the entire month of September. I’m going to flex my creative muscles and use a mix of old and new Budget Bytes recipes to create weekly menus for myself. I’ll share the new recipes, update the old recipes with new prices and photos, and give you a weekly breakdown of what I ate and what it cost me, as well as any insights or struggles I experienced.
I’m going to take full advantage of things I already have on hand because I believe in reducing waste and I want this to be an exercise in clearing out my pantry. This means that the first week or two may have unusually low grocery bills as I use up my own stockpile, but the grocery bills will go up towards the end of the month as I begin to replenish my staples.
I’m going to use this time to recalibrate my grocery and cooking habits and hopefully come up with some new, very budget minded recipes for all of you.
My September Challenge Goals
- Use plenty of dry beans and whole grains
- Don’t forget about protein (I don’t usually concentrate on protein, but I’m doing a lot of strength training lately and I can feel my body craving it).
- Make sure I get both fruit and vegetables every day
- Make room for coffee in the budget this year! Last year I skipped it because I was afraid it would cost too much.
- NOT BE HUNGRY! (that was the biggest challenge last year and I failed miserably)
I hope this exercise is mutually beneficial to both you and me! Remember to follow me on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram) so that you don’t miss links to old recipes that I’ll be updating throughout the month (the first of which will probably be finished tomorrow!).
And as always, feel free to share your thoughts, opinions, and constructive criticism in the comments below. I love hearing what you think!
As a SNAP recipient myself, I find it very commendable that you admitted openly why you are not doing the “SNAP” Challeng” and for acknowledgingthat it CAN seem insulting for certain bloggers/bloggers to say stuff like “oh, see? It’s not THAT bad!” I appreciate the considerate manner in which you addressed this issue, while simultaneously explained WHY you’re doing YOUR “September Challenge “instead. I know this post is like 7 years old now, or more, but it’s still… You are appreciated.
Hi Beth,
Do you intend to do another SNAP challenge this year? I love it!
Hi Tracy, Unfortunately I probably won’t be doing another SNAP challenge because of the way Budget Bytes has grown, I now cook other food outside of my normal weekly needs for other projects, and I live with someone now and can’t exactly impose such a strict diet on them just for an “experiment’s” sake. 😅
I’d love to see another challenge, perhaps for a household of 2 (if that’s your current situation) and how things have changed. I cook for two and try to keep under $100AUD per week, and I still come back to your SNAP + September challenges for inspiration.
I’m planning to do a vegetarian challenge in January, but it will be just me eating (my boyfriend has a lot of stomach issues, so he often can’t eat what I cook) and I’ll have some meal plans out around that time as well, which should be a good starting point for two people! :)
I intended to do this with you this year, but due to family emergencies and illness, the time slipped past me. It seems to me that you have been doing this for at least 3 years, and there are pantry items legitimately left over from previous attempts–spices, baking supplies, etc. For myself and my family, I’m going to use the rest of this month and the first of next month for a pantry raid–only adding a few fresh foods to what is already in the house
I give myself food challenge months a couple times a year. As a prepper I make it part of my training. Last March I only ate from my emergency food stockpile. It wasn’t difficult and I ate well because my pantry, root cellar and freezers are almost always well stocked. I learned what I need to stock more of and what I don’t really use.
Last month I did different challenge. For cooking purposes I pretended the grid was down. All my meals were cooked on a wood fired rocket stove, solar oven or eaten cold. I have a greater appreciation of my propane stove than I had two months ago.
It’s easy to do challenges like these for a few days or a week. A month is completely different. Somewhere in the third week is when it really starts to be challenging. I’ll try the September or the SNAP challenge even though the accounting will be tricky. I grow, forage or hunt more than half of what I eat. When I calculate the cost of a meal how do I account for wild mushrooms or garden herbs and vegetables?
Personally, as those are from nature ingredients/sources they would have zero cost to you.
I have subscribed to your blog for years, and cook your recipes several times a week. I have never commented before but wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your frugal recipes and blog posts.
We are a family of four and my grocery budget each week is between $40-$45. Your recipes have really taught me how to stay within that budget and cook delicious meals. Thank you!
I also lurk but thought I’d take the opportunity to show support. I’m from Sydney Australia so everything I have made from your book/site is maybe 3x as expensive sadly, even shopping at Aldi. Even still it is still much cheaper than other options. I currently live with my family (I’m still at uni) so money isn’t such an issue now but I’m happily saving for later when it will be. What I wanted to mostly say is that I feel this site is teaching me larger life skills that will stick with me into my own family. <3 thank you.
I like challenging myself in similar manners for the same reasons: it forces creativity and helps me to refocus my budgeting goals. It is way too easy when you don’t “have” to to not make wise budgeting decisions.
We are trying to spend as little as possible this month. I had thought I could get by with $50-60 for groceries for the month. Might be closer to $75. I’m feeding myself, my dear husband and his 2 teenage boys who are with us 1/2 the time. We have lots of food in the freezer and pantry.
I love the SNAP challenge and I love budget bytes.
Banana bread baked oatmeal and the breakfast bowls are my favorite!
Excited to see which old recipes you bring back!
For the past 6 months, I have fed my family of 3 on about $4/day (thats $4 for 3 people, not $4 per person). We eat healthfully and wholesomely, as I refuse to cook boxed dinners or give my family processed foods. I use recipes from budgetbytes frequently, buying the ingredients while they are on sale so my price per recipe comes out cheaper. Once you get used to only buying things on sale and meal planning around sale items, its not that hard! Good luck!
I’m not sure that I could do as well as you are in your situation (that’s awesome!), but I’m jealous of those that get to prepare meals for multiple people! No matter the steps I take, it’s never as economical (per person) to cook for 1 as it is for multiples.
But I guess I’m only called to be faithful in the situation that I’m in, not in another’s…
Leftovers!! Plenty of recipes on this site lend themselves to freezing (I’ve got the coconut curried vegetables and the sweet potato tortilla soup in my freezer). Make the full thing and stuff the rest in some freezer bags or containers. You’ll save money AND your sanity, since you’ll be able to take it out and heat it up when you don’t have the energy to cook something up.
I’m extremely impressed! Great job!!
Good luck with your challenge! I look forward to reading your posts. :)
I also posted a basic grocery price analysis on my blog for the SNAP challenge.
Thanks for sharing that, I’m going to check it out! :)
I followed your SNAP challenge last year and it was brilliant, so I’m looking forwards to following along again this time around, as someone who is on a tight budget your tips and tricks always help me.
So, I don’t know if anyone’s mentioned this yet, but dry milk (powder) has worked for me. I am a bit lactose intolerant so I don’t buy milk, but if I just need a cup for a recipe, it’s there and shelf-stable! (I keep it in the fridge anyway.) It’s really better if you let it sit a bit after mixing, then re-mix. My go-to.
I recently lost my SNAP benefits so I’m in eat cheap mode right now. I’m using up pantry and freezer ingredients and making a lot from scratch. I regularly make homemade bread, BBQ sauce and dill pickles. I recently found a loaf of italian bread with garlic and herbs on the top at Wal-mart for .50 and so I made your freezer garlic bread. 16 slices for about a buck.
Anyway, I will be following your challenge. I love seeing how others do it. One of my favorite recipes isn’t much of one, just one chicken sausage or piece of a smoked sausage, cut up small and cooked quickly), mixed with brown rice, black beans (cooked from dried), frozen mixed veggies, corn and then salsa. I could eat this every day.
Keep up the great work!
Barbara
I just made “Cajun” beans and rice with a sausage, 2 cups of rice, and some black beans I cooked myself. I threw in some random frozen veg and mixed up my own Cajun seasoning. It’s really good, and made a lot! I’ll have to pick up some corn when I see it on sale, that would be a nice addition.
I really enjoyed your snap challenge last year! I’m glad you’re doing a similar challenge again. I love everything you post on your blog, so I’m sure I’m going to enjoy reading about your journey through September. Thank you for all of the thought and work you put into this blog.
I’ve enjoyed several of your recipes; getting fresh ingredients on a budget can be a huge challenge in Alaska, so working a healthy menu on a budget is an even bigger challenge. My husband and I were saving for a home last year during your SNAP challenge so I loved using your recipes to mix in with some of my favorite budget meals I grew up with. This year finds us out of our apartment and into a home we own, but just as my budget was settling in, my 17 yr old nephew needed to move in, so I’m back to a tight budget with an additional EXTRA hungry mouth to feed. I can’t wait to see what you come up with in this new Sept Challenge!
I’m so excited to follow you along with this challenge-I loved reading the SNAP challenge posts last year and agree with everyone saying how insightful it was! My husband and I try to be very careful with what we spent on food at the grocery store, and switching to Aldi’s has made a huge difference, but I know not everyone has access to one!
One thing that I think would be interesting for another challenge is to incorporate an eating out budget since most people don’t eat every meal in their home-I think that’s where a lot of people’s food budgets (mine included) go a little, or a lot, over budget!
That’s an interesting idea! I’m definitely not a pro at eating out, so I’ll have to do some “research” hahah. Maybe once this challenge is over. I’m sure I’ll WANT to go out to eat.
I <3 Aldi's too! Good quality at great prices!
And Beth, although I've only recently found your blog, I am in love! I bought your book too and am so grateful I found you. My budget is not nearly as tight as some, but I despise waste and am always interested to see how you repurpose foods. You really get my own creativity going and for that, I thank you! Keep up the greattt work!
I usually just lurk on your site but I just wanted to let you know how excited I am that you’re doing this challenge :) I LOVED you doing the SNAP challenge last year! I’m not American myself so the whole SNAP thing was (literally) foreign to me but the idea was inspirational nontheless and your blogposts gave me alot of ideas.
I have a fairly good income for someone my age but i’m trying to save up to buy a place to call my own so the more I save, the quicker I will get there. And it’s amazing at times how much money goes to waste on a bit of luxury-food here, a cappucino there, … . So I’m hoping this years challenge will inspire me just as much to see that I can cut back my grocery budget and still be happy and satisfied with what I eat.
So yes, thank you very much for doing this again and I will definetly keep a close eye on your posts the following weeks! (Well I do anyway but hey :))
aaaaw yisss, look who’s gonna be able to afford to eat this month!
My grocery budget is $400 a month for my family of 4. And it is so hard. I try to meal plan weekly by using adds and coupons and still the last week of the month is incredibly lean. I love your recipes and so do my kids. If I were to give you any advice it would be to spend 2/3 of your budget stocking what you would normally use and the last 1/3 to buy more perishable items as needed. Every time I have tried to budget weekly my family was hungry.
That’s excellent advice! I love that “formula”. Thank you for sharing your expertise. :)
Years ago I read that when we are paid we should stock up on nonperishables (beans, grains, pasta, flour, etc.) to last until the next time we are paid and add the more perishable foods as we can afford them. That way you’ll always have something to eat — though it might not be what you want to eat. I usually add eggs, potatoes, carrots, cabbage and other longer lasting vegetables to this. Frozen vegetables are a good addition, too.
Last year when you were doing the SNAP challenge I found a weekly meal planner that was different from most. You were to make a pot of beans, mix up a bowl of greens to be eaten raw or cooked, make a pot of grains, cook up a protein source, roast a vegetable and make a vinaigrette. I added a pot of soup, bread and a fruit to this.
I didn’t follow the instructions exactly but chose one or two vegetables to cook during the week and one protein source. My favorite so far has been a Tex-Mex version. I cooked a pot of pinto beans and made refried beans, made a pot of Spanish rice and added some corn tortillas. I was amazed at the number of meals I could make.
I use the first suggestion all of the time and the second one less often (it takes some brain power to plan what will mix and match well!). Stocking up on the basics and then limiting variety, paying attention to what’s on sale and in season help cut the cost of eating.
Yay! I loved the series last year and I’m excited to see how September goes. Good luck and thank you for sharing this with us!
Wow I have no idea how you can survive on $124 per month…
If it was me I’d end up buying a ton of rice and beans and maybe some veggies and eating the same thing for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
I’m excited to see your recipes for this challenge!
Hahaha, that’s kind of what I do. :P I eat the same thing throughout the week, but I mix it up with leftovers from past meals that I have stashed in my freezer. Beans and rice ARE a huge part of it, though.
I’m looking forward to following along with your challenge this month. I appreciated your insightful thoughts and reflections last year along with all the delicious extra-budget conscious meals you shared. I’ve been a fan of your blog and recipes for years but I really love your consideration and thoughtfulness when it comes to topics like this. I’m excited to see what’s in store!
If hunger is an issue, I found that when I was cutting calories to lose weight I felt way more full when I upped my fat intake. Just melting half a tablespoon of butter onto my lentils and rice was a fairly cheap and easy way to make my meal much more rib-sticking.
That definitely worked for me last year, too! I suddenly wanted to put butter on everything. It was so funny, but it worked. Just a pat of butter on some bread killed the hunger.
I’m sure you’ll do awesome Beth, you are so creative and ur dishes look and taste great! Our family favorites are your Sweet potato Chipotle burgers, Hamburger Mac and Cheese and Orange Chicken.
We r a family of 7 (3 teenagers) and all boys but mom. We eat a real and whole foods diet (most of our bulk staples are organic from Azure standard) and our food budget is between $3.06-$4.08 per person a day. That includes all the meals, snacks, toiletries and cleaning supplies. (We r not on any type of government assistance nor do we have garden, and we live in an expensive California city)
I think is challenge is a super helpful encouragement resource to others. Good luck
Since we are recovering from a very lean period, I have no choice about whether to scrimp, clip coupons, watch for sales, and pinch our grocery budget pennies very hard. I just did the calculations for our family again, and we are currently spending about $3.58/person/day to buy groceries, toiletries and things like toilet paper. I’m fortunate that my food budget is also supplemented by things like dried beans and wheat (for making bread,) which I have in food storage. We do occasionally eat out, which probably inflates our budget over the SNAP level even though we look for sales, coupons, value menus, and other deals. I’ll watch you blog with interest this month for more healthy and inexpensive recipes, and I’m going to use your blog post as a reminder to put another variety of dried beans in the slow cooker right now. When I pre-prep things like that we are much more likely to eat home, which is one of my biggest goals…for this month and every other month. Thank you!
Try out making seitan! It’s pure wheat gluten, so it’s not for those with celiac, but in 1/4c it has 23g protein and 6g carbs, and very cheap (from the bulk bins). Check out a fried “chicken” seitan recipe. So good!
Wow, that’s a lot of protein! I’ll have to look into it. Thanks for the tip!
I know that you posted a recipe for preparing dry beans, but do you have a stove-top method for it? I don’t have a crock pot.
I’ve not been successful with the stove top for making beans that remain whole (like they are in a can), but for thick soups or other concoctions where they break down, it’s super easy. Check out my latest Creole White Beans with Chicken for the method (it’s basically just soak, then boil till tender!).
Hi ladies, here’s an interesting article about cooking beans. The author ends up liking baking the pot of water and beans in the oven the best, but many methods are tested:
http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-dont-soak-dried-beans-20140911-story.html
Also, if you have a rice cooker, you can cook your beans in there. They are often less expensive than slow cookers, and are very flexible. You can google a lot of food recipes made in the rice cooker. Enjoy!
very interesting article, indeed! thanks. (love the part about testing at
home, alone!!)
If you don’t have a crock pot, you can cook them in the oven. You don’t even need to soak the beans. Put 1 cup beans and 4 cups water in a pot. Add onion, carrots, celery, garlic or whatever seasonings you’d like including salt and/or tomatoes. Because the beans are cooking for a long period of time neither the salt or tomatoes will keep them from getting soft.
Cover the pot and put in a 200 degree oven for 6-8 hours. This is equivalent to low in a crock pot.
If you’re using a pound of beans, increase the water to 6-8 cups and cook for the same amount of time.
Excellent advice! Thank you for sharing that.
I’m so excited to follow along as you do your September challenge. My own personal budget has gotten out of control and I’m trimming back what I spend on food for September as well. I’m in a CSA that delivers weekly, so my constraints are a bit different, but I’m definitely trying to get away with spending as little as possible at the grocery store this month!
Thank you for doing this! I’m not prepared this year but will watch and learn for next year!
You Go Girl!! Challenge On!!!
Thank you for so honestly laying your privileges out on the table. It’s important for self-reflection AND for your readers to understand. There’s been a few times in my life when I’ve lived off SNAP benefits, worked nearly full time and lived about an hour’s bus ride from the nearest grocery store. These things make a huge difference.
I can’t wait to see how September goes for you! :) Thanks for sharing.
I’ve been following you for a few years now, and love some of your vegetarian foods. I checked out your Pinterest pages and was wondering if you would consider making gluten free/vegetarian meals one of your boards. If you have any options without soy, even better.
Thanks
nooooooooooooooooooooo
Excited to see this! Loved the posts from last year. Have loved your blog for a long long time.
I’m following! One question though – is the $4.50 a day per person? Thanks.
Yes, it’s per person. I live by myself, so luckily that makes it a little easier for me to keep track.
My husband & I manage a food closet in California. I really appreciate your blog for recipe ideas to use and pass on to our shoppers. We have a number of food closets in our area, primarily hosted and funded by churches. We have a great relationship with the other closets and share our surplus with each other so the food doesn’t go stale. Very few of our shoppers choose to take dry beans compared to canned. Many of our shoppers are elderly & cook to a limited degree.
I remember your reports from last years challenge and the “new reality” it showed you. One of the thing I remember you mentioning was the difficulty with social situations and how food centric our social world can be. Got any thoughts on that this time around?
Also
While I don’t drink coffee I drink a lot of tea all year and would not want to try give it up
Honestly, I’m still stumped on the social situations. I have a Labor Day BBQ coming up this weekend and I think I’m literally going to have to go empty handed. Even a bag of chips will take almost the entire day’s budget. Although, if I only eat breakfast and then again at the BBQ that might work, buy I’d still feel like a mooch. :(
Soooo…Bend your mind to a $3. pot luck thingy….Use 1.50 for breakfast and figure the potluck for lunch/dinner. I could use a potluck dish that did not break the budget…. Fresh baked Bread? Corn Pone? Pot of beans cooked long and slow ?
There is always more then enough food and there is usually a generosity of spirit and others will also be making it 2 meals that day.
Such great ideas! Not only am I looking forward to all the new ideas especially with my mother-in-law moving in (an extra mouth to feed on an already tight budget :/) but the ideas from this great community of commenters!
I think that’s what my plan is going to be and hopefully I can let the guilty feeling roll off my back. :)
I agree about the “generosity of spirit”.
When I was at the store today a dozen extra-large eggs cost $1.99, medium eggs were $1.79. Beth could easily make her wonderful sriracha deviled eggs to take to the BBQ and not bust her budget.
Oooh, I like that idea!! Thanks!
I make no-knead artisan bread for about 80 cents a loaf. Flour, salt, yeast and water—no preservatives and tastes great. There are recipes for it all over the internet, but if you can’t find one, email me and I will send it to you. You make the dough the night before and cook it the next morning. You won’t feel like a mooch and when I bring the bread places, it always disappears in a flash (we have a lot of work potlucks and now people ask me to bring it). If you have any jelly, spoon it into a nice ramekin or small canning jar and take that as well. (At one point we were really financially stressed and a lot of nights it was egg drop soup and a lot of bread to fill us up. It was summer, so sometimes we picked chickweed and young dandelion leaves and added those to the soup…)
I’ve made several versions of that for the blog and probably will incorporate one into one of my weekly menus this month. I don’t each much bread these days, but I know it will help fill me up while I’m on this low budget diet! :)
How about a simple pasta salad?
Take your popcorn! I think it would be a hit.
I know it’s not the fanciest option, but do you have an Aldi nearby? I was there a couple of days ago and the white corn tortilla chips were $.79 and the salsa was $1.29. Not too shabby for the price.
No I don’t, but I wish I did! I’ve never been to an Aldi, but people reference it all the time and it sound fantastic. :P
Sometime back in the late 1970s I read a book called How I Feed My Family of 4 on $25 a Week. Food for holidays, entertaining and other social situations did not come out of this $25. The author put aside a few dollars a week for this. So if she were going to a BBQ on Labor Day, she had money for something to take without dipping into her weekly budget. It’s sort of the food version of a Christmas Club.
That’s such a good plan!
I was so excited to read all your goals for this month’s challenge. It’s everything that I’m currently looking for while I try to find ways shave off a couple bucks to help pay my student loans down a little faster.
I’m sure we all greatly look forward to what you have in store for us!
I would love to see your weekly meal planning. Even if it’s just a picture of your handwritten notes. I always struggle with this.
Most of it’s in my head, really. :) Because I live by myself I only really have to pick out two (maybe three) recipes, then just eat a simple breakfast of oats or egg in a tortilla. Pinterest helps keep ideas handy, though!
I’m also looking forward to following along – both for the meals and insight. Your challenge last year was when our lives went from “hectic” to “full blown insane” so I missed most of it; this year I’ll be following along.
I did the math and realized that my grocery budget for a family of 7 is, per capita, not much higher than $30/week/person. Granted, I’m feeding 2 adults and 5 young kids, not teens or extra adults, but it was affirming to see I’m actually doing a good job with resources on hand.
That IS fantastic! Good job! It’s harder with more people even if some of them eat less because you have to juggle different preferences and appetites.
I am so glad you are doing this challenge. Due to medical reasons, my wife and I went from six figures to minimum wage this year. I am so glad that I found your blog, I already use a number of your recipes, and I am sure this next month will teach me well. Thank You so much, without you my diet would be based on Ramen and Oatmeal. dave.
You don’t know how much that means to me. I’m beyond happy that I can help.
I’m so excited to see what you do! I’m pregnant with our first child, & I’m looking for any & every way to be a little more frugal/budget friendly at the store. Thank you for doing this!
I really enjoyed reading your SNAP challenge articles and look forward to seeing how your September challenge goes.
Oh boy, this sounds like a real challenge – I’m going to really attempt to conquer it! :)
Also – the recipes you come up with are always great!!!
I really admire what you’re doing! and especially being so consistent with the blog. I know that is hard. Thank you for being you!
Awww, THANK YOU! :)
Just curious – what budget per day would suggest as a challenge for a family of 4? I would love to try this with my family. Thanks for your passion – both for food and people!
That’s a really tough question because all sorts of other variables come into play when you introduce multiple people. I would suggest trying to calculate what you spend now per person, per day, then just cut back some (maybe 25%?) and see how that goes.
Google “USDA Food Plans Cost of Food.” It should lead you to a site that will give you the cost of food in recent months for children as young as 1 to men and woman up to 71+ years. Additionally it will show the costs for a family of 2 adults and a family of 2 adults and 2 school age children. It also tells you how to calculate the costs for larger families. It gives you the costa at four levels of spending: thrifty, low-cost, moderate and liberal cost.
Your $4.50/daily is lower than the thrifty plan for a woman your age. The $6/daily is lower than the low-cost plan for a woman your age.
The $4.50 was based on an average food stamp benefit and unfortunately, benefits are often not 100% of actual need. :( That report really brings things into perspective!
Have you seen this? http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/USDAFoodPlansCostofFood/reports
Thanks for sharing that link, that’s very insightful!
Sorry for the double post about that — it appeared that one of them didn’t post, so I posted the other.
You’ve set ambitious goals for yourself, but I know you’re up to the challenge. I, too, am really looking forward to seeing how it goes.
I’m really looking forward to see what you come up with!
Would love to follow this. Going to try to see how well I can make this work with four adults in the home.
$30/week is my budget for food. As long as you plan smartly, it’s easier to do than one thinks!
I think a lot about how much money I save by cooking and bringing my lunch. I love food prepping on Sunday and separating things out in my fancy bento box containers! I would love to sit down and piece out my lunches like this to see how much I’m really saving.
My wife and I have been eating on a budget of $40 per person per week for the last couple of years; What does that come to, $5.40 per day? It would be interesting to challenge ourselves the little bit extra and bring it down to $4.50 for a while.
I am really looking forward to your posts on this and as always thank you for sharing your gift with all of us. Good luck and happy cooking!
When you mentioned you would try to eat on $4.50 a day but would be drawing heavily from your pantry to start, are you including those pantry items as part of your budget allotment, or are you not counting them towards the total to give your challenge a starter boost?
Yes, I’ll be including the cost of everything I eat, even if it came from what I already have on hand. So, I’ll have two totals for the week: one total of all things eaten, and one total for what was actually purchased. For the first couple of weeks the total purchased items will likely be less than the total of what I ate, since I’m eating off my pantry, but I expect that to flip flop towards the end of the month. I like showing how the two totals compare because it can be insightful.
” I think it’s borderline insulting to say that I’m going to try to live like I’m on food stamps, because honestly it’s just not even close.”
I really appreciate that you took the time to make the distinction between your situation on a SNAP/Sept. Challenge vs. someone on food stamps with different limitations. I’m a huge fan of your blog (and my friends now read it, too) and this made me love it even more. Kudos.
That was one of the biggest things I learned through last year’s SNAP challenge. Living on a low food budget is about so much more than the money. Every aspect of your life will affect your ability to survive on a limited budget. You really have to consider the whole picture, not just the money involved.
I’ll definitely be watching along! Things are changing in my house again and i want to make sure we’re eating well but also not breaking the bank all the time doing it. Too easy to fall back on take out.
It sucks-not to mention unfortunate that Feeding America removed the references for the challenge. To me, it’s a slap in the face! I do commend you for continuing the challenge, since you’re telling everyone a story about the everyday struggles families face to keep food on the table.
I’ve cooked thirty recipes from your blog. Yes, it’s a lot, but my sister and I LOVE to eat, but stay within our budget. So far, I haven’t made desserts and breakfast yet, and I’ll definitely give those recipes a shot.
Since I have Facebook and Pintrest, I’m looking forward to your challenge, Beth.
Good luck, and you have my support. :-)
Beth, I love your recipes but I became a regular follower of your blog because of your SNAP challenge series last year. Your posts were thoughtful and honest, and I appreciated your perspective and creativity. I’m really looking forward to this year’s series!
I’m excited that you’ve revamped the challenge to fit your needs. Looking forward to your posts!! Oh and as a distance runner, I am excited about your new focus on protein. I usually tweak your vegetarian recipes to up the protein but now I can learn even more from you!
I loved you challenge last year, and even though you are doing the same thing, I’m looking forward to this September blog! Our family is always trying to be frugal but eat well, and this is by far my favorite blog. Your chicken thigh recipe during the snap challenge is a family favorite that I make several times a month!
I’ve noticed how antsy I feel when it seems like I have no food in the house, and I’m also on an incredibly limited budget (as in it’s currently in the negatives. Working on fixing that but it’s slow), so I’m really excitedly curious to see what comes out of your kitchen this year.
What do you do from home? I know you are a microbiologist as well and I am looking for something to (eventually) do from home! (I have 3 kids, so it would be a big bonus to have flexibility!)
Well, I was a microbiologist, but blogging is now my full time gig. :) I’m incredibly fortunate that something I started for fun is now able to support me.
I am so happy to hear about the challenge. I found your website through the previous challenge!
I have trouble finding time to cook dry beans, and space in my freezer to store them. I have tons of dry beans around my house, but I always reach for a can when I’m making a quick meal. Any advice?
There are quite a few meals where you can start with dry beans and end up with a full meal, rather than just cooking the beans, storing them in the freezer, and adding them to something. I am not sure it works with every kind of bean. First thing that comes to mind is what they call “soup beans” in Appalachia – pinto beans cooked with a variety of seasoning and usually a ham bone.
If you reach for canned beans because of the low-prep factor, maybe consider using a slow cooker for your recipes that involve beans. This would be the basic pattern:
1. Either the evening before or the morning before you want to have the meal: Determine however much cooked (canned) beans you would use in the recipe, and place the equivalent amount of dry beans in the slow cooker. Fill with water to 2 in. above the beans. Turn on the slow cooker on low for 8-24 hours.
2. Whenever you would normally start cooking the meal: Remove the cooked beans from the slow cooker. Use in recipe as you normally would use canned beans.
For me this strategy requires the same amount of active time as opening a can of canned beans. Place dry beans in crock pot, cover with water, turn on. [Cook for 8-24 hours, unattended.] Retrieve cooked beans, proceed with meal prep as usual.
Totally agree with this suggestion. We are huge bean soup fans and I usually start the beans the night before, then add the ham and other ingredients in the morning for another 8 hours of low cooking. The beans (and soup) are fantastic.
I had the same problem until I got a pressure cooker. The Indian grocery stores have inexpensive ones around here and Goodwill often has them if new appliances aren’t in your budget. :)
Kaylen – I know what it’s like to have lots of dry beans around! My advice regarding dry beans is this: do not soak them, and make a lot at once so you don’t have to do it often. I have thoroughly researched the subject, and as far as I can tell, as long as you boil them for 10 minutes and then drain them, you can go ahead and cook them the rest of the way, so it only takes 1 hour total at most. I cook 5 cups dry beans and 15 cups of water in a large pot, then freeze them in 1 3/4 cups (same amount as a can) servings in sandwich bags. I use them so much they never get freezer burned. I have a little freezer too, but if I lay them flat and “file” or stack them, they are very space efficient. Good luck!
Great advice! I keep my cooked beans in the freezer, too. They thaw quickly and it is so much less waste than cans. :)
I was having the same problem…….I now go ahead and soak my beans overnight, rinse them in the morning and put them in the freezer..a nice small package. They cook fast and there is no thawing needed.
Beth has a few recipes that utilize a slowcooker. I -think- (correct me anyone if I’m wrong) you only need to soak kidney beans overnight before cooking, so you should be able to go from dry to finished pretty easily.
Kidney beans (and beans in the kidney bean family) don’t do well in a slow cooker because they contain a natural toxin that needs a good rolling boil to break down. Slow cookers only get to a gentle simmer (usually), so the toxin stays in tact and it can cause extreme gastric distress. :( Other beans do really well with slow cookers, though!
This sounds great! My grocery budget is currently $20-25/wk and I’m having a hard time eating balanced meals. I’m working full-time and have a part-time gig, so fast and cheap is what I need.
Looking forward to this series. I will be mentioning the challenge (and last years challenge) in our cooking class, it helps to know that there are people out there who can work inside the parameters and that they didn’t find it easy, just like some people’s everyday lives. We will totally being using them as talking points to learn from (both what went right and what went wrong ;-)
Thanks again for letting us use your site.
So excited to follow this, especially since not only am I living in NOLA full time now and utilize the same groceries, but I also have the kitchen space to actually cook and store meals! Thanks for being such a great resource for tasty info and inspiration.
I’m really excited for this! I really appreciate all of the work you put into sourcing the recipes, refining them, divying out the cost/serving and (my favorite part) how you say how much things like 1tsp of salt costs.
All of your hard work is really appreciated and I can’t wait to see your first week’s post and summary. Best of luck and thanks for the great stuff!
This was a real eye opener for me last year, and although I am fortunate enough to not be on EBF, the recipes were really good. The spiced rice in particular has become a go to for me.