How can i spend the least amount of money possible on food

without starving to death and without dumpster diving

Thanks ie:

 

Public and farmers markets. Try to buy local whenever possible.

I eat mostly organic food, so that costs a lot when you're buying strictly from the grocery store.

Here in Rochester we have a pretty awesome public market I go to pretty much every week. It's not always organic, but often buying local is just as good, especially when it comes to meat.

 

Buy larger quantities. For example, instead of buying a pack of instant noodles that will last you just 1 time, buy 500g of macaroni that would last longer.

 

when you go to the grocery store (at least all the ones i go to) they have two prices the price on the right is the one you pay the price on the left is the price per pound or per ounce or per piece. pretty much it does the math for you so you dont have to figure out if your getting more for your dollar if you buy the 16 oz box of macaroni for a dollar compared to the 12 oz box for 80 cents

 

Food items that I have found to be incredibly worth the money:
-mega box of nature valley granola bars
-peanut butter
-oatmeal (Rachel rays is my favorite)
-bread
-hotdogs, yuck I know
-carrots are so cheap and filling!
-those $1 totino pizzas ain't bad....

 

If you can volunteer at your local soup kitchen, food bank, or what ever serves in your community it helps.

 

cook everything from scratch. I don't really know why people talk of convenience food like its cheap - it is a lot cheaper to make healthy food from scratch. And yeah, shop at farmers markets. Grocery stores sell overpriced produce, it isn't as good because much of it (especially tomatoes) have basically genetically modified the flavor out of it, and grocery stores have a lot of little tricks to make you pay more - like they package their produce so you end up buying 5 of one item when you really only need one.

 

dude, bananas are like, ten cents apiece.

get you a shitload of bananas

 

I can't believe I forgot bananas! That's what the peanut butter is for!

A bag of grapefruits are cheap as shit too, like $3 for a dozen here.

 

you can visit the supermarket and ask them for out of date items like breads, meats, milk, etc. it's not spoiled, but it can't be sold because it will spoil soon. often the expiration date and sell by date are a few weeks apart. i used to live near a supermarket that would put their old bread in the back at night and i would go and get it by the cart load.

also, some very basic ingredients like onions, vermicelli noodles, rice, carrots, etc. can be bought for cheap and can be thrown together to make a quick meal.

use coupons when shopping at the store. pick up a newspaper on your way in and check the deals. see if it's worth it to buy something you normally wouldn't in order to save money.

i try to eat for less than $10 a day unless i'm going out to a restaurant or something, but i look at ten dollars worth of food and ask myself how many times i can eat on it.

also, don't rule out ramen. ramen packets can be jazzed up for cheap. i make my ramen with cilantro, green onion, red chili pepper, sesame seeds, a hard boiled egg (or egg-drop style), sriracha sauce, dried mushrooms, frozen corn and peas, and some tofu or whatever meat you prefer.

 

im surprised no one has said this yet unless i've missed this, start a garden. I know its a little cold to do it out doors but you can always get some CFL's and start one indoors. Trust me i've been doing it for years and it hardly raises your electric bill at all.

The only thing i would suggest is dumpster diving for lamps and what not so your not buying those and put up sheets over the windows to black out all the light so your neighbors don't think your growing pot. Try and find the fixtures that go above bathroom sinks, apartments love to through those out and you can wire them up with a cord from another appliance. I like to use vacuum cleaners so i have lots of length.

This way you can still cook in style with basil, cilantro, other herbs. I've even grown peppers and tomatoes indoors too.

 

Also have you tried cutting down expenses in other areas in your life? Like do you really need to rent movies (get movies from the library and burn them or read a book), do you leave lights on or do you really need them on at all (open up the blinds), save you pop cans and scrap metal and once you have enough go cash them in (if you have a dog pick them up on walks), try getting another roommate, next time you buy something think about whether you really need this item, and theres more thats all i can think of off the top of my head.

 

I've tried to do that but it is incredibly hard to keep up with. Much less even keeping my fridge stocked. That's why I end up at a bar ordering food to go most nights haha.

 

big bag of brown rice, big bag of frozen vegetables, and buy frozen fish filets when they're on sale. get some garlic powder and black pepper, and you've got meals for days

 

i think blacking out the windows will be much more likely to look suspicious to neighbours lol

 

not really it just looks like i have my blinds down or you can do it down in your basement if you have one.

If you don't its really fucking bright.

But if you don't do drugs you have nothing to worry about.

 

a 20lb bag of russet potatoes, cheap and will last long time.

 

Yeah. Big bags of dried grains, beans, and pulses are cheap and nutritious.

Buy dried kidney beans, frozen veggies, dried rice, etc in bulk. It will keep you fed for a long time.

 

You could steal food, it doesn't get much cheaper than that.

 

rice

buy a 50 kilo bag and use it as base material for all meals