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There are lots of ways to cut back on your food budget. I am currently feeding a family of 5 on $200 per month or less. With a little planning ahead it can easily be done.

You buy meat and poultry in bulk when it is on sale at a very good price (target price is under $2.00 per pound, but no more than $2.50 per pound).

Watch for loss leader items in the stores’ weekly ads that your family likes and pick them up then, and use coupons and double them whenever possible. (I would note that in my area there are only two stores that will double coupons and one allows you to double only 4 coupons per week and the other 3 coupons per month, but every bit of savings can make a big impact. In many parts of the country coupon policies are much better than what I have in my part of Oregon.)

Buy rice, beans, pasta, and grains in bulk (a 25 lb of rice in my area can be picked up for about $16 or less, and I find lots of beans, pasta, and other grains for under $1.00 per pound).

Buy fresh fruits and vegetables weekly that are in season as they are cheaper then or buy fruits and vegetables that are usually reasonably priced year round(Bananas, apples, oranges, and pears and sometimes grapes, carrots, onions, celery, potatoes, cabbage and even a head of lettuce are usually reasonably priced year round). Instead of buying a bag of salad, buy a head of lettuce and other things to add to it and make your own salads and you can also save a bundle), pick up canned and frozen fruits and vegetables when they are on sale to supplement when you can’t afford much in the way of fresh veggies.

Watch the prices on milk and bread and figure out which store in your area regularly has these things the cheapest on a regular basis. (Many stores have some kind of bread you can pick up on a regular basis for $.99 cents a loaf and I can almost always find a gallon of milk for $2.79 or less and usually pay $2.49 or less.) For my family I spend between $20 - $25 per week on bread and milk alone, so that only leaves me $25-30 per week for everything else.

Utilize everything you buy and make other meals out of leftovers. I may cook a larger Rump Roast on Sunday with carrots, peas and mashed potatoes and gravy. Then later in the week I might will use some of the leftovers to make Beef Stroganoff with pasta and some green beans for our dinner (To really stretch the meat budget use a little less meat than normal and throw in canned or fresh mushrooms and you will feel just as full). If I still have leftover meat (and I usually do), I cut up carrots, celery, onion, and any other appropriate veggies I have on hand and I use the last of the beef to make a stir fry served with white rice. Any leftover stir fry I throw in a zip lock bag and throw it in my freezer and then add it to a soup at a later date.

Likewise, leftover pork roast from a similar Sunday dinner, can quite easily be made into shredded pork burritos, tacos, enchiladas and served with rice and beans, pulled pork sandwiches served with a home made potato salad and a side of home made baked beans, or a stir fry.

I do the same with any large piece of meat I prepare. Leftover chicken or turkey can be turned into a stew, soup, or even Chicken and dumplings, pot piea, Chicken Salad sandwiches, etc. Leftover ham can be turned into a macaroni and cheese casserole with ham, scalloped potatoes and ham and many wonderful casseroles, any kind of egg dish, and lots of different kinds of soups and sandwiches.

Don’t forget to save the bones from all your meats and poultry and use them to make home made stock too! I usually throw the bones into a zip lock and freeze them immediately and then make the stock when I have lots of bones saved up and extra time around the house so I can let it simmer on the stove to get all the great flavor out of those bones.

Cut down on the amount of meat used in each meal by adding more mushrooms and vegetables to the dish or make dishes that have lots of pasta, rice, or some other grain as a filler a couple of times a week. Add more beans to your diet as they are a cheaper source of protien. Have a breakfast for dinner night every so often, or make a breakfast casserole for dinner since things like eggs, grits, and potatoes are still relatively cheap and can really stretch the budget.

Put any leftovers you are not going to use later in the week in zip lock bags or containers and put them in the freezer. Keep and eye on perishable foods in your fridge and pantry and always use them up or freeze them before they go bad.

With a little planning you can easily feed your entire family quite well on $200 a month, and stock up your pantry too but you do have to make the correct choices to do it.