$400 Costco monthly menu

Keeping a food budget under $30 per person/per week is a challenge for some, a typical day for others, and a dream budget for the rest. After hearing how challenging it was for Gwyneth Paltrow to live off of $30 a week I set my own challenge to feed my family of 8 for $500 or less a month. 

Right now we spend about $900 a month. Which, coincidentally, is below the average Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program allotment given per person in this country. What that means is that when the amount of funds distributed for SNAP benefits is divided by the number of recipients the average amount given per person, per week is around $30 in the entire US.

In Virginia the average SNAP benefit per person, per month, was $127.75, or about $29.48 a week. That's per person. That's also an average. There are highs, with the highest benefit amount being $194 per person per month. And that is still a *supplemental* amount. Using that example if my family qualified for the highest amount available we would receive $1,169 a month as a *supplement* to our food budget. We only spend $900 of our own money as it is! Of course SNAP benefits decrease as income increases. So while the average benefit is $30/week/PP there are some receiving much less and some receiving much more.

I have compiled two meal plans. The first is a month worth of meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner + snacks) assuming the family is only shopping at Costco. Costco does accept SNAP. Yes, there is a yearly fee to Costco however Costco provides a higher quality option for foods an often items are organic (the corn or carrots, for example). No pink slime in the ground beef, thank you!

This menu repeats items but hopefully there should be enough variety. For anyone that has access to an Aldi or Wal-Mart (who doesn't!) then you can further your cost savings by switching out a few items for smaller quantities (BBQ sauce, yeast, olive oil...). Tax is not included in my price since not all states have a food tax. Virginia does, so sorry Virginians, your amount will be higher.

These meals are pretty basic, easy to prepare, kid friendly. These are not gourmet meals but will certainly feed a family well enough for a month. I have only provided 26 meals. Our family always needs a "leftovers" dinner once a week. If you are coming up short there is certainly enough pizza ingredients for another two meals, or quesadillas, or chili w/o meat.

We cannot drink milk here. Water is our mainstay. 

Costco:

Spaghetti * 4 (1# Turkey Meatballs per meal)
Pizza * 4
Chicken Fried Rice * 4 (1# Chicken per meal) (3 eggs per meal)
Soft Tacos/Avocado/Corn/Rice * 2 (1.5# Ground Beef per meal)
Salmon Burgers/Sweet Potato Fries * 2 (12 buns)
Pulled Chicken Sandwiches * 2 (12 buns) (2# Chicken per meal)
Spaghetti Mac & Cheese * 2, frozen mixed veggies
Quesadillas (Bean, Cheese, Chicken) * 2 (0.5# Chicken per meal, from Rotisserie chicken)
Black Beans & Rice * 2 (.5 sweet potato each)
Chili (Ground Beef, Kidney Beans) *2  (1.5# Ground Beef per meal)

Breakfast:
Apple Carrot Muffins * 4 (1 egg per meal)

http://groceryshrink.com/2014/03/apple-carrot-muffins.html

Oatmeal * 4 (add sugar/PB/jelly)

Banana Bread * 4 (needs 8 eggs)
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/easy-homemade-banana-bread.htm
Oatmeal Muffins *4 (2 eggs per meal)http://groceryshrink.com/2013/02/always-ready-oatmeal-muffins.html

Scrambed Eggs with Spinach * 4 (18 eggs per meal)

Baked Oatmeal * 4 (2 eggs per meal)http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-oatmeal-ii/

Sausage Biscuits *3(Using hamburger buns OR make your own from scratch) + Jones Sausage Patties

 Hard Boiled Eggs/Sausage * 2 (12 eggs per meal)

Lunches:
PB&J * 3, chips,
Grilled Cheese * 3, carrots, apple
Nuggets/Rotisserie Chicken/corn

Snacks/desserts:
Carrots, Apples, strawberry smoothie, rice, cheese/chips (w/ tortillas), any baked goods (oatmeal cookies, sugar cookies)

$7.50   10# Bag Apples
$6.50   10# Bag Carrots
$1.50   3# bananas
$10      6# frozen strawberries
$7        Organic Frozen Mixed Veggies
$6        Organic Frozen Corn
$11      10# Sweet Potatoes
$6        5 Avocados
$4        1# Spinach

$5        10# Parboiled Rice
$30      14 Loaves Bread
$8        10# Oats
$9        9# Spaghetti Pasta
$11      Chips (56 servings)
$4.60   (2) 24 pack hamburger buns
$6.6     Tortillas

$11      4# Turkey Meatballs
$15      3# Salmon Burgers
$22      6# Ground Beef
$10.70 3.5# Jones All Natural Sausage
$19.70 10# frozen chicken breasts
$10      2 Rotisserie Chicken
$20      15 dozen eggs
$12      5# American Cheese
$14      5# mozzarella
$12      5# nuggets
$16      5# Cheddar Cheese

6.60     Jelly
$10.40 Peanut Butter
$8        4# Butter
$9        Prego Pasta Sauce
$5        10# Sugar
$8        25# Flour
$8        12 cans tomato sauce (15 oz.)
$4.3     Taco Seasoning
$14      Olive Oil
$8        3 Gallons Almond Milk
$6.80   Kidney Beans
$6.80   Black Beans
$6        BBQ Sauce
$4        Yeast

$401.00