$35.47 ($39.59) per week Grocery Challenge

On one of my favourite sites to visit, the Simple Living Network, there is a great discussion about feeding yourself for $35.47 U.S. per week. Could you do it? I honestly think that my family does this every week, but we do have some advantages (such as living on a farm). $35.47 per week in U.S.D equals $39.59 Canadian Dollars per week. Would that make it easier? What would you buy, and what would a week of cooking look like? I've decided to put up a sample shopping list with a sample menu, to see how feasible this could be. We have to assume that there are few staples in the house (salt, pepper, soy sauce packets, ketchup packets, sugar packets). A lot of my items are sale items and from the wilted veggie bin - if they weren't on sale or in that bin, I wouldn't buy them. I only shop loss leader sales. I pass 5 local markets on the way home from work so with some looking it is easy to find this source of cheap food. I have also made the assumption that there is a chest freezer available to this person. As my sister pointed out, this is practically how I feed my family of five, let alone one person. Once I get my staples bought, it's going to be much easier (I think).

Week 1 Grocery list (single person - the first week is boring and difficult, but not impossible) 

dried beans/lentils from the Bulk Barn - 100gr for $0.19 - 1/2 lb costs $0.48 

Roasting chicken (sale - $0.99 per lb) - 3lb chicken for $2.97 

Ground beef, on sale $1.47 per lb - 2lb $2.94 

Pasta, spaghetti - on sale or store brand 900gr - $0.67 

1 loaf whole wheat bread, $1.17 

5kg unbleached flour - $2.99 

1lb cooking margarine - $0.77 

1lb shortening (store brand) - $1.97 

1 kg jar peanut butter, Kraft (sale, but store brand is the same price) - $2.97 

Powdered milk, from Bulk Barn, $0.25 per 100gr - $0.50 

1kg package Quaker Oatmeal (on sale) - $1.00 

1 bottle store brand maple syrup - $1.99 

Fresh Apples, from the market, about 1/2 bushel (10lbs) seconds - $3.00 

Squash, from the market - $1.00 (large Burgess buttercup) 

1 good sized sprig mixed herbs, from the market - $0.25 

10lbs onions, grocery store (sale) - $1.99 

10lbs carrots, grocery store (sale) - $1.99 

Celery, from wilted veggies bin - $0.49 

Potatoes, 7lb bag - $2.00 

1 bulb garlic, bulk bin - $0.50 

1 kg package frozen mixed veggies (store brand) - $1.97 

Eggs, kid down the road, 1 doz - $1.50 

Milk - 2litres 2% milk - $2 

100 tea bags, store brand - $2.00 

Total cost: $39.09 (Canadian Dollars) 

A Sample Menu: 

Monday Breakfast - Toast with butter, an apple, egg fried in cooking margarine, tea (save the tea bag) 

Lunch - Peanut Butter sandwich, carrot sticks, apple, small glass of milk, tea 

Supper - roasted chicken on garlic (1/2 bulb), roasted carrots, celery (1 of each), mashed potatoes (make extra), half of squash roasted with margarine and salt, gravy made with a flour/margarine roux and seasoned with salt and pepper 

Tuesday 

Breakfast- French toast - 1 egg and reconstituted powdered milk (you can't taste the difference - 1Tbsp), syrup, tea 

Lunch - Chicken sandwich, margarine on bread, seasoned with salt and pepper, apple, carrot sticks, tea 

Supper - Chicken noodle soup (using chicken carcass and half of leftover gravy), broken up spaghetti, some herbs (stock can be done in the crockpot and simmer all day) 

Wednesday 

Breakfast - Oatmeal with apples, maple syrup to sweeten, tea 

Lunch - carrot sticks, leftover soup, tea 

Supper - Shepherd's Pie, 1/2lb ground beef, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 cup frozen veggies, leftover mashed potatoes, gravy made from drippings in beef pan plus flour, water, salt and pepper 

Dessert - Apple Crisp - Oatmeal, Apples, Sugar packages/syrup, salt, flour 

Thursday 

B - Apple Crisp 

L - Chicken sandwich 

S - leftover Shepherd's Pie 

Friday 

B - Oatmeal with apples, or an egg, toast, apple 

L - leftover Shepherd's Pie or Peanut Butter sandwich, carrot sticks, apple, any leftover apple crisp 

S - Chicken Pot pie - using leftover broth and veggies from chicken soup, any leftover chicken meat, any veggies in fridge or adding carrot and/or celery, thickened with beurre manie (cold margarine and flour paste) 

Saturday 

B - french toast (made with egg with reconstituted powdered milk), syrup 

L - leftovers (clean out the fridge), tea or milk, or peanut butter sandwich 

S - Simple meat pie - ground beef (1/2 lb), onions, celery, potato, pie crust - shortening, flour, salt, water; run to bulk barn to get a pinch of ground cloves or allspice to season it ($0.10 worth), some of the herbs 

Dessert - Apple Squares (apples, flour, bit of oatmeal, syrup or sugar to sweeten) 

Sunday 

B - Eggs using up the herbs, toast, fried apples sweetened with syrup 

L - leftover meat pie or peanut butter sandwich 

S - if you can't mooch supper off of someone, then leftovers again or creamed beef on toast, using 1/4lb ground beef, flour, margarine, salt pepper, milk, some herbs, toasted bread, frozen veggies on side