Kids eating all my food

They are not starving, they're taking advantage. If there was nothing in your house to eat, they would no doubt buy their own - I'm sure they have money. They've just learned that they can stuff their faces at your house. Perhaps your son encourages it because it makes him feel popular, or he's worried that they'll leave him out otherwise. I would try a week of nothing but fruit in the cupboards and see if the dynamic changes. Do they disappear as soon as they realise they won't get an endless supply of free food?

I have 3 (now adult) sons and ours was always the preferred 'go-to' house.

But I never let my sons take the piss.

They knew to tidy up before I got home and they knew which snacks they could/couldn't offer their friends.

Two small rules but we stuck to them and it worked 🤷‍♂️

if it was me i would be hiding all my snacks in my room ,fridge stuff in a empty veg bag . I would buy the cheapest snacks i could find like value range stuff or farmfoods .Make a plate of jam sandwiches/ham in the fridge only food kids would find in my house be stuff that requires cooking from scratch or stuff i have made available to them

iceland budget pizzas are a good idea

Me too. My house is like this as well OP and I'm delighted that their friends feel at home here. It means you can see who they are spending time with and know that they are safe and not hanging around street corners etc.

I just keep loads of cheap pizzas and oven chips in the freezer. DC know they're allowed to make these.
Stock up on cheap crisps and biscuits at B&M etc. it doesn't have to be gourmet stuff. Big white loaf of bread as PP said - toast will also do.

His friends like it at yours because there seems to be no boundaries. They can come and go as they please and eat whatever they want. They won’t be allowed to do that in their own homes.

I have a teen and you really do have to be firm.

Euh, yeah, which is why I started off with "unless..." ...?

Surely I can say that of all the things to spend my money on (car, holidays, make-up, pets), feeding friends cheap snacks would be really high on my list of things I like to spend money on, without assuming everyone can? As it stands, the fact that some families can't would be all the more reason for me to be happy to spend money on snacks for teens... IF I can afford it.

Yep, offer salad, you'll never see them again

I would have told them weeks ago that if they want to eat it all with their friends then I won’t be replacing it.

You need to stop worrying about locking stuff away or being seen as mean.
I used to have a house full of other peoples ravenous teenagers (my God teenage boys can eat a hell of a lot) and I simply could not afford to feed them expensive stuff.
So for what I call drop ins (random kids who turn up at your house rather than kids who have been invited for a sleepover or something)
I would buy Tesco 75p white bread, cheap jam and they can have toast/jam sandwiches. They can drink water or cheap squash. If you want something hot then Iceland £1 pizzas or budget baked beans.

If they are hungry they will eat the cheap stuff, if they don't like the cheap stuff they can fill up on expensive snacks when they go back to their own homes.

Hide the good stuff, because being out of pocket because you don't want a bunch of teens to think you are tight is nuts (because they won't actually care they are just mindlessly munching on stuff while they play games, they won't notice whether they are eating caviar or cardboard.)

What? Haven't they gone home for their own dinner?

This! Stop letting them have unlimited access to food - restrict it. Make sure DS does not know where it is and can’t access it. Say they can make toast, and leave some crisps in the cupboard. Hide the rest.

You need a frank discussion with your DS about the cost of food, and consider that perhaps the other mums have done that with theirs … I certainly did. There was always food for them, but not unlimited, expensive snacks.

Some people can't afford that stuff for 5 or 6 extra kids. In fact that's how some families, manage to feed their own kids

If it were me I agree with PP, if it’s yours and only your house everyone’s at everyday then as a compromise so that boys aren’t going hungry but your finances aren’t obliterated either, I’d just stock up on generic bread, jam, butter and cordial. Squash and sandwiches is better than nowt!

Tell your son they are welcome here but they need to go to the shops togethet and buy all their snacks. Dont buy any and those you do put them separately. Dont provide cooked pizzas etc. They can go to the shops together with their pocket money and buy the food they want to eat and cook like pizzas.

You need to tell your son that his friends need to bring their own packed lunches and snacks when they come round as it is costing you too much.

Don't be a pushover just to be polite. The other parents aren't being polite by letting you foot the bill. They must be loving it.

Keep your snacks and crisps in your car or somewhere else.
Toast and instant noodles are pennies and delicious

Unless I literally couldn't afford it, I would be delighted to be the house that was welcoming and safe. I would just keep a big cupboard full of the stuff I could afford and direct them to that. How much are apples, squash, toast and noodles with tomato sauce anyway?

They’re not hungry tho right. They’re grazing. It’s an activity rather than nutrition.

and they’re coming to you because you have the good snacks. That’s worth a percentage of cost of the snacks I reckon that you’re getting a glimpse into the very covert world of teenage boys. I’d pay for some of that insight. Plusniffering them a space place so they’re not sat in a park or walking the streets.

i think you should just hide some snacks away. And perhaps try teaching them as a whole to be considerate and not hoover up everything?

Stop buying the food and just leave a cheap loaf and some butter out. They will soon learn! I had this issue when mine were young. They always congregated to ours because we had
“ nice food” It was only when I caught one of the little cretins stealing my fruit in handfuls, that I stopped all food! Bliss!

buy then apples, bananas and some other cheap fruit. Then offer them that.

Stop feeding them! All my parents provided during the holidays was bread, cereal and pasta, plus the fruit bowl.

If asked by your son infront of his friends for snacks or food just say “I can’t be expected to feed everyone all of the time, I’m sorry.”

Kids are selfish and don’t really think about the cost of food etc so you saying thing might be a little wake up for them to bring their own food or go home for dinner!