£100 on food a week for family of four

[Fruitteatime]

I know prices have gone up and I know we are fortunate to be able to afford this but does anyone else regularly spend this much on food a week? We rarely drink, maybe buy the equivalent of two bottles of wine a month but do buy organic dairy and fruit/veg when possible because I'm convinced it's healthier. I guess I'm looking for ways to cut down without compromising health as our monthly spending is starting to cut into our savings. I would like to know if anyone has a way of reliably predicting fruit and veg consumption for the week, I often get it wrong with too much!

I buy crumble mix from Morrisons for about a £1 to save using butter. I then add a large handful of oats or muesli to the mix and it's really nice.

Soups are easy, just saute all the odd veg with a bit of oil or butter, salt & pepper then add water & or stock. Blend and serve.

I also add a can of green lentils, tinned tomatoes & grated veg to mince to bulk it out.

We spend £100-£150 a week on two adults and a cat, so I think you’re doing well. That does include a veg box, cat food, usually a bottle of wine / 0% beers, fevertree tonic which we often drink on its own. We do eat meat and fish. We buy organic & free-range eggs, dairy, meat and fish because it is raised more ethically with no routine antibiotics.
If I wanted to cut back I’d go veggie, as PP says beans and pulses are cheap and tasty!
Organic fruit and veg is better for the environment and bio diversity, I like supporting that but again if I were cutting back I would look there, but I’d really miss our local veg box.

Unfortunately, my total of £100 per week for the 4 of us doesn't include red meat (have to get from the butchers as halal), nor any top up shops (always need more bread).

Plus, I was recently diagnosed with anemia, so need to try and eat more red meat not less (aiming for twice per week). Not sure what quantity I use for each meal, but I think dh buys a kilo which he splits into 4 or 5 freezer bags. I'll definitely use the whole packet of pasta in one go and sometimes it isn't even enough (1 teenager and 1 tween).

Family of four adults here. We spend about £130 a week. Also have two cats and dog (dog's food bought elsewhere, but treats come from supermarket.)

We do but it has wine and beer in it so probably 80 on food actually. Cook all from scratch and look for 3 for a tenner kind of deals etc

We use 250g mince in our Bolognaise which makes six portions.

ours has lots more veg in though, carrot, onion and celery plus courgette and pepper.

I’ve made it with more mince but we prefer it with less.

I think you're doing ok. Our Sainsbury's delivery for 2 adults, 2 teens today is £107. That includes wet cat food for two moggies but not dry, nor cat litter, both of which I get elsewhere. AND I do two top ups which on a good week adds maybe £15, up to £40 on a bad week.

We are two (very hungry) teens & 2 adults, plus pets. We do it for £100 a week in tesco - we are veggie/vegan & don’t drink. It’s a bit miserable tbh, but it’s all we can afford at the moment. I literally just buy what we need for that week & that’s it. There’s no fancy stuff at all - nothing like olives, sundried tomatoes, halloumi, posh cereal, nice coffee - nothing. Just the basics. And we earn reasonable money too, it’s just life at the moment. It’s so boring & makes shopping really hard work.

We’re two adults. I definitely spend more than I need to in the supermarket, but I’m very good at not wasting food. Before I shop, I get my recipe books out and I choose 5 meals (we usually eat two meals out). I check the cupboards before I shop so I know if I need to use something up soon and so I don’t accidentally buy something I already have and then I write a list. If a recipe will leave me with something left over, that goes out of date quickly (usually something like ricotta or feta in my house) I make sure I choose another recipe that will use the other half of the pack. My lunch is always leftovers or a random assortment of odds and ends that needs using up.

We spend just over £100 a week in Sainsbury’s but a lot of that could be cut back on. We spend £40-50 on fresh fruit and veg (we’re veggie), maybe £10 on tofu or meat substitutes, £10-20 on pulses/grains/eggs/cheese/spices. We could easily economise and still eat well by buying frozen veg and less decadent fruits, grains and cheeses. The rest of our spend is all treats we don’t actually need (olives, GU desserts, crisps, mini magnums, soft drinks, etc.).

We spend this on 3 of us and a dog.

Only two of most (most of time) and budget for £50pw, so £100pw for four sounds right. I could cut back more, not have a cheap bottle of wine, the odd ready meal or more expensive pizza if I had to.

We spend at least 100 a week on our main shop for 2 Adults and a 14yr old who eats gluten free. That doesn’t include anything for my dog which I buy separately or milk which gets delivered. I also top up with bits I’ve forgotten during week. Wine I buy on a Friday so I’m not tempted during week. I’ve really noticed a jump in prices so trying to not waste anything and plan ahead!

I think you’re doing well at £100 a week. We’re a family of 3, with DS 8 and a guinea pig. I have a £125 budget every week for food, cleaning products, toiletries and pet supplies. I usually spend around £110-115 in the supermarket then pick up most of my cleaning supplies and extra bits in Wilkos or Home Bargains. I have started using SmartShop at Sainsbury’s so I keep track of much I’m spending and I can save money on offers.

We’re veggie and don’t drink and tend to buy the same foods every week. I buy fresh veggies for the weekend and salad which we’ll consume in the first half of the week, then we’ll live off veggies out of the freezer, mainly sweetcorn and peas, and can items like baked beans and pulses. We have a budget meal like beans on toast and jacket potatoes a couple of times a week. I think the key is to meal plan so you don’t overbuy and have a set budget for treats like chocolate. It’s depressing how quickly prices are rising and every week there are several things I regularly buy that have shot up massively. I don’t know how people on lower incomes are going to manage.

We do about £200 for heavy stuff; tins of beans and peas (of all varieties) cat food, milk (soy) and a few fancy items like processed vegan stuff.

Then I do the veg and fruit stuff locally as per what I'm cooking that week. This will come to about £40 a go. I cook every meal from scratch and end up with tubs in the fridge. chilli and rice, bolognaise, sandwich spread stuff.

It's being able to cook from scratch that really helps me. Then my daughter often just likes spaghetti hoops on toast and things like that which are very easy to do alongside a main meal for husband and me.

So in all we are on about 360 - 450 for the month on food but it includes bottles of wine and treats and cat food and loo roll too actually.

I think me being a home and able to cook and organise the weekly shop is key. Two working parents can be an expensive lifestyle to keep up.

Meal planning and considerate food consumption are the keys here - you’re not going to have a shop under £100 that regularly includes avocado for 4, for example (maybe one batch of HM guac, for which frozen avocados are awesome and cheaper).

We can do £100/week but that doesn’t include booze and we pay £22/month for a milkman. Evening meals were:
green bean/potato/boiled egg salad
black bean chilli with rice and grated cheese
pasta parcels and sauce with salad and garlic bread (one child just has plain pasta)
fish and chips (breaded cod and oven chips) with peas
homemade pizza
tofu rice bowl with miso dressing (chicken breast for DH, the only meat eater)

breakfast is porridge/cereals/granola + yog, with frozen croissants some weekend mornings
lunches are usual sandwiches or things on toast, but I also made miso aubergine and tofu to take for lunch at work (3 portions)

the most expensive bits are the chicken breast for DH, frozen fish and tofu.

if you want to make fancy recipes it will cost you.

I'm amazed at how little people spend! My last delivery this week came to over £180 - 4 of us with two teenage DS.
That was Wednesday, fridge was packed but is now emptying out again.
I have very little waste but the DC are always looking for food. They eat lots of cereal and to balance all the snacks they eat, I buy a lot of fruit which is expensive but even so, I wish I could spend around £100. However, two chicken breasts would definitely not make 1 meal for 4 of us and I couldn't make a pack of mince last 2 meals.

We spend about £80 on a weekly Ocado shop then I do a top up of another £20-£30.

Fruit and veg lasts very well from Ocado, I also supplement with tinned fruit too once the fresh has run out.

I've started to pick a bit more up from Aldi, especially toilet roll, household goods. If you want to prioritise organic I'd suggest looking a where you can make savings on non food items. If your Aldi/Lidl is too far look at places like B&M, Home Bargains.

I don't buy organic, but am happy with having non organic plus a multi vitamin per day to make sure I'm getting everything I need. My DR said my recent blood test had some of the best levels he'd seen.

I spend about that - 2 adults and 2 kids 8 and 6. Kids have school dinners, me and DH work together so we take salads, pasta, cous cous, sandwiches etc. from home 5 days a week. We eat out or have takeaways twice at the weekend on top that. Buy a pack of beer probably once a month but that's it for alcohol. No pets. We eat meat but not a lot, and mainly chicken. The £100 is split usually £80 Aldi and £20 Home Bargains for toiletries, cleaning stuff etc.

I don't scrimp at Aldi, for example I buy their most expensive tomatoes, Mini cucumbers instead of cheaper normal size ones, nicest cooked meat for sandwiches, nicest seeded bread. I am eating really healthily due to being pre diabetic. I'm also really skinny so when eating healthily I lose weight unless I eat a lot to be honest. So I buy a lot of fruit, veg and salad stuff.

I meal plan for lunches and evening meals and shop once a week and try to avoid a top up shop, mainly because I don't have time during the week.

I would say if you're wasting food you need to meal plan, as mind numbingly boring as it is. Also for me a massive issue used to be an untidy fridge so I couldn't see things stuffed at the back. Keeping it organised means I can see things that need using up. And honestly just force yourself to eat the fruit even when you want chocolate ha ha. Or if you have left over veg when it's on its last legs I chop it and freeze it, then use it for something like a slow cooker veg and lentil chilli. I don't cook everything from scratch as I hate cooking, but try my best most days.

We are fortunate that we can afford this, so do you need to cut back and do you want to? If not, I don't think what you're spending is extortionate at all. I

Am I the only one who doesn’t think it’s a lot when you look at it objectively? So just over £3.50 per head per day. That doesn’t seem an awful lot for the fuel that keeps you alive, quite good value actually.
Before I get flamed I appreciate that lots of people are struggling and trying to cut costs, so some good advice on here.

No, I said similar upthread.

£3.50 per day to feed a person is pretty amazing value, really, especially when it includes toiletries, toilet paper, sanitary products and cleaning stuff too.

£3.50 is only what a meal deal costs, or a large takeaway coffee, or a Happy Meal. It's really not very much money when you think about it.

I hadn't realised it was what seems to be an average amount. Dp is always complaining about what we spend, but he begrudges any money being spent and knows he is unrealistic. I think he thinks we should be spending £80 a week. DS also eats probably only a quarter of adult portion of dinner, sometimes half and about half an adult sized lunch/breakfast although dd eats nearer adult sized portions so I guess that cancels out. We only eat out a couple of times a month and get one takeaway a month, on average. Can be less or more as I think we do this more when visiting family or in the holidays but if just at home tend to cook.

Only two of us eat avocados so they one avocado would do do one lunch for one person or two people as a part of dinner.

We spend 120 for 5. NO alcohol NO pets. 80 of which is Aldi. Rest top ups.

Dp is always complaining about what we spend, but he begrudges any money being spent and knows he is unrealistic. I think he thinks we should be spending £80 a week.

Ask him how he thinks he should feed a grown adult on £20 a week long-term?

Family of 4. Kids are 7 and 4. Spend on average £100 per week in supermarket (lidl usually). Kids get school lunches though, so I’ll see what difference that makes with the summer holidays.