To ask you how to make £30 last

[tearsandtiaras]

I have £30 to last until Wednesday
Im ok for petrol for work
My DD needs £8-10 on Monday
I have £22 to make meals from tomorrow - Tuesday night and one packed lunch Wednesday

Please help. I have porridge, brown rice , eggs, and a little bit of pasta

It's childcare it's an inset day. And OP has peace of mind that she is safe and happy while she works a 12 hour shift. And OP will be happy to skip a few meals to ensure she is safe for the inset day.
Cos that's good planning of the school pop an inset day on a week after they go back.

This!!! You can't afford it? A trip out with friends is a luxury and you can't afford it especially not the second week of January.
She has an inset day - why was a trip planned costing money when you are really hard up, why not just invite her friends over to hang out and watch a film at home. Buy a bag of popcorn for a quid, save yourself like £9 with which to feed your family.
If you prioritise a teens socialising out with mates over feeding the family no wonder you are struggling.

Read the thread!! I am working a 12 hour day and she will be supervised by a friends parent at an activity on an Inset day.

Actually it’s pretty good decision making - she’ll be with friends, supervised and occupied rather than spending 12 hours alone on screens. Pretty cheap form of childcare really. And if she’s anything like my teens could easily eat £8 in snacks and food unsupervised for 12 hours.

I didn't ask for them - i asked for meal plans/ shopping tips to make the money last/ food last.

I work for a local authority we do not promote food sharing apps. I also work in child protection we deal with high level safeguarding in complex situations. We do vouchers for food banks which admin organise. I am
Not asking for a food bank just helpful
Tips

Because if you give her £10 you only have £20 to feed you both for a week?!

She just needs to cover 4 days, which is manageable if not exciting on £20.

OP, check if you have a Community Fridge, or similar, near you. They are open to anyone, and it could help you top with a few bits of food, to tide over till Wednesday. Also Food Banks exist for these very same situations.

Pasta with tinned tomatoes and some frozen veg thrown in
Omelette frozen veg thrown in
Lentil chilli and rice (assuming you have spices) (same base but without the beans in for Bolognese. Make a big batch )
Jacket potato with tinned tuna /baked beans
Porridge

Go almost veggie for the week

And this is why foodbanks are broken and i do not donate to them now. People using them rather than tell their teen they can't have £10 to go out with friends.
I tell my kids no we can't afford that all the time. I think a lot of people imagine those using a foodbank are truly desperate, literally not any money left, not has 30 quid for several days but wants to give 1/3 of it to a teen to socialise

Our Lidl does £1.50 boxes of short dated fruit and veg( which is actually fine) - we often get potatoes,aubergines,melons grapes, broccoli etc which last us for a week. Usually put out relatively early in the day - worth a look?

I work for a local authority we do not promote food sharing apps. I also work in child protection we deal with high level safeguarding in complex situations. We do vouchers for food banks which admin organise. I am
Not asking for a food bank just helpful
Tips

I’ve been a CP social worker for over 25 years, I know what the job entails - and income maximisation and crisis management are inevitably part of the high risk, complex situations that families find themselves in and need help with. You’re in London, one of the best resourced cities in the UK, there will be community pantries and food co-ops that will make your money go much further and get you to pay day.

I get that it’s very hard to be in a professional role, working very long days and still find your money doesn’t go far enough, and ideally no one should need support to buy food but the community resources exist for a reason and are worth using.

In Lidl, usually near the tills, they usually have boxes filled with a variety of different vegetables and fruit - for £1.50. You could get a couple of those and make quite a few meals.

Google “feed your family for £20 a week”. Not always the most nutritious meal plans but will stop you going hungry.

I can't have her friends over as I can't afford to feed them ( they won't just eat popcorn)

I also can't provide any level of supervision to them ( will be on Child protection visits/
Meetings in 2 different boroughs)

I don't have any family to look after
Her, and limited friends in london who all work full time /
Childless.

Im
Doing the best I can in a hard set of circumstances.
I take a/l to care for my DD but i need to take one of my work children for a medical examination in hospital as he has just come into care.

"Could take"

Agree with others Iceland have £1 meals and freezer fillers. Bag of chicken strips for £1 can be split over a few days with rice, tomato, eggs for eg. I batch cook when I'm "flush"and get meat on offer for the freezer so that I can do it again in the future when times are lean. We've just had to spend £300 at the vet to get a lump investigated, which takes away all the good savings I've made, so I feel your pain.

Too good to go bags?

I would do some sort of pasta Bolognese you can all eat even for a few days. Add carrot like suggested.
Serve with some bread to fill you all up.

I often have beans on toast while my children have the main meal. I also make a pot of veg soup which I will have with toast in the evening.

Wednesday will soon be here, you are doing great. Take any help offered, I really would love to help a friend in this situation.

Please see if your entitled to help with the rent, take good care @tearsandtiaras

And this is why foodbanks are broken and i do not donate to them now. People using them rather than tell their teen they can't have £10 to go out with friends.
I tell my kids no we can't afford that all the time.

You can’t imagine that the day out was organised when the OP thought there would be money to cover it, and that it was a good, cost effective way of ensuring childcare on a random inset day? And that CP social workers can’t just take a day off at any point because they have essential visits and meeting planned, that would leave children at risk. And you’ve completely ignored the OP saying she isn’t going to access a food bank anyway.

Then don’t donate. You haven’t read the thread properly because the OP has clearly said that she will categorically not be using a food bank. The fact that the OPs daughter is being taken out by another parent, for inset day, while she works a 12 hours shift, must be at least some relief for the OP that she won’t be alone for those long hours. It’s £10 very well spent.

OP asked for recipes not judgement.
£30 still left isn't as bad as overdrawn and credit card bills.
I'm going to use some of these tips as things are getting much harder this Winter
And evidently from the good tips on this thread there is enough money for food and childcare..

Cheapest mince to make a big chilli to do a few meals with rice/ jacket potato

Ignore them

Do you have any points on a Nectar card? If so you could spend them in Sainsbury's?

Don’t listen to them. Smug people are always the first to judge and criticise. I think you are making the best decisions for your self and your daughter, and that’s good enough.

Oh give over, seriously.