£200 for a month of food shopping?

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Is it possible?
2 adults and a 2 year old
Will also need nappies, laundry stuff, toilet paper ect.

I think its possible, but it would be very tight indeed. Have a look at the meal plans on Thrifty Leslie, so some ideas and pointers. Also can you access a food bank? there is no shame in accepting help when you need it.

https://thriftylesley.com/meal-plans/

There is also this website, I haven't used any recipes from this myself, but its on the same lines as Leslie's
https://www.patsfood.org/category/meal-plans/

Definitely. Especially if you don't eat lots of meat, snacks or processed stuff. I just did our (2 adults and 2 teens) basic monthly shop in Lidl for £127, and we'll probably spend an additional £70 topping up milk, cheese, fruit and veg by the end of the month. We eat a mostly vegetarian, home-cooked diet.

It would be hard.

£40-50 a week is doable but it becomes much harder to do week in week out as the store cupboard items need replacing.

I can do it on that budget most weeks but if I needed olive oil (rare!) or washing powder (larger boxes tend to be better value) or bin bags it can throw the budget.

£250 is more realistic if it's for more than a month or two.

Have you any community food initiatives near you. There’s one in my town where you pay £2 for 10 items.

As others have said, I think its doable once or twice a year, but I wouldn't want to be doing it every month.

And make full use of community pantrys! Thats what they're there for.

One month? Or every month?
If it's the former it depends on what you've got in your larder.

I struggle doing that x1 adult x2 cats

Meats not that expensive. Well it isn't for me as I can get it for free. But it's not too bad especially from a butchers

I couldn’t unless it was really essential and I’d have hated it, but I could do it. And have done it in the past. Never ever do I want to do it again.

I think it depends on what counts on your "food shop". I tend to get house stuff - loo roll, washing powder etc et. £200 for all the "supermarket stuff" feels tight x

That’s our limit each month. For food, it’s doable. But when you need to include all the other household products, IE washing powder, dishwasher tablets etc then no you end up needing another £50.

I think people's spends on household items such as toiletries and cleaning products vary widely.
I spend a bare, mean minimum of approximately £15-17 / month, and still keep a tidy house:
£5 on a box of laundry powder every 2 months.
£5 on loo roll / month.
£3 bottle of branded washing up liquid lasts 2 months.
£2 Cif / disinfectant / scouring pads / washing up sponges on rotation; one of the above / month.
£2 descaler tablets every 6 months.
£7 hoover bags / year.
£2 + £2 bottle of shampoo and shower gel / month.
£2 bar soap for hands in kitchen and bathroom lasts 3 months.
Wash faces with cotton terry flannels and soap.
I switched up from kitchen roll to cotton cloths I sewed from old bedding ‐super absorbent and easy to wash.
Have also sewn reusable san-pro from old towelling / bedding / garments which works brilliantly.

It's tight but doable.

It will take a lot of planning ahead but doable I'm sure.

I would really struggle but would mean plan everything down to brekkies, lunches, dinners and snacks.. less meat and no processed foods? Even bake your own biccies and cakes etc. Some washing up liquid in a bucket of hot water will wash things down better than sprays etc and will be cheaper than buying multiple.. cotton wool pads and warm water instead of baby wipes? I really like Tesco Fred and flo nappies and they’re a lot cheaper than pampers.. I’m not sure if those ideas help.. as I say I would definitely struggle but that’s where I’d start.. I’d like to cut my food shop down tbh so I’d love to hear others tips. Hope it goes well

Our monthly food shop is normally under £200 for a family of 4, two adults, DD2 & DS5. It's very easy to do, we have lots of snacks, 3 meals a day, lots of treats, also includes toiletries & cleaning products plus a top up shop or two for things like fresh milk, fruit/veg, cheese...etc.

It does take a fair bit of planning, at the start of every month I write down a meal plan, snack ideas, drink ideas, a couple of treats for each week, go through all the cupboards to see what we're running low on and create a grocery list based on exactly what we're going to cook including portion sizes. We also don't buy branded items.

I’ve stopped using detergent with dark clothes and towels.

On YouTube videos £25 for 5 meals, sorry I can’t remember the names.

Can you use less meat and replace with lentils? Example- chilli with lots of veg and beans and little amount of beef. Pasta sauce, veg and lentils with tinned tomatoes either with or without meat. Stir fry with lots of veggies. A curry I like is cauliflower with boiled eggs. That’s cheaper than chicken/lamb for curry.

This is our budget for the month (we do use child benefit for nappies and toddler snacks etc) but for food we spend about £180-200 a month for 2 adults, a 10 year old 50% of the time and a toddler with suspected autism & EXTREMELY fussy habits with food. It's hard but it's doable. Main big thing is to buy the value brand of the store, we shop in aldi and we buy everything possible in the everyday essentials line - pasta, meat, tuna, cheese, bread, eggs etc are all much cheaper on the value lines than the others. Another one is meal plan EVERYTHING, even breakfasts and snacks and leftovers are your best friend. My usual shopping is about £65-70 but that will last 10-11 days (we eat tinned/frozen fruit and veggies once the fresh is gone in that time period). Also with nappies, if your little one doesn't have trouble with rashes etc I would recommend the store brand as opposed to pampers or huggies etc, the price difference is significant, same with wipes etc.