I’m a Seasonal Actor, and My Partner Works at a Home Health Agency — We Spent $23 on a Week’s Worth of Groceries

Name: Adrianna
Location: Ulster Park, NY
Number of people in household: 3 (me, my partner, and our 19-month-old daughter)
Age: 32
Occupation: I’m a seasonal scare actor; my partner works at a home health agency
Where you shopped: ShopRite and a local food pantry 
Weekly grocery budget: Under $100
Amount spent: $22.79

I visited ShopRite and a local food pantry. Sometimes I’ll also shop at Target and even Dollar General, but I didn’t make trips to either this week. We also stopped at Stewart’s Shop, a convenience store chain in the Northeast, for pizza one night.

I always survey what I’ve already got stocked in my kitchen first. From there, I’ll create a list of grocery items we’ll need for the week based on our meal plan. Sometimes I’ll check while I’m in the store if anything is on sale, which helps greatly when relying on SNAP and WIC. We’ll also visit local food pantries. 

After I look in my pantry, fridge, and freezer to see what ingredients we already have, I’ll plan our meals so we spend as little as possible. I also keep fresh items, like meat, fruit, and vegetables we’ll need to pick up top of mind. This week I noticed some diced tomatoes, boxed macaroni and cheese, and taco seasoning in the pantry, so we made taco mac and cheese. All I had to get for that recipe was some ground beef, either at the store or food pantry.

• Whole-wheat bread, $4.39
• Spring mix, $2.79
• Frozen broccoli, $3.29
• Frozen asparagus, $3.99
• Bananas, $1.26
• 16 ounces cheddar cheese, $2.69
• Hot dogs, $2.69
• Hot dog buns, $1.69

Total: $22.79 (paid for with WIC and SNAP benefits)

• Toasted oats cereal, free
• Ground beef, free
• Canned spaghetti and meatballs, free
• 18 eggs, free
• Canned tuna, free
• Apple juice, free
• Baby food, free

In the morning, I make fruit smoothies for me and my partner. Lorri has milk and mixed fruit baby food. Later that day, Mother Nature pays me a visit and I feel under the weather so I don’t eat lunch. My partner has a peanut butter and jelly and tuna sandwich for lunch, which he shares with our daughter. For dinner, we have hot dogs and marble cupcakes I make using a boxed mix in our pantry.

My partner and I have fruit smoothies again, as requested, for the morning. Lorri has applesauce and jarred baby food we keep stocked in the pantry. For lunch, we have PB&J sandwiches. For dinner we have taco mac and cheese using the ground beef we got at a food pantry and the boxed mac and cheese, diced tomatoes, and sweet peas in our pantry.

I skip breakfast and attend a work orientation for my seasonal scare acting job, so I’m not sure what my partner and Lorri eat this morning. When I get back, we go for a drive. I happen to look up local food pantries while we’re out; one was close by, so we stop to get some free food. For lunch, I have Chef Boyardee’s spaghetti and meatballs from the food pantry and chocolate milk I make with milk and chocolate syrup we have at home. My partner and baby have leftovers. I’m not hungry for dinner because of my late lunch.

I’m still not hungry so I don’t have breakfast; my partner eats eggs and bread. Lorri has jarred baby food, applesauce, cereal, milk, and apple juice. For lunch, we eat leftover taco mac and cheese and chocolate milk. For dinner, my partner requests more hot dogs so we have those with a spring mix salad.

I make steamed omelets for breakfast with my Dash egg cooker (it’s a huge help), which Lorri has with some milk.

We have PB&J sandwiches and spring mix salad for lunch with apple juice (for Lorri). 

I make taco mac and cheese again for dinner (requested by my partner) — this time without peas.

My partner and I have pancakes, and a salad with sliced hard-boiled eggs for breakfast. Lorri has toasted oats cereal, milk, and apple juice. I’m having some stomach issues (from an unknown cause), so I skip lunch. I feel better later on in the day, so we decide to go out for a drive.

We stop at Stewart’s Shop and order a few pepperoni pizza slices to have something different for dinner. The meal is roughly $5.

I have hot chocolate for breakfast — sometimes I just don’t have much of an appetite in the morning. My partner buys a meatball sandwich for lunch and I share some of it with him for lunch. For dinner, I have soy sauce ramen and a toasted tuna sandwich.

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