I was in a similar situation as a young enlisted sailor with a family. Even with food stamps, we barely got along. And we didn’t buy lobster and junk food at the quick mart. It was Ramen noodles, mac and cheese, and basic foods. Many enlisted families were in the same situation and we did not trade the food stamps for cash.
Wal*Mart near me has 20lbs of rice for $8.92 or $8.94. Unlike Uncle Ben’s Instant Rice you have to use 2 cups of water for each cup of rice. Uncle Ben’s is 1:1.
I won’t say it’s great eating but I use the rice alongside hamburger, veggies (mostly), chicken in various forms, etc.
100 lbs of rice is $45 or so plus tax. Pretty much $50 with tax around here. It is the majority of my food prepper stock plus I buy canned vegetables when on sale. Big cans of Pork and Beans are NOT a good value - I DID however, get lucky at the local Wal*Mart. Got a dented can and then cleaned out the shelf at that price (only a few cans). It was cheaper than the small cans. Usually WM’s small cans of P&B are 58 cents for Van de Kamp’s. I haven’t priced the WM brand.
Once in a great while, the grocery stores around me had canned vegetables 3 and 4 for $1. I always try to stock up if I can that week. Last Thanksgiving one Wal*Mart, and only one near me (not the others) ran cans of vegetables for 25 cents. IOW 4 for $1. Corn, green beans (2 kinds) and peas. Don’t remember if carrots were on there or not. At the time I could only get about $5 but it helped restock the shelf.
I miss their Chef Boyardee for 68 cents a can. Now 88 cents on rollback. 2 year shelf life and I ate almost all of the cans about a year past “best buy” dates. Everything was just fine not one bad can in the lot.
No, I don’t eat like a king but compared to probably much of the world, I do eat like a king. I am grateful for what I have. I have seen the ugly side of the economy going back to 2007 and on. It totally changed my thinking.
I’m a little down in supplies right now but if all the grocery stores closed tomorrow (I pray not) I can survive for 6 months. Been building it for years and rotating the stock. I go after a good portion of loss-leaders at 2-3, sometimes 4-5 different places and stock up.
Last night I got the $5 Taco Bell Chalupa Cravings Box. That was my big night out at the drive-thru, LOL. Extra taco and big drink, $6.95 with tax. Usually my drive-thru night out is Jack in the Box tacos (now $1.19 for 2 - they were 99 cents for 2). Hey, gotta have my junk food!
Hey, somebody has to keep up the low end around here, LOL. Might as well be me I suppose.
Got a BOGO coupon for a buffet next week. So that will probably be $10 (think a neighbor is going to split it). Frankly I just can’t eat that much food in one sitting. Two small or less-than-medium plates and I’m already miserable.
(I hope this info is helpful to some who want to build a reasonably-cheap food prepper backup).
Ramen noodle 12 pack was $1.94 at Wal*Mart up north, a couple of nights ago. I go for beef or chicken. You can add frozen peas and carrots to them (cook them of course).
They’ll run good-sized bags of frozen veggies for 69 cents or so every few months.
Jars of strawberry preserves are $2.79 near me (cheapest). All have 2020 expiration dates. Grape Jelly, oddly enough, only good into 2019. But it’s super-cheap at the closest grocery store (little over a mile). $1.19. Now that’s cheap (medium-sized glass jar - not the small one).
I worked for our welfare department. My first job there was in the food stamp division. I used to process all the apps and renewals from Edwards Air Force base. I was surprised at how many of our servicemen and their families were on aid.