You really have to think outside the box on this....think "starving college student" I did it for 6 years (as a undergrad + grad student :) This was before Wal-Mart too.. Definitely NO eating out, lots of soups (homemade), no meat, LOTS of dried beans and rice (my Mexican neighbor taught me how to make refried beans), tortillas instead of bread, no soda, no dry cereal (oatmeal instead), bought stuff at discount grocery stores, farmers and ethnic markets, learned how to can and dry fruit and freeze veggies.  Nothing prepackaged and practically everything cooked from scratch.  Yeah--LOTS of repetition--rice and beans with EVERYTHING. In the wintertime I had an arrangement with my older neighbor lady that I would snow shovel her walk and driveway for a home-cooked meal. Milk once a day--small glass--not guzzled.  Also hang out at church potlucks :) A candy bar was a REAL treat--like it should be.  Good deals at the day-old bread store.  Benefits-- I had LOVELY skin from drinking LOTS of water, maintained a healthy weight--no Freshman 15 and Soph 30-- and I had plenty of energy--no mood swings or dips from eating sugar-filled junk.

Our family was extended the invitation within the last year to not go to the store for the week and live off what we have in the house. We had no notice; the invitation was extended knowing that those to whom it was extended should have adequate food. It was an eye-opening experience and one for which I was grateful. I have always bought one or two more items than I need at the store, so I wasn't too worried, but the fresh fruit went down quickly. Friends helped, but the responsibility fell to me to get my family fed.

Oh yes--correction to my post--I DID have fish----got a fishing license--could catch 5 trout a day....learned about a bazillion different ways to fix trout--except for sushi...ate so much fish I thought I was going to grow fins (how could I have forgotten that?? :)  My favorite was fish tacos before they became popular..put a trout filet on the barby and stick it in a half tortilla..douse with salsa (homemade)..I remember whining to my folks about eating trout until I saw some in the grocery store--$7.99 per pound--back when minimum wage was $3.35....I didn't whine after that..

Does Anyone hvae any pitty for someone try to live on $25.00a wk. at work,brown bag dont forget you can takt left over from the the night beffore ,or you might make aeggslalad sandwish,tunafishor banna. I had banna sandwish for 2yrs. because I bought a loaf of bread , bananas an mayo.or pbutter whichever. This is what is wrong right . Sorry but it is true

I've been married for a little over a year.  I recently graduated college and my wife is still in college.  We have $200/month budget for food, which is a little less than $25/week per person.  When we first started doing this, we didn't have a choice because we didn't have that much money.  Now that I have a good job, we've stuck to the same budget and it hasn't been a problem.  We actually only spend $175/month for groceries and once a year we'll spend about $300 and buy 1/2 a beef from a local farmer and have it processed at a locker.  Then we'll have all the steaks and burger we want.  I also do a lot of hunting and fishing, so the deer, turkey, and fish also add some protein.  We hardly ever throw any food out, we make sure we plan our meals ahead of time so that we will eat the perishable food before it goes bad.  If we have enough money left at the end of the month, we'll go out to eat which is a great treat.  (Columbia, MO)

I think this is such a great article.  My husband and I live off about $44 per week for the two of us.  We make this work because I'm meticulous about our meal planning.  On the day before we go to the grocery store, I make a calendar for the coming month with all the meals we will be eating.  I try to incorporate meals that will overlap in ingredients so that they will go further.  I think we eat pretty well.  It takes discipline, but it also takes know-how.  You need to know how to cook and you need to know how to plan.  Once you have that down, you realize how much further things can go.

Our family (of three, occasionally five) has had a $100 a month food budget for the past ten years.  As a result of good meal planning and a good shopping strategy we are always able to keep our pantry and freezer stocked.  We rotate our items and replace them as we use them.  I also cook a lot from scratch and we enjoy one meatless meal per week.  We have never felt deprived and we don't exist on beans and rice.  We enjoy steaks, salmon and roasts on a routine basis.  Additionally, we contribute to the food bank two to three times a year.

We budget an additional $50 a month for non food purchases and cat food.  With the current economic situation and rise in prices we are still managing to keep within our budget.  It truly can be done and after awhile it becomes a matter of habit and routine.

I'm suprised no one has pointed this out: Food stamps are not meant to be your "entire" food budget. Government aid is meant to supplement your food money. I do appreciate the fact that families are struggling right now, but it's frustrating when I see local people working the system for government money.

My husband and I have always eaten for $25 each or less.  My parents eat for $20 each...  It blows my mind that people became "extremely agitated" and impatient - there is no reason to go hungry on $25 per week. You can't go out to eat each night, but you can eat healthy, filling meals cooked at home.

My husband is a picky eater - there are no rice and bean meals in our home. He's a meat-and-potato guy, so I watch sale flyers and plan each week's meals around sales. Today I bought a pot roast for $4.50, normally $9, and it will make two meals.  I'll add a few dollars worth of potatoes, carrots, ect. and freeze half of the finished meal for next week. It's not that hard - just focus on whole foods (a potato instead of boxed fries, less processed foods) and pick up a cookbook from the library.

Eating on $25 or less a week during Ramadan is ALWAYS easy for me! I save big b/c I dont have to buy coffee in the AM or lunch while I'm at work. I just eat one meal a day (soup/salad, main dish, and desert).

Now that Ramadan is over I've tried cutting costs by drinking coffee at work (eventhough it just doesnt taste the same!), bringing my lunch (left overs) to work & eating out less. I LOVE FOOD so doing this is really hard..but I gotta do it to save some cash!

Stacey, I know what you mean about some people working the system. I can't count how many times I've been behind someone in the checkout line holding a "food stamp" card who just cleared out the best cuts of meat from the meat department, and simply MUST have organic, hormone free milk,  20 frozen dinners, and several bags of Doritos.

Many people who work hard and have never taken any kind of handout can't even afford these kinds of foods (not that people should be eating Doritos regardless) and yet are expected to subsidize the expensive choices of others, many of whom could work but choose not to (I recognize that some who receive assistance would choose to work but cannot.)