Even though I am torn on the value of “austerity challenges”, some of these have some good tips and recipes.
The Grocery Cart Challenge – feeding a family of 6 on $60 aweek
The X-Treme Food Stamp Challenge – out of necessity, $161 a month for a family of 5.Actual food stamp recipient.
The Dollar a Day Challenge – $1 a day on food for the month of June
The Incompetent Hausfraus’ $2 a Day Challenge– Can you feed your family on $2 a day per person?
100 Days of Real Food on A Budget -$125/week for a family of four. Real food only – no processed food.
The $35 a Week Project – 2 people, all meals $35/week
The Minimalist Food Challenge -$200 or less for a month, while also making use of what was already in the pantry & freezer
Milehimama’s Food Stamp Challenge – Family with 9 children, some with special diets,eat real food for $2/per person a day
FAEats SNAP Challenge – a week long challenge
Once A Month Mom’s Get Real: Saving More and Spending Less on Real Food – just some great tips on smart shopping for real food on a budget
Poor Girl Eats Well -$25 Shopping Cart series
Daily Cheapskate– a SNAP Challenge…. $63/week for a couple.
Incompetent Housefrau’s Week of Snap Food – Gluten-free & dairy-free for a family of 6
Real Food,Real Deals – feeding a family real food on a budget
Cory Booker’s SNAP Challenge – Mayor of Newark, NJ takes a $4/day challenge.
Top 10 Foods for a Healthy SNAP Diet -Alli Sosna shares her thoughts on healthy eating with some suggestions for must-buy healthy items
I just read “Jenn’s Words” and that is my life, only I don’t have a husband. I’m a single mother, age 55, with a special needs 6 yr old. I’m a professional, I’ve taken x-rays for 30 years. Last year after having ankle surgery and not be able to return to work within the 12 week family leave time ( I was released 1 week later), I was laid off from my job of 10 years.I had never had a bad evaluation in the 10 yrs and I had been awarded SEVEN times for excellent customer service and team work. I was allowed to reapply for the position but it was given to a recently graduated technologist for much less an hour than I was making because of budget concerns. Now six months later, I’ve exhausted State unemployment benefits and can’t even get hired at a minimum wage job because I don’t have the skills they want. I apply for multiple jobs every week in almost every State. I can’t afford my medication or the extras my son needs. We have had the same TV for years, my car is over 10 years old, we wear clothes from rummage sales and thrift shops before I lost my job because of the cost of my son’s preschool. Like Jenn, I yelled at my son for wanting something we used to be able to afford. I’m tired of being told if I went to this church, prayed harder, got off my back side and got a job, things would be ok. I WANT to work! I’ve worked since I was 12, when I started babysitting for the Football Coach every Friday. I babysat, cleaned houses all through high school. I put my self through x-ray school waiting tables and taking every minute of hospital call I could get. I am not afraid of hard work but I am afraid of not having a roof over my head and not being able to feed my son. At my age, I thought I would be living the American Dream not this American Nightmare!