Previously in this series, I talked about how I have finally come around to understanding that spending money on food…good, wholesome, real food…is important, necessary and right. If you didn’t read that post, you might want to start there!
For my family of six, I spend around $500 a month. (This amount does not include non-food household items.)
My husband (who hasn’t gained a pound in our almost 14 years of marriage) eats enough for three grown men. His job is physically demanding, plus he often plays soccer or goes jogging. The guy can eat. And…
My four sons take after their daddy. They can put away some serious food. I have decided that as soon as they’re old enough, they must take a job to support their eating habits. What in the world am I gonna do when they’re all teenagers at once? :)
So let me tell you what our $500/month goes to…
We bought a half a cow this year (which actuallydoesn’t appear to be enough to last the year..). It is a locally raised cow, fed only grass…woohoo! It cost us $725, which breaks down to $61 a month for beef.
This year we also bought a grass fed lamb from this same farmer, costing us $160, or $13/month. (If you haven’t eaten lamb before…OH MY GOODNESS…you need to! It has become our favorite meat ever. YUM!)
I buy large whole free range chickens from another local farmer that we trust…and spend approximately $17 per month.
We buy our milk from friends who have a wonderful milk cow. (Ah, we love that milk cow!). We buy an average of six gallons a week at $4/gallon. (This is a GREAT price for organic, grass fed, hormone free, incredible milk.)
Our eggs we buy from some other friends who have free range chickens (remember this?!). We go through at least three dozen a week at $1.50/dozen. (I think that’s also a GREAT price for what we’re getting!)
Okay, so lets put some of this together here…
Meat from farmers total per month: $91
Milk, 24 gallons/month: $96
Eggs, 12 dozen/month: $18
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Total on meat, milk and eggs/month: $205
Next, the bulk of my groceries are purchased from Azure Standard food co-op…which is where I order my grains (wheat, oats, rice), rapadura (dehydrated cane sugar juice), sea salt, some fresh produce, tuna, frozen fruits and veggies, and some other stuff I can’t think of right now. :) I spend anywhere from $100-$250/month depending on how many large items I’m out of that month.
The remaining amount I spend at the grocery store buying fresh fruits and veggies. (And occasionally Smart Chicken brand chicken breasts when they are REALLY on sale.)
And, if you remember seeing my pantry and freezers, you know I also have a big garden, so I do a lot of canning and freezing in the fall. That stocks us up for the year on tomato products, green beans, corn, peaches, pears and applesauce. We also try to grow enough potatoes to last us for several months. (And I take advantage of any extra fruits and veggies anyone else has an abundance of to offer!)
Do you know all the yummy meals I can put together for my family with all of this great REAL and wholesome food? I LOVE it!
Next in this Getting Real With Food series, I’ll offer some suggestions for where to start if you’re looking to begin a healthier eating style. You CAN do it!!
Lenetta says
Laura, how do you store your potatoes? I put ours in an under the stairs closet in our basement. I admit that I don’t do well in getting them used up, but it seems that before long, they’re sprouting eyes so huge that I fear they’re going to make a break for it and attempt world potato domination. And that scares me.
Anyway, that’s the coolest (temp wise) place we have to store them that wouldn’t freeze. Although from previous posts, it seems you don’t have a shortage of chilly places in your house during the winter! :>)
Michele says
Laura, I absolutely agree with you! :) I am loving this series.
By the way, that IS an incredible price for milk! I pay $9.50 a gallon.
Oh, thanks for the warning that the applesauce bread should be made in batches. You’re right. I made one loaf Tuesday night (for Wed. breakfast), and it’s almost gone already. :)
Blessings,
Michele
http://www.frugalgranola.blogspot.com
Donna says
Sounds like you do a great job!
I’m curious as to how $61 of beef and $13 of lamb breaks down per week and month. Probably too hard to figure. But you’re right about lamb! Wonderful meat!!! I’ve bought it a couple of times from the store (expensive!) and I bet your’s is way better than store-bought! Yummy! And it sounds like you got a great deal on that too. If you get time, I would love to know how much of what that you get from a lamb.
QUESTION: I’m not sure if I will be able to do it, but, I found a place that makes a delivery to my town of “Raw Milk”, but they stressed that it was FOR ANIMALS ONLY. Is that for legal purposes? Or do I need to question further?
Lizzie says
Laura – great series :) I’d love to get some advice and suggestions regarding your vegie garden. I’ve never tried this before but was considering trying a few things in containers (the only really sunny spot has just been planted with daisies before I got the vegie bug – they’re pretty, but not very tasty, LOL). What would you suggest I grow first? Something easy and foolproof! LOL. BTW, I’m in Australia, so we’re in winter right now, but I’m collecting ideas for spring planting in a few months :)
Cheers,
Lizzie
Sonshine says
I am loving this series! Thanks for sharing! :)
Kate says
Awesome Laura! Thank you so much for your breakdown. It really makes me want to look into some of the same things, specifically buying a cow and fresh chickens and eggs. I have just noticed that there is a house close to us that has a sign out for free-range eggs for sale. This post has given me that oush I needed to give them a call.
I also really want to look into Azure Standard. How do you feel their prices compare to local health food stores or co-ops?
This series is fantastic and SO inspiring! Thank you so much, and keep up the great work!
mama says
Thanks for the post. I’ve been doing a lot of research about different sources for food and I am learning so much. My husband and I have decided that buting a 1/4 cow to start with is a good start so that is where we are at. I have been making some trips to the health food and that all just confuse me. Today I will be picking up some organic beets, sea salt and organic plain yougurt to try and make some beet Kvass. I am also picking up some good butter and our first half gallon of raw milk.
Thank you so much for all you help. You are such a blessing to my family.
Kimi @ The Nourishing Gourmet says
Great post! I also buy beef, chicken and sometimes lamb in bulk from local farmers. I find it cheaper, and much better quality.
candace says
Hi Laura,
Do you make your own butter with all of that fresh milk?
Great series!
lindsay edmonds says
Laura, thanks for the breakdown. This is definitely what I need to do to evaluate and lower our food budget. You have an awesome price for milk and eggs! You should be very thankful! ;) I finally updated by blogroll and added your site! I just love how we are so likeminded!
Gretchen says
I have been waiting for this. Thank you so much for the breakdown. You really have inspired me. I just wish Azure Standard delivered to me. I am trying to find some places to order from that will deliver. Thank you again!
Shay B says
Hello. I am a new reader (as of two days ago) and I am curious if you can help me make a few leaps and (for me that would be tiny changes) I am a baker and I love to cook as well and I try to do things as healthy for my family as possible… I would like to make some changes (I work full time however) so some simpler ones to start off with would be wonderful… I was wondering if you could help me with some ideas on where to start?
Thanks!
Shay
Julie says
I am glad to see your breakdown b/c I was getting discouraged. I was wondering how you and others are able to eat like this on one income. My husband and I are both in school (he works full-time too) and we have 2 children. We already eat healthy but want to incorporate more organic foods and NT methods into our diet. The prices here (in TN) are a whole lot higher than what you are paying. I am doing some research on local farms to find some connections. We do order a side of beef from a local farm and it ends up being less than $2/lb. Eggs are outrageous and so is milk. I couldn’t believe that one poster pays $9.50/gallon!
We spend about $300 a month right now and that includes non-food items/baby products too. So, to change our eating the way I want, we are going to have to find another $200 somewhere. I will continue to pray for direction on this. We don’t spend frivously either.
Thanks for all the insight!
tracey says
I just wanted to share that we buy our raw/organic milk for $ 2.00 a gallon from the local farmer. Also, if you didn’t know farmer are paid from the creamery .80 a gallon, at least in Wi. We grow most of vegetables(mostly heirloom). We paid 1.00 lb. for grass fed beef(processing included) We grow & sell pastured poultry for $ 2.50 lb(professionally processed). Our budget is around $ 400 monthly to feed the 8 of us…
Kate @ Modern Alternative Mama says
I like that you broke it down by $ amounts. A lot of posts don’t. This is helpful! We don’t get prices quite as good as you do here, but we get milk for $5/gal (also raw, grassfed) and eggs for $2.50/doz. Not bad though! I have two farmers: one has pigs, sheep, cows, chickens, and turkeys (so all those meats, eggs, and milk) and the other has a huge organic garden, grains, maple syrup, and beef. Between the two I’m almost entirely covered!