Gordy Gronkowski says he spent $600/wk feeding 5 boys in 1980s

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t realize all the gronks played professional football. Those are some good athletic genes!

4 in pro football and 1 in pro baseball. Crazy.

I had no idea his brothers played for Maryland!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1980’s?

He was a teen in the 00s.

Gronk? I’m 43 and turned 13 in 1990 ....

Gronk was born in 1989 and turned 13 in 2002.

But he has 3 other siblings who were teens in the '80/90s, no?

Outside splitting hairs and literal interpretation of "$600 groceries/wk to feed the kids..." I think the sentiment is that it was tough to keep up with a big bustling family. And there weren't places like Costco, Amazon, and the like to make grocery shopping easier and affordable back then.

I totally get it. We have 4 kids (teens and tweens) and food is one of the highest monthly expenses for us.

I'm 10 years younger than Gronk and there sure as hell was Costco. It was just called "Price Club". Jesus, he wasn't born in the 50s people.

[Anonymous]

My mom moved after I graduated from high school and my little brother attended the same high school he and his brothers did. It's a very nice suburb of Buffalo. High property taxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My mom moved after I graduated from high school and my little brother attended the same high school he and his brothers did. It's a very nice suburb of Buffalo. High property taxes.

And Gronkowski graduated high school in 2008. There is definitely a Costco, Sam's Club and every other super store you could think of in that particular area. Did you think they were farming and making a weekly journey to the one market in town?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My mom moved after I graduated from high school and my little brother attended the same high school he and his brothers did. It's a very nice suburb of Buffalo. High property taxes.

And Gronkowski graduated high school in 2008. There is definitely a Costco, Sam's Club and every other super store you could think of in that particular area. Did you think they were farming and making a weekly journey to the one market in town?

If they were spending $600/wk and still shopping at Costco/Sam’s Club - their meals must of been insane.

I want a AMA from the mom on how she cooked 3 meals a day 7 days a week for 5 massive teen boys.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH ate 4000 calories a day when we met in college. His grocery bills were outrageous. The vast majority of his food intake was meat, vegetables and nuts.

Side note- it's hard to eat healthy cheaply in America. We subsidize corn and sugar instead of vegetables.

If he was mostly eating meat and nuts, then yes, the grocery bill will be insane. We're vegetarian, mostly vegan, and I find that it is pretty easy to eat healthy cheaply, so long as you do things like stay within season, buy dried beans in bulk, go to ethnic grocers, etc. The hard part is that if you don't know how to cook/meal plan using dried beans etc, then your costs will go up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH ate 4000 calories a day when we met in college. His grocery bills were outrageous. The vast majority of his food intake was meat, vegetables and nuts.

Side note- it's hard to eat healthy cheaply in America. We subsidize corn and sugar instead of vegetables.

If he was mostly eating meat and nuts, then yes, the grocery bill will be insane. We're vegetarian, mostly vegan, and I find that it is pretty easy to eat healthy cheaply, so long as you do things like stay within season, buy dried beans in bulk, go to ethnic grocers, etc. The hard part is that if you don't know how to cook/meal plan using dried beans etc, then your costs will go up.

Beans are mostly starch.

To be an athlete at peak performance you need a diet of fresh vegetables and for the men who ‘bulk’ - protein-heavy foods like meats and eggs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean if they had their own baseball diamond, tennis court and pool, sounds like affording groceries was not a problem?

They were in Western New York. Doesn’t cost much for a spread like that.

Here’s the original article: https://www.esquire.com/sports/interviews/a29000/gronkowski-family-athletes-0614/

They were going through20 ga llons of milk a week.

That seems like a lot -- 4 gallons per week for each boy? That's almost 10 servings of milk a day per boy. I had five brothers and my parents used to buy them a gallon or two a week. They each had their own bottle so one didn't chug it all the first day. If they were really going through 20 gallons of milk a week, they were feeling all the neighborhood boys.

But I can EASILY see spending $600 a week feeing 5 boys even in the 80s or 90s, particularly if you are not worried about coupon cutting or budgeting (ie., buying cheap cuts of meat, avoiding premade frozen stuff which is expensive, etc.)

My brother (who's 6 ft 4) and my H drank a gallon a day as teens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean if they had their own baseball diamond, tennis court and pool, sounds like affording groceries was not a problem?

They were in Western New York. Doesn’t cost much for a spread like that.

Here’s the original article: https://www.esquire.com/sports/interviews/a29000/gronkowski-family-athletes-0614/

They were going through 20 gallons of milk a week.

Doesn’t cost much to own a property with a tennis court, baseball field, pool and hot tub because it’s not on the east coast? LOL oh DCUM, you never disappoint.

[Anonymous]

1/3 of our grocery bill is easily my teen boy. But only because we have some special diets that raise costs for other members. This set of kids is my second string (first set included an athletic girl and we were the hang out house) and I have 4 brothers so I was not too shocked.

The constant dirty dishes though is hellacious. Broke the dishwasher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean if they had their own baseball diamond, tennis court and pool, sounds like affording groceries was not a problem?

They were in Western New York. Doesn’t cost much for a spread like that.

Here’s the original article: https://www.esquire.com/sports/interviews/a29000/gronkowski-family-athletes-0614/

They were going through20 ga llons of milk a week.

That seems like a lot -- 4 gallons per week for each boy? That's almost 10 servings of milk a day per boy. I had five brothers and my parents used to buy them a gallon or two a week. They each had their own bottle so one didn't chug it all the first day. If they were really going through 20 gallons of milk a week, they were feeling all the neighborhood boys.

But I can EASILY see spending $600 a week feeing 5 boys even in the 80s or 90s, particularly if you are not worried about coupon cutting or budgeting (ie., buying cheap cuts of meat, avoiding premade frozen stuff which is expensive, etc.)

My brother (who's 6 ft 4) and my H drank a gallon a day as teens.

We only skipped this problem because DS can’t tolerate milk. We have one bathroom so this is crucial. Somehow chugging glass after glass of soy, rice, or oat milk isn’t as alluring.

He does eat alarming amounts of meat and starches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH ate 4000 calories a day when we met in college. His grocery bills were outrageous. The vast majority of his food intake was meat, vegetables and nuts.

Side note- it's hard to eat healthy cheaply in America. We subsidize corn and sugar instead of vegetables.

If he was mostly eating meat and nuts, then yes, the grocery bill will be insane. We're vegetarian, mostly vegan, and I find that it is pretty easy to eat healthy cheaply, so long as you do things like stay within season, buy dried beans in bulk, go to ethnic grocers, etc. The hard part is that if you don't know how to cook/meal plan using dried beans etc, then your costs will go up.

You think dried beans will suffice for 6ft-6in 200+lb football players?

We go through 2 gallons/week of milk for two skinny teen/pre-teen boys. I could see that being 15 gal/week with 5 boys twice their size, plus assume that half the football team would hang out at their house, eating and drinking everything in sight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean if they had their own baseball diamond, tennis court and pool, sounds like affording groceries was not a problem?

They were in Western New York. Doesn’t cost much for a spread like that.

Here’s the original article: https://www.esquire.com/sports/interviews/a29000/gronkowski-family-athletes-0614/

They were going through 20 gallons of milk a week.

Doesn’t cost much to own a property with a tennis court, baseball field, pool and hot tub because it’s not on the east coast? LOL oh DCUM, you never disappoint.

The PP didn't say that. Location always factors into COL. The Gronkowski family home was in Amherst, NY The boys shared two giant bedrooms with 5 king-sized beds split between them. Let's assume that was a bonding decision rather than space decision and put the house at 3,000+ square feet.

A house of at least 3,000 square feet in Williamsville/Amherst, NY with a minimum of 2 acres (to fit the giant outdoor athletic fields) is $600,000. A similar lot and custom house of that size on the coast practically anywhere from NYC to Charleston will be at least $2,000,000.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/102-Brookedge-Dr_Williamsville_NY_14221_M36026-99954







If you want to be specific - this house would probably be $1.85 million in the D.C. suburbs because of square footage and acreage size. A developer would buy it and sub-divide it into 4 .50 acre lots with 2,000 square foot 3-level homes on each spot and launch it at a bidding war for $850,000 a piece.

[Anonymous]

These kids were doing professional-level athletic training. Given their size and athleticism, they were eating 3000-5000 calories each PER DAY.

Friday night pizza probably involves six large pizzas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean if they had their own baseball diamond, tennis court and pool, sounds like affording groceries was not a problem?

They were in Western New York. Doesn’t cost much for a spread like that.

Here’s the original article: https://www.esquire.com/sports/interviews/a29000/gronkowski-family-athletes-0614/

They were going through 20 gallons of milk a week.

Doesn’t cost much to own a property with a tennis court, baseball field, pool and hot tub because it’s not on the east coast? LOL oh DCUM, you never disappoint.

The PP didn't say that. Location always factors into COL. The Gronkowski family home was in Amherst, NY The boys shared two giant bedrooms with 5 king-sized beds split between them. Let's assume that was a bonding decision rather than space decision and put the house at 3,000+ square feet.

A house of at least 3,000 square feet in Williamsville/Amherst, NY with a minimum of 2 acres (to fit the giant outdoor athletic fields) is $600,000. A similar lot and custom house of that size on the coast practically anywhere from NYC to Charleston will be at least $2,000,000.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/102-Brookedge-Dr_Williamsville_NY_14221_M36026-99954







If you want to be specific - this house would probably be $1.85 million in the D.C. suburbs because of square footage and acreage size. A developer would buy it and sub-divide it into 4 .50 acre lots with 2,000 square foot 3-level homes on each spot and launch it at a bidding war for $850,000 a piece.

Thank you, PP - I’m the “doesn’t cost much” PP and I have spent a lot of time in western and central New York. This thing is $600,000 now, it would have been even lower in the 80s or 90s. The guy ran a chain of fitness equipment stores, it doesn’t seem like such a stretch.