IME kids (I have boys) don't eat very much until around 5- there is an increase every year, but by age 6 or 7, they eat like adult and by age 10 they eat like 1.5 adults and when they are in MS and HS, they eat like 2-3 adults. YMMV

Anonymous wrote:$1100/mo. on groceries for a family of 5. This is not particularly lavish (usually Giant not Whole Foods), but OTOH we're not eating rice and beans or clipping coupons either.

This is also my family of 5. 1100-1300 per month

We spend $300-$400 a week for groceries and household items (family of 4). DH and I both pack our lunches during the work week and pack the kids' lunches for school 2/3rd of the time.

We also spend about $200 a week going out to eat or ordering in.

We spend $400 a week for a family of 6. 4 adults and 2 teenagers. All vegan, organic meals from scratch. We eat out once a month.

I spend $175-$200 depending on the week, including TP, paper towels, pull-ups (youngest not yet potty-trained), maybe a splurge for beer & wine. I coupon and shop sales religiously, stock up when there are good deals to be had (BOGO pork loin or chix breast, etc.) Another example, with the Giant app coupons and weekly newspaper coupons, I can get 4 boxes of Nature Valley protein bars for breakfast/lunch packing for 50 cents a box. I meal plan every week, sit down Weds or Thurs night with the upcoming circulars, look at what I have on hand, plot out the week. I also cook at least 1-2 freezer ready meals in bulk on the weekends (homemade soup, chili, stewed lentils with veggies) to use up the produce before it goes bad and to have things available for a quick weeknight dinner. This saves us from takeout on nights we are rushed. It takes time, I admit, but I cook all meals at home, most from scratch (the occasional taco kit for dinner maybe 1x each week) but otherwise lots of veggies, while grains, fish - I try to be as healthy and as frugal as possible at TH same time. Start with a meal plan, take a good look at your "convenience" foods because they cost more, you'd save by cooking from scratch and it would be healthier, too.

[quote=Anonymous]OP here - thanks for the posts... It actually looks like my weekly budget of about $300 for groceries/ monthly supplies ie TP and Paper Towels is pretty on point. Which is good and bad I suppose.. I was hoping that I could spend less but also seems like with 5 mouths to feed I am going to be in the $1100 a month range regardless if I want to keep buying high quality foods that we are used to.. I would like to be able to not waste produce so much. [b]I feel like every Sunday we "clean out" the fridge and there is food that was perfectly good that has spoiled cause we didn't use it[/b] .. it is a terrible waste. Any food storage ideas out there!? thanks for all the info[/quote]

Well, in this case, it sounds like you could spend less.

$750-$800/month; takeout once a week

Anonymous wrote:one method i recommend is skipping a week every 6-8 weeks. we are a family of 6 and every other month or so i will just have a pantry week and spend about 25 dollars on just fruit and milk. on a normal week we spend 180-220 depending on our needs. i watch it pretty carefully and we are down to only half our dinners including meat which helps a lot.

I am a PP and I do this too but its probably more like once a month.

hardly relevant, but family of 5 here. Ages 41, 39, 20, 10, & 7 and we spend about $250/week. The 20yr old consumes more than the two older adults combined.

one method i recommend is skipping a week every 6-8 weeks. we are a family of 6 and every other month or so i will just have a pantry week and spend about 25 dollars on just fruit and milk. on a normal week we spend 180-220 depending on our needs. i watch it pretty carefully and we are down to only half our dinners including meat which helps a lot.

[quote=Anonymous]OP here - thanks for the posts... It actually looks like my weekly budget of about $300 for groceries/ monthly supplies ie TP and Paper Towels is pretty on point. Which is good and bad I suppose.. I was hoping that I could spend less but also seems like with 5 mouths to feed I am going to be in the $1100 a month range regardless if I want to keep buying high quality foods that we are used to.. I would like to be able to not waste produce so much. I feel like [b]every Sunday we "clean out" the fridge and there is food that was perfectly good that has spoiled cause we didn't use it [/b].. it is a terrible waste. Any food storage ideas out there!? thanks for all the info[/quote]

Every Wednesday go through, gather together produce, and use it Thursday for snacks and dinner. You're welcome.

OP here
Yes I mean I am pretty bad at planning meals. We have one main fridge and I have a deep freezer in the basement.. with basically nothing in it. I do not cook ahead and I don't plan meals right now my kids are so picky I end up cooking something separate for my husband and myself usually. That is if I have the energy after I get home from work... but anyway , I do think if I am a bit more vigilant with planning meals like PP suggested it will help us buy less and throw away less each week which would be a good start.
I feel like I have no meal ideas that my entire family eats ..

[quote=Anonymous]OP here - thanks for the posts... It actually looks like my weekly budget of about $300 for groceries/ monthly supplies ie TP and Paper Towels is pretty on point. Which is good and bad I suppose.. I was hoping that I could spend less but also seems like with 5 mouths to feed I am going to be in the $1100 a month range regardless if I want to keep buying high quality foods that we are used to.. I would like to be able to not waste produce so much. I feel like every Sunday we "clean out" the fridge and there is food that was perfectly good that has spoiled cause we didn't use it .. it is a terrible waste. Any food storage ideas out there!? thanks for all the info[/quote]

We have just started buying durable produce as a matter of course instead of stuff that goes bad quickly -- so kale, cabbage, and romaine rather than spinach or mixed greens, apples instead of bananas, keep frozen spinach on hand rather than fresh, etc. It's not a hard and fast rule, but when your household "staples" are fairly shelf- (or fridge-) stable, then when you get something different that goes bad more quickly, it stands out in your head as a reminder to eat it first.

[quote=Anonymous]OP here - thanks for the posts... It actually looks like my weekly budget of about $300 for groceries/ monthly supplies ie TP and Paper Towels is pretty on point. [/quote]
You should be able to cut this back to $250 simply by eating your leftovers. Once you start managing your food better (planning meals like you said - use what's in your kitchen/pantry before you buy new), you should be able to cut it back to $200.

Do you have one fridge? What do you keep in your freezer currently? What do you tend to cook each week?

We spend $250 week for family of 5.
My kids are older than yours and they eat a lot more now than they did when they were under 5.