What did you end up doing op?

Did your new refrigerator arrive by now?

Drinks: use ice (juice) or freeze half an hour (shelf stable milk).

Fruits: counter

Veggies: use ones that can sit out like onion, potato, tomato, and even cucumber/squash/pepper/etc…for a day or two. Maybe go to the store more often.

Dairy: butter and even cheese can go in freezer.

Meat: can go in freezer. Or get a rotisserie chicken on the way home.

Ready made meals: this is a time for Trader Joe’s frozen Asian meals, frozen pizza, microwave burritos, and frozen Indian meals. You can even make things ahead and freeze.

Rely on shelf stables: pasta and sauce, beans and rice, oatmeal and toast, etc…

Peanut butter and jelly, chips and fruit for lunch,
Toast with butter or breakfast bars, pantry items, rice, beans, pasta, water, oatmeal, bananas, there are plenty of things

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:See if you can borrow a mini fridge from a neighbor - don't bother buying one. I'd do a bunch of pb&j, eggs can be left on the counter, most fruit (though be careful of fruit flies), bread pre-sliced and in the freezer to get toasted, oatmeal, and you know, takeout and chicken nuggets for a week to fill in won't kill your kid.

Do people have spare mini fridges lying around to lend? Coolers, yes, and probably ice packs will get you through the week.

Those of us with college kids home for the summer do. I currently have 2 in my basement just sitting there, unplugged, waiting to be moved back to school. I'd happily lend one or both out to someone who asked on my buy nothing group.

Shelf stable milk (Horizon, Parmalat) are a good substitute. Alternatively, you could use powdered or canned, but those would be more likely taste different to her.

Between frozen and canned options, you should be easily able to feed her for a week. Especially if you supplement, occasionally with takeout. Takeout could be rotisserie chicken from the deli, with bakery bread and deli sides/salad bar optional (or you could microwave frozen vegetables for a few minutes and serve whatever starch you keep on hand at home).

Anonymous wrote:Use a cooler.

We’ve had to do this. Used a cooler. Can keep bananas and other fruits on the counter (Avacado). Peanut butter and jelly. We’d have pot pies frozen and then just bake them.

I don't get how this is an issue if you have a freezer, for yourselves or the kid. Cook from frozen for dinner - there are literally entire aisles at the grocery store of frozen entrees and vegetables. Drink water or as others have said, shelf-stable milk. Have fruit (bananas, apples) or frozen waffles for breakfast and microwave entrees, canned soup, or PBJs with chips for lunch. This makes me wonder what you normally eat day-to-day if you can't think of how to prepare a family meal just out of things from your freezer.