What's the cheapest you could feed a family of four...

[mountainm]

So. Hypothetical question. Given a typical family of four. 2 kids. 1 male adult. 1 female adult.

What's the cheapest you can feed them for, for a year.

So 365 days, 3 meals a day.

Some rules.
Everything has to be purchased, nothing foraged or home grown.
Water is free
No repeats (meals not ingredients) in a week.
Calorific and nutritional requirements must be met.
Buying in bulk is allowed but you only have a standard uk size family fridge and freezer.

Cheers

M

 

[Squidders]

£zero assuming they will be happy to eat people from the surrounding area.

 

[mountainm]

£zero assuming they will be happy to eat people from the surrounding area.

I appear to have missed out the no cannibalism rule.

No cannibalism.
No miracles.
No magic.
No space aliens.
No breathians.
No time machines.
No gifts.

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

About £6k if my weekly Tesco bill is anything to go by mate.

 

[Squidders]

It would have to be fasting then. I think we have the will power for it.

 

[Squidders]

Actually, if it weren't for the others, I wouldn't spend a penny other than coffee, milk and sugar as I get fed at work for free.

 

[British Red]

Do you care about flavour? If not I did the maths a while ago. It is perfectly possible to feed a nutritionally balanced diet for a UK adult for under £500 a year (£10 a week). For a family of four lets call that £2k (it would be less but it depends on the age of the kids and exertion levels of the adults). The number was based on a diet providing > 2,000kcal per person per day. It is almost (but not exclusively) based on dried carbs (rice, pasta, potatoes) with beans and some soya as the protein and roughage, some grains (porridge oats, wheat for flour), minimal but nutritionally sufficient fats, some multi vits.
I suspect appetite fatigue would kick in fast!

However it probably answers your question as well as it can be answered given the information available. It was designed as a purely economic exercise, rather a cost and storage based one - factor in stuff like market veg, farm gate spuds, some spices it could be made far more palatable.

Hope that helps

 

[mountainm]

Do you care about flavour? If not I did the maths a while ago. It is perfectly possible to feed a nutritionally balanced diet for a UK adult for under £500 a year (£10 a week). For a family of four lets call that £2k (it would be less but it depends on the age of the kids and exertion levels of the adults). The number was based on a diet providing > 2,000kcal per person per day. It is almost (but not exclusively) based on dried carbs (rice, pasta, potatoes) with beans and some soya as the protein and roughage, some grains (porridge oats, wheat for flour), minimal but nutritionally sufficient fats, some multi vits.
I suspect appetite fatigue would kick in fast!

However it probably answers your question as well as it can be answered given the information available. It was designed as a purely economic exercise, rather a cost and storage based one - factor in stuff like market veg, farm gate spuds, some spices it could be made far more palatable.

Hope that helps

Helps a lot, thanks.

 

[santaman2000]

So. Hypothetical question. Given a typical family of four. 2 kids. 1 male adult. 1 female adult.

What's the cheapest you can feed them for, for a year.

So 365 days, 3 meals a day.

Some rules.
Everything has to be purchased, nothing foraged or home grown.
Water is free
No repeats (meals not ingredients) in a week.
Calorific and nutritional requirements must be met.
Buying in bulk is allowed but you only have a standard uk size family fridge and freezer.

Cheers

M

Your rule on repeats is going to be the difficult one. I'm a creature of habit and even without a budget restriction would likely repeat the same breakfast a few times. It's usually going to be some form of fried meat and eggs with a side of either grits or hashbrowns most days with an occassional switch to french toast or pancakes. But add your budget restriction and it will almost always be porridge (whether grits or oatmeal) on cold days and a cold cereal on hot days.

 

[Chiseller]

You going on the dole

 

[johnnytheboy]

Bulk purchasing has to be one way,

Carbs are usually cheap but your veg and protein expensive, so you need to find them somewhere cheap!

Maybe you should strike a deal with local butchers and grocers. Buy bulk from them full sides of an animal, boxes of veg. Practice butchery/freezing of meat and pickling of the veg so you are not wasting any! maybe even go direct to the fruit market early in the morning for bulk buying!

Game meat can be very cheap, if you know a stalker or a gamekeeper!

One pot meals must also be a cheap option, slow cooking to utalise dried pulses!

Everyone eating the same meals to allow for buying the same thing in bulk is another important issue.

BOGOF and end of isle promotions and also the sale of area of the supermarket, i got a full salmon out of there for nothing, was well chuffed!

Just a few ideas!

 

[mountainm]

You going on the dole

Nope, well not that I know of.... Just trying to evaluate a few things.

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

You going on the dole

The dole would probably make it easier. If you dont work you can feed a family of 8 for nothing and have enough left over for alcohol abuse, 20 a day and have enough change for a full sky package.

Cynical....moi

 

[The Big Lebowski]

Without going too deep into the math, I could probably feed myself, another adult and two children (comfortably) at £5 per meal, x3 per day.

So, best 'indulgent' case scenario £5475.

 

[Dave]

So. Hypothetical question. Given a typical family of four. 2 kids. 1 male adult. 1 female adult.

What's the cheapest you can feed them for, for a year.

So 365 days, 3 meals a day.

OT but was watching a group of experimental archaeologists the other day, who proved that a family of four who lived around ten to twelve thousand years ago, just before agriculture, could gather enough wild grasses, wheat barley etc, in just 4 weeks to last them 12 months........

 

[nuggets]

OT but was watching a group of experimental archaeologists the other day, who proved that a family of four who lived around ten to twelve thousand years ago, just before agriculture, could gather enough wild grasses, wheat barley etc, in just 4 weeks to last them 12 months........

How did they pay the Mortgage/rent ???

 

[rik_uk3]

The dole would probably make it easier. If you dont work you can feed a family of 8 for nothing and have enough left over for alcohol abuse, 20 a day and have enough change for a full sky package.

Cynical....moi

Cynical? perhaps, ill informed? certainly, awful thing to say when so many in the UK are having to cope with cut after cut in benefit payment. I know at least two members here who have to move because of changes in the system.

I'm 'alright jack', many are not so think on that before coming out with nonsense such at that post please.

ATB
Mr Fuming, South Wales.

 

[Chiseller]

Cynical? perhaps, ill informed? certainly, awful thing to say when so many in the UK are having to cope with cut after cut in benefit payment. I know at least two members here who have to move because of changes in the system.

I'm 'alright jack', many are not so think on that before coming out with nonsense such at that post please.

ATB
Mr Fuming, South Wales.

On that Rik, I concur.

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

Cynical? perhaps, ill informed? certainly, awful thing to say when so many in the UK are having to cope with cut after cut in benefit payment. I know at least two members here who have to move because of changes in the system.

I'm 'alright jack', many are not so think on that before coming out with nonsense such at that post please.

ATB
Mr Fuming, South Wales.

Rik

Nobody begrudges a safety net for hard working folk who fall on difficult times. There are those however that make a mockery of the benefit system by milking it for every penny and choosing not to work. yes my comment was a sweeping generalisation but it was tongue in cheek so you can come down off that horse

pm if you wish to discuss further

 

[resnikov]

You might also need to factor in meals eaten away from home. I take a packup to work 5 days a week and the kids have packups 3 days a week. I find these seem to be the most costly of meals.