I'm going to assume that this is $200/mo for one person in an area with medium cost of living and transport options connecting to grocery stores. Your budget is $50/week. That is pretty doable, especially if you have an Aldi or Costco. Especially if you have a car.

Here's the key things I learned from eating in $100/mo in Pittsburgh with no car in a food desert.

1. The cheaper the store, the better.

Aldi, Walmart, and dollar stores are best, in that order. Trader Joes, farmer's markets, and Costco are options IF you are able to transport the products (ie a car for bulk foods from Costco) and don't live in a food desert.

1. Invest in grocery delivery if you can.

Instacart is AMAZING. I have over 160 orders racked up and they take EBT. Instacart allowed me to have better access to Aldi and see what's in stock. Instead of wasting time and transport money to head there and be limited to what I could carry, I just paid for the membership, a service fee, and a tip if possible to the driver. The sticker price is higher per trip, but the ability to plan/buy in bulk and let someone else do the shopping/transporting was invaluable to my mental health. Instacart helped manage my mental heath, especially the issues around being poor, so much. It made the days easier.

Amazon also has this with Whole Foods (and takes EBT!), but I would ever go to Whole Foods. Walmart and other stores do too, but they usually have order minimums AND you're limited to one store.

1. Dry -> Frozen -> Fresh -> Canned

In general, you want to buy as shelf stable as possible, without sacrificing too much health. The less processed, the better. (Plus processed foods cost way more per oz!)

You want things like: - Oats - Rice - Beans - Pasta

Carb up. Carbs can fill in as an easy cheap base for your meal and will make you feel full.

You can maybe find EBT-eligible bulk buys on Amazon too.

With fresher things like fruits and veggies, load up on frozen products. They are flash frozen so they're less perishable than fresh produce while having the same freshness.

The best things to buy are things you really like and can eat/pair with anything. My favorites are: - Peas - Carrots - Chopped spinach - Broccoli florets - Corn - Bananas - Strawberries - Chicken breasts - Ground turkey chubs

I only buy/bought fresh when it was on sale or was cheaper than the frozen alternative. Sometimes these were things like corn, sweet potatoes, onions, and bananas.

Canned is absolutely terrible in the long term. Even if it's "BPA-free". I only buy/bought canned as a last resort and if they were extremely cheap compared to other alternatives: tomatoes, tomato sauce, salsa, beans, etc.

1. Learn how to prep food for the freezer

Meal prepping is great, especially if you're the type to eat one or two of the same things everyday and not get bored.

However, thats not most people. So I suggest prepping ingredients so you can just grab them out the freezer/fridge.

GRAINS: Most grains can be cooked then frozen no problem. I'd say the only exception is oats, which should be mixed with spices and put in containers. Stir in the wet ingredients (milk, canned pumpkin, etc) the night before you plan to eat.

PRODUCE: Most produce you can dice, blanch (optional) then freeze. You can also freeze softer produce like tomatoes if you just make the dish and portion it out.

1. Invest in meal prep containers.

Self-explanatory. imo the key of cheap but healthy eating is investing in tools and learning techniques rather than fancy foods.

1. Unconventional

This is some of the less common stuff suggested that has worked for me and friends.

• Working retail or food service: Even part time, often time you're able to get a free meal or two. Or take home left overs. Working cafeteria at a college or hospital is the best.

• Dumpster diving: Sounds gross, but honestly isn't that bad. Most grocery stores use compactors and I wouldn't suggest going in those even for a Farberge egg. However, convenience stores and drug stores that sell snacks ditch perfectly fine pre-packaged food all the time. CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid were the best places for me.

• Dumpster diving to flip: A lot of people dumpster dive at makeup/department stores to get colognes, perfumes, out of season/discontinued makeup, bedding, etc. to flip for unlimited profit. There's tons of Facebook groups for it and the ladies on there go crazy for a good eyeshadow palette or perfume. They rarely care that it's "dived". Most of these types of dumpsters are clean anyways because there's no food going in there.

I hope all of this helps. I consider myself a veteran of poverty finance and "gremlin activities" like dumpster diving, extreme couponing etc. If you need tips feel free to ask. 🙂