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Free food – When the prices of groceries are going up, or money is tight, it can be a challenge to fill your food pantry. You may have even grown accustomed to eating on a regular basis, and feeding your family! Thankfully, there are a variety of ways to eat for less money. Here are six ways to find low cost, or free food.
Free Food Kitchens
In most medium and large cities, there are cafeteria style kitchens that will serve you free meals at different times of the day. 2-1-1 and United Way can provide you with a list of these places, in your city.
Food Stamps
If you’re having trouble paying for food, one of the first things you should do is apply for food benefits. The process is fairly quick and easy, and can often provide you with large amounts of free food. Many states allow you to apply for food benefits online.
Picking and Foraging
This can be a lot of fun, even if it’s not the most practical method on this page. People still pick their own food, right off the plants. Many farmers allow customers to pick food from the fields, at a discount to what grocery stores would charge. See PickYourOwn.org for a list of these farms in your area. If you wish to forage in the wild, be sure to attend a class or read a book on the subject, remember safety first. Here’s a list of wild plants in season, arranged by month.
Low cost “Food Box” Programs
Look for food box programs in your area. As an example, the food box program in my city provides a huge box of food (about 2 feet wide x 2 feet deep x 1 foot high), once a month, for a flat rate of $15. 2-1-1 and United Way can provide you with the locations of these programs.
Lower cost Grocery Stores
If you shop at lower cost grocery stores in your city, you can save a lot. That few cents per item can add up to a large difference at the cash register. The grocery stores in Wal-Mart are known to have relatively low prices. Otherwise, which stores are cheaper is different from city to city. It takes a little detective work to find the best ones.
Once you have found the better stores, watch for the sale items, generic brands, store specials, and free offers. If you take your time and comparison shop, you will know you’re getting the best prices.
Lower cost Groceries
Some foods are a lot less expensive than others. There are low cost food items available in all the major nutritional categories. If you get creative with the preparation, meals made with these items can even be interesting, and fun. As a bonus, these foods are generally healthy.
Carbohydrates: bread, ramen noodles, frozen corn, potatoes, rice, frozen peas, oatmeal.
Proteins: gallons of milk, peanut butter, canned beans, hot dogs, eggs, canned tuna.
Fruits and Vegetables: apple sauce, bananas, frozen broccoli, other bags of frozen vegetables.
Vitamins: Centrum multivitamins cost less than $3 a month.
Drinks: powdered drinks, tea, water. Milk is also listed, from the proteins section.
