A friend of mine forwarded an article that was recently posted on msn.com titled “Can a family eat on $100 a week?” The opening sentence states, “Feed a family of four for $100 a week — no coupons, no backyard garden or mystery meat.” In an upcoming post, I will explain how we were able to grow fruits and vegetables in container gardens on an apartment deck. From our harvest (still ongoing of course), we’ve canned veggies and jellies for the winter, and we eat fresh salads. Growing a garden (whether you live in an apartment or house) is a crucial skill that any woman seeking to glorify God must learn. It will also prove to be valuable in this collapsing economy. That aside, the menu below does not include coupons, a backyard garden, or mystery meat.

Remember, the goal should never be to cut back, just for the sake of cutting back. The goal is to be a faithful servant of Christ, who uses His wealth to give alms to the poor and needy, to lodge strangers, to practice hospitality, to abstain from debt, to provide for His ministers, to help the widow and the fatherless, to stay home and train up a godly seed, and to use your savings for anything else that will help advance the Kingdom of Christ in time and in history. Knowing that frugality in this area is about seeking first the Kingdom of God will help you joyfully eat peanut butter and jelly rather than go out to eat.

The recipes in the following menu were collected from various sources on the internet and from books. You can google the name of a meal and find it readily. If you’re having trouble finding one, just leave a comment and I’ll post the recipe. Also, some foods where much cheaper to buy than to make from scratch, such as breads. Items made from scratch have a blue font.

Finally, this made a great homeschool math project for our daughter. We spent a day going to the Costco Warehouse and to our local grocery chain, Fred Meyer. She wrote down all of the prices for the ingredients needed for this menu. Then, she calculated the unit price for each item at each store. Finally, she compared prices and figured out the best buy for each item. The next step is to compile a shopping list for each store with current prices. We intend to compare prices with this list each time we go to replace the item. For instance, if another brand goes on sale and is cheaper than our best buy, we’ll buy that instead.

Here’s the menu (based on a family of 4, including a toddler). If you are able to get an even lower weekly menu, please post a comment. Let’s help one another in looking well to the ways of our households. (Proverbs 31:27)

Week 1:

Week 2