How much is your grocery budget? (home, buy, organic)

[lphung129]

We are a family of 4 with a toddler and infant and on average spend about $350-400 a month on groceries. We're always on the go on weekends, so we mostly eat out then. My husband and I usually pack our lunches 2-3 times a week. Curious how much everyone spends on their monthly groceries and how often you dine out as a family.

[bencronin04]

We keep it pretty cheap. We are the same size as you (2.5 year old, 1 year old, wife and me). We eat at home at least 5 nights a week and neither of us eat out at lunch. We have a budget of $100 a week on groceries. My wife usually spends $60-80, but then another $20 on formula.

[EarlofCardigan]

We have 3 small kids and spend $2k per month at Whole Foods. I hate that place, but my wife loves it. It's a colossal ripoff.

[fwsavemoney]

Originally Posted by EarlofCardigan

We have 3 small kids and spend $2k per month at Whole Foods. I hate that place, but my wife loves it. It's a colossal ripoff.

That is a LOT of money for groceries!

[lphung129]

Originally Posted by EarlofCardigan

We have 3 small kids and spend $2k per month at Whole Foods. I hate that place, but my wife loves it. It's a colossal ripoff.

[magnix]

Originally Posted by EarlofCardigan

We have 3 small kids and spend $2k per month at Whole Foods. I hate that place, but my wife loves it. It's a colossal ripoff.

Damnnnn....unless you're over-weighted and that would make sense.

[magnix]

I have 3 kids and a wife - we spent about $500+ a month including dining out. We shop at WinCo - cheaper food prices there

[alastrian2]

We're a family of two adults and a 4 year old. We eat in 4-5 nights a week, send the kiddo's lunch 5x per week, but adults buy lunch out. We also have a couple of extras for some dinners during the week. With only groceries included, we spend between right about $425 per month. We buy mostly organic fruits and veggies and stick to free range/pastured meet when it's available. If I had time to shop around or needed to cut the bill, I could probably get that down to $300 or less.

[Betty_Baylor99]

Family of 5 with three kids under the age of 8, and we eat mostly at home, pack lunches for kids and DH, and our grocery budget is roughly $160/week. I do not account for paper products/cleaning supplies under grocery budget- we dine out approximately 1-2 x/week. I grocery shop between Central Market, Trader Joe's and the occasional traditional grocery store. I occasionally shop at Whole Foods but there's no way I could remain under budget and feed our entire family for the whole week. I also make it a point to purchase certain products organic (namely dairy and certain produce)

[MovingtoDFW]

Originally Posted by EarlofCardigan

We have 3 small kids and spend $2k per month at Whole Foods. I hate that place, but my wife loves it. It's a colossal ripoff.

That makes me a little less guilty about spending 800-1000 per month at Whole Foods! But we are only 3 of us with a 6 year old. Also, we try to limit animal protein consumption but do buy quite a bit of fish.

Recently, I have been looking at alternatives to WF. Tom Thumb has significantly increased its organic offerings for a slightly lower price than WF. I looked at Greenling, the "organic" delivery - but I am a little concerned about the authenticity of their marketing as their organic assurance is based on trust (and is mostly not certified).

All that said, nobody comes close to WF regarding authenticity and rigor of labeling and transparency about what they sell. The other day at Tom Thumb, in the organic section with apples and pears, a board on top also said local. I was excited to find organic apples that are also local, and bought some for a couple of weeks. When I looked for the same at WF, they said they don't sell any as they are not grown in TX. I asked the TT staff a subsequent week, and they agreed the local sign was up in error (after 3-4 weeks)!!

Anybody has found other options for verifiable organic groceries?