Family of five ... around a hundred a week.

Great post- I've been wondering what other people spend on groceries. For my husband and me, I spend anywhere from $400-$600/month. It seems to depend a lot on if we entertain at all, and how much time I have to focus on cooking, baking, and making sure food doesn't get wasted/spoiled. We do buy all meat and some produce from the co-op and avoid Sam's Club so I'm guessing that contributes.  I have started baking my own bread which helps keep costs down. It can be close to $5 to purchase a whole wheat loaf that doesn't have a bunch of additives. 

I have needed to adjust my expectations lately because it seems to me that grocery prices have really shot up in the last year or two, and $300 just doesn't go very far these days. I have noticed that I spend less in winter months when there are fewer fun fresh things in season and I feel like comfort foods then which are usually cheap (soups, chili, stew.) I've also gotten better about not treating the freezer as a trash can, and when I actually manage to use the leftovers and other things that are easy to neglect in there I have a lower budget. I guess my point is that there seems to be a lot of variables that affect my grocery budget.

I think the cost of food has risen recently. I don't have hard numbers because I switched from the grad student diet to the tenure track faculty member diet (that means super cheap to too busy to adequately meal plan).

Grad student diet (with 2 kids + spouse) always meant stick to the list. And it always meant less than 100 bucks a week. There's a fine line for me -- my kids take fresh fruits and veggies for lunch/snack. That's WAY more expensive than sending goldfish. My kids are bigger, but I find that money just does not go as far. Maybe I drink more coffee now? If so, that's a hell of a coffee habit.

Fortunately for me I haven't had to buy coffee for eight years. (One of the perks of the job), but no compromise on coffee quality means dropping 8 plus a pound on beans.

It has been a little while since I've done price comparisons, but WFC is more expensive than Cub or Super One. (This) man cannot live on beans, herbs and veggies alone.

I agree on Alakef contributing to about $10/week of the groceries budget (and not wanting to give this up). Alcohol was around $50/week for a variety of microbrews, box wine, and the occasional bottle of liquor-- we have guests stop by often and I try to stay stocked up. I'm going to cut alcohol down to boxed wine and homebrew for now, $20/week. There are plenty of local home brewers that make wine and beer in this area and many are willing to barter. With coffee and alcohol taking up $30/week, that leaves me with $46.80 left for actual food. Next time I buy groceries (next week), I will see what I can buy and cook with the USDA's "frugal" budget. 

A big part of this exercise for me is trying to find money to put into our savings account. We tend to spend the whole paycheck and don't really have reserves to fall back on for an emergency. If we can eat more frugally (and not eat or drink out very often), we should be able to put about $300/month in savings from this food budgeting alone.

Another tip that no one mentioned is to figure out what you're willing to spend on food (say 50 bucks) and go through the exercise of taking 50 dollars cash to the store. When its gone, its gone.

Our family of four lives on $500 a month, and shops wisely at the Co-op and at SuperOne. Bulk foods, organic veggies and other things we prefer organic are from the co-op. (If you pay close attention to sales, and are a member, certain things are cheaper on occasion.) We supplement with stuff that is the same but consistently cheaper at SuperOne. 

(When I say we shop wisely, what I mean is that my partner does the vast majority of the shopping. He's got it down to a science.)

We buy very little that is processed, and consider them things that are "treats" in a way, like Newman O's or soy ice cream. Nearly all our cooking is done from scratch, though if we feel rich, we'll buy bread. We also get quite a supplemental from foraging (mushrooms all summer, wild leeks in the spring) and a large extended-family garden tended by the elder generation. My partner's mum is the queen of canning and freezing, and they share freely. I should add that we as a family are nearly vegan. 

So yeah, we eat pretty well.

Something that no one has mentioned:  buy generic.  At Super One, we buy Flavorite (i.e. generic) peanut butter, saltines, cereal, pasta, etc; and semi generic olive oil, tuna, salmon, etc etc.   Also we only buy on sale (e.g whatever fruit is on sale that week) if possible.

Over the year, we must save a ton by doing this (our grocery bill, including pizza on Friday, beer, and all the extras tops out at about $120 a week for two adults).

Uncle Loui's.

Most of the local grocery ads are available on the internet (cannot find Homecroft Foods, for instance).  One of the nice things about the SuperOne site is that I can click on an item and it makes my grocery list.  Then I can add the other items I need that are not in the ad and the site will save my list, or I can have it emailed.  After a year or so you begin to recognize trends on when things are going to go on sale and you are able to stock up.

I only buy groceries and other supplies once a month but at a strict $200 per month budget, which is not just enough for our two person household, but enough to stock a little extra in case of an emergency or what have you. It took a long time but I've been able to build up a three month food supply on our budget. $200 a month  figures to $50 weekly, just $25 per person. At less than $4 per day per person, even the McDonald's Dollar Menu can't compete. As cheap as fast food may be (or seem), you will ALWAYS save more money buying and making your own food (assuming no super fancy ingredients).

Only going to the store once a month saves money (and time). I buy in bulk, I buy most things at the big evil SAMs Club, including fresh produce which is cheaper and comparable in quality to other stores, often times fresher than the grocery store. I have been dissapointed every time I tried to buy things at The Coop and gave up on it about two years ago. Maybe it's better now but the stuff was too expensive in my experience.

Do a lot of math, bulk is generally cheaper but sometimes it can be hard to tell so dividing the price by the number the ounces (or other measurement) to compare big and small packages is really helpful. Sales are great but by keeping records of what I buy, I've found few grocery store sales that are better than the regular SAMs prices on things like canned goods or sugar/flour/etc... Keep receipts and study them, youll learn a lot over time, compare prices with other spices, not just the sale to the regular price in one store.

Avoid eating out, fast food, and ready made meals. It's cheaper to buy basic ingredients (staples) and do it yourself. Time is a factor sure, but some things, like spaghetti sauce, are mind bogglingly easy and drastically cheaper to make yourself. You can also make bigger portions and freeze the rest. Generic brands are cheaper and comparable in quality. Buy fresh fruits and veggies in season, use canned, dry, or frozen out of season.

I've saved a lot of money by switching to instant milk. It's cheaper, great for baking, won't spoil assuming you only make so much at a time, and I can stockpile it. Occasionally I get bulk purchases from other sources such as wheat from an online source or dry beans from a farmer a few states over. The beans were only $200 for 250 lbs. (I bought 5 varieties) and are good for years if stored properly. It was a lot up front but we've been eating them for 

Watch out for b.s. about "freerange eggs" and organic anything. If it came from a local farmer than awesome, if it came from a store, chances are it was made by the same big evil coporate entities people are claiming to avoid. Freerange chicken/eggs on coporate farms are not any better than battery chickens, most don't even go outside. Basically, you will pay a premium for the marketing.

Dang we've been eating in the whole (flipping gorgeous!!!!!) weekend. But will get b'fast someplace... one craving for b'fast burrito, one craving for tasty pastries. My limited knowledge tells me Amazing Grace. Thanks, Duluth. As always, you really satisfy.