AFTER the recent furore over food parcels distributed by the government in place of school meals, the price of feeding a child for a week has been a topic of much discussion.
With that in mind, one mum set out to see whether she could buy enough groceries for three meals a day on a mere budget of £15 – and the results are staggering.
The mum managed to buy an enormous haul of groceries for just £15, and she claims there will be leftovers to spare.
Posting a photo of her huge haul of groceries to the Facebook group Feed Your Family on a Budget, she compared a photo of her £15 foods compared to the £30 government hampers.
She said: "Spot the difference. After hearing some of complaints from parents regarding hampers, and our school being under a trust and still distributing hampers, I decided to test what could get for under £15 plus do a meal plan to feed a child.
"The result is enough to feed child 3 main meals a day plus snack, fruit and yoghurt with items left over."
She also shared a varied meal plan consisting of a variety of meals, including cereal or toast for breakfast, toasties or sandwiches for lunch and delicious dinners like spaghetti Bolognese.
£15-a-week meal plan
Monday – Breakfast: Cereal Lunch:Cheese and ham toastie Dinner: Pasta bolognaise with garlic bread
Tuesday – Breakfast: Crumpets Lunch: Sausage sandwich Dinner: Baked potato with beans
Wednesday – Breakfast: Cereal Lunch: Egg on toast Dinner: Meatball pasta with garlic bread
Thursday – Breakfast: Toast Lunch: Cheese sandwich Dinner: Cowboy stew (Sausage, beans and potato cubes)
Friday – Breakfast: Cereal. Cheese and onion omelette. Shepard's pie
Saturday – Breakfast: Egg and soldiers Lunch: Ham sandwich Dinner: Pizza with garlic bread
Sunday Breakfast: Cereal Lunch: Cheesy crumpets Dinner: Sausage, mash and peas
Healthy snacks: Apples or carrot sticks
Treat of a cake and yoghurt each day
The mum added that there would even be leftovers, including sausages, eggs, cereal, pasta, stock cubes, onion as well as some cakes and yoghurts.
She continued:"Leftovers would free up around £4 for following week to add more salad, veg or fruit, protein such as tuna or chicken."
She added that you could also spend the money on "stock items such as flour etc which could be used for home baking.
"While is it good for school to be providing hampers, I do think parents could be a lot thriftier with the voucher instead and children could be better fed."
Many people have commented to commend the mum on doing such a good job, with one calling her huge haul "excellent".
Another shopper commented: "I did the same yesterday was well shocked how much you can get for £15."
A second chimed in with her own tip: "I walk around with a calculator on my weekly shop to stay within or under budget so I know how far £15 can stretch."
but others rushed to point out the fact that hampers are only supposed to cover school lunches – not all three meals.
One person said: "You did a fantastic job with the £15. But let's be realistic here…
"The £15 if to cover their lunches not 3 meals a day. So for those who are moaning. This has just proved that you can feed 3 kids all day for 5 days a week."
But someone else pointed out: "There is no way that school hamper cost £15. So if you can make a voucher go further and provide more meals then why not I guess!"
In other news, this is what the ‘perfect’ school lunchbox looks like according to nutritionists – so how does YOUR kid’s compare?
Elsewhere, a mum shares how she creates 15 different meals for just £14.70 using Aldi chicken.
Plus a mum shows off bulging freezer stuffed full of 108 batch cooked meals and claims her method will save YOU £50 a week.
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