How much $$$ does a typical Frum family spend on groceries per week?

Meir G: I’d be very excited about the “1/2 off sushi”…..its one thing to purchase a discounted chunk of carp near its pull date to be ground up for gefilte fish but you must have great emunah to feed the family tekka maki on the cheap.

Kluger yid! I’m not sure you’re in reality? No one buys near for chulent for $5!! Your prices are no where near reality! Neither are your menus!
As far as the op- I’m in Brooklyn a family of approx 5- depends on who I’m cooking for – way over $500 weekly just food- vegetables , fruit and poultry included. My Shabbos order can be $400 just on groceries ! Ess gezinteheit!

I hear your indignation loud and clear
Unfortunately indignation Is not a rational position. It just means you are passionate that you are correct.
That’s beautiful.
But it’s not going to convince me. I’m fact it’s not even giving me anything to think about to see if maybe In fact I am incorrect.
It’s more like a signal that it’s a difficult position to defend
In the words of Ronald Reagan
“weak point – scream “

For our family of 5, we drop about $250 on basics per week. Shabbos adds about $75 give or take $20.

😊

It depends of family size, location and how much they can manage to get from government, food stamps, food programs and so on …. also if they follow humbrot, or have food allergies, or specific Special diets …. the range is quite crazy.

A lot depends on what your family eats and how much. My family of 4 spends less but then again we are not big eaters and stay away from high priced items until they go on sale. Some people don’t care about price and just buy what they want and some families have growing kids with big appetites.

It is possible to survive on a food-stamp size budget and keep Kosher. I know because there have been times in the past I have had no choice but to do so. It’s not a lot of fun and it’s not the healthiest, but you can survive and avoid starvation. You go heavy on eggs and tuna, bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, beans and cheap canned vegetables. Use very tiny amounts of chicken and ground meat (like a quarter pound of ground meat to feed 8 people) to flavor the carbs. There have been plenty of Shabbosim when I used less than $5 worth of meat in a cholent that was mostly potatoes. It’s not what you want to do, but some Yidden don’t really have any other choice.

Today, B”H my grocery budget is higher.

While a bit off topic but perhaps we need to recognize the incredible work and mesiras nefesh of those who suppor the Masbiahs and several other kosher food pantries in the NYC metro area (and their counterparts in other cities ) who deal with the real world consequences of what we sometime jokingly debate here in the CR or treat as a theoretical construct…the economic challenges of feeding a frum family with a nutritious diet. As we sometimes indulge in debates over the pros/cons of certain restaurants, vintages of kosher wine or merits of niche hashgoachos. there are those for whom basic survival is not hyperbole.

klugeryid,

“Let’s talk numbers of possibility”

The OP asked for what the average frum family paid for groceries per week, not what amount is theoretically possible to spend to avoid malnutrition. I’m also not sure that your menu would meet even that goal if followed for more than a month or two. And I think some of your estimates on how much food is needed are a bit low.

Family of six children – I’m assuming two parents as well, so 8 mouths to feed.
Two Dozen eggs $2 – This would theoretically work for breakfast, but I hope everyone likes eggs, or at least does not have an egg sensitivity. A breakfast of nothing but scrambled eggs wouldn’t work for most families. Any alternatives add to the cost.
Bottle milk $2.40 – Everyone’s limited to 8oz per day, not a drop more. And no milk at all on the weekends?
Cream cheese $4 – Everyone gets a 1 micron thick schmear on their sandwich? I think two containers is needed here, so make this $8, unless doing cholov stam. And lunch is nothing but a cream cheese sandwich? I guess you can have the glass of milk with it? Yes you’ll mention extras below that can be sides. We’ll get there.
Two boxes macaroni (constantly on sale at shop rite) $1.76 You don’t have any sides with the mac and cheese, so the family of 8 will need more food for supper than this. So either more mac and cheese or another reliance on the extras below.
Total $10.16 and you’ve fed your family amply. Times five days $50.80 for the week – Breakfast was sufficient for those who like or can eat eggs, but a cream cheese sandwich and glass of milk for lunch and a small serving of mac and cheese per mouth for supper is not “ample.” And yes, the extras below will try to mitigate this, but we’ll see how well that works.
You can add whatever you want to this basic.
Brick of cheese $14 – this is a lowball, especially if having mac and cheese multiple times in a week. 2-3 bricks per week is a more realistic estimate. Tomato sauce is a cheaper topping on pasta, but then you lose a protein.
Bottle ketchup $3
Three orange juice $9 – Everyone’s limited to 3.4oz of orange juice a day over 7 days?
2 Family packs of chicken bottoms $24 – Ok, so we eat supper on Sunday, with maybe some leftovers on Monday for one or two people in the family sick of cream cheese sandwiches.
Package of hot dogs $10 – Ok, so we eat lunch on Sunday. But lunch being one bare hotdog per person doesn’t seem “ample”, even if taken with ketchup.
Fruits and vegetables $50 – This is where you kind of gave up on the breakdown and ended up lowballing considerably. A cream cheese sandwich for lunch on weekdays and a single un-bunned ketchup-covered hotdog on Sunday followed by a 6 hour wait until supper isn’t really ample or healthy, so let’s add an apple as a side. Apples typically run around $1.20/lb, and a single apple weighs about a third of a pound. So an apple per person per day over a week runs you around $22.40. That doesn’t leave much for other produce, sides, or snacks (potatoes, carrots, greens, peas/corn, maybe you’d put rice and beans here, other fruit) that’s critical to making this diet nutritious and sustainable.