It has been three months since our last monthly gorcery haul, so it probably comes as no surprise that June’s monthly grocery haul is the biggest one we have ever had. We have never spent this much money on groceries ever! We’ve never even spent anywhere near this much money on food in a month!
Don’t worry about our budget though! This doesn’t all come out of June’s grocery budget. We put $500 in June’s grocery budget ($400-$500 is normal for our family of 8), but we have about $500 in a budget category that we’re using to restock our food storage.
If you’re new around here, we have been having a Quarantine Food Storage Challenge where we were eating strictly from our pantry and food storage. During that time, we put a portion of what would have been our grocery budget aside for restocking.
As you’ll see below (or in the video), we stocked and restocked a lot of things in our food storage. We definitely won’t be eating all of this during June!! And you see that my kids were pretty excited about what we got!
Grocery Outlet Haul– $80
- Milk (2%) $3.19 x 2 = $6.38
- Milk (whole) $3.29 x 2 = $6.58
- Chhese block (5 lb) $9.99
- Jumbo shell pasta (16 oz) $1.29 x 4 = $5.16
- Flour tortillas (35 oz) $2.49 x 4 = $9.96
- Corn tortillas (60 oz) $1.99 x 2 = $3.98
- Crispy rice cereal (12 oz) $.50 x 16 = $8
- Curry powder $2.99
- Maseca $2.79
- Rotini (16 oz) $.89 x 6 = $5.34
- Nature Valley granola bars (30 ct) $4.99 x 2 = $9.98
- Frozen stawberry slices (14 oz) $1.49) x 6 = $8.94
Winco Grocery Haul– $256
- Strawberries (1 lb) $.98 x 24 = $23.52
- Roma Tomatoes $.98/lb x 5.97 lb = $5.85
- Yams $1.28/lb x 5.21 lb = $6.67
- Carrots (10 lb) $3.98
- Onions (3 lb) $1.48
- Celery $.88 x 3 = $2.64
- Potatoes (10 lb) $2.98 x 2 = $5.96
- Green grapes $1.88/lb x 3.81 lb = $7.16
- Black grapes $1.78/lb x 1.67 lb = $2.97
- Green onios $.48 x 2 = $.96
- Avocado $.58 x 4 = $2.32
- Frozen Blueberries (16 oz) $1.88 x 2 = $3.76
- Frozen Peas (32 oz) $2.22 x 4 = $8.88
- Frozen broccoli (32 oz) $2.22 x 2 = $4.44
- Tater Tots (2 lb) $1.60 x 6 = $9.60
- Hashbrowns $1.06 x 4 = $4.24
- Lentils (1 lb)$.87 x 4 = $3.48
- Brownie Mix $.98 x 12 = $11.76
- Marshmallows $.98
- Graham crackers $1.58 x 3 = $4.74
- Hershey bars (6 pk) $3.48
- Cream of chicken (26 oz) $1.28 x 3 = $3.84
- Cream of muchroom (26 oz) $1.28 x 3 = $3.84
- Pan spray $2.07
- Spaghetti sauce (24 oz) $.88 x 24 = $21.12
- Yogurt $.30 x 2 = $.60
- Sugar (25 lb) $11.98 x 2 = $23.96
- Cream of wheat (25 lb) $34.44
- Regular oats (25 lb) $14.97
- Steel cut oats (25 lb) $14.97
- Brown Rice (25 lb) $18
Sam’s Club Grocery Haul– $500
- Bananas (3 lb) $1.28 x 8 = $10.24
- Flour (25 lb) $6.48 x 2 = $12.96
- Brown Sugar (7 lb) $4.88 x 2 = $9.76
- Powdered sugar (7 lb) $4.88
- Peanut Butter (Two 40 oz jars) $6.98 x 4 = $27.92
- Shredded cheese blend (5 lb) $12.48 x 2 = $24.96
- Shredded mozarella (5 lb) $11.68 x 2 = $23.36
- String Cheese (48 ct) $7.98 x 2 = $15.96
- Sour Cream (3 lb) $4.42 x 2 = $8.82
- Cottage cheese (3 lb) $4.98 x 2 = $9.96
- Rainsins (60 oz) $8.98 x 2 = $17.96
- Spinach (16 oz) $3.28 x 2 = $6.56
- Spring Mix (16 oz) $3.28
- Romaine Hearts $2.88 x 2 = $5.76
- Sausage (2 lb) $5.58 x 2 = $11.16
- Butter unsalted (4 lb) $7.48 x 4 = $29.92
- Butter salted, solid (4 lb) $7.24 x 4 = $28.96
- Ice Cream (1.25 gal) $5.98 x = $11.96
- Chocolate chips (72 oz) $8.92 x 2 = $17.84
- Spaghetti (6 lb) $4.98
- Salt (4 lb) $1.46 x 4 = $5.84
- Gala apples (5 lb) $4.42 x 4 = $17.68
- Chicken breast tenderloins breaded (5 lb) $12.98
- Boneless skinless chicken breast tnederloins (6 lb) $12.88
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs (6 lb) $10.98
- Navel oranges (8 lb) $5.98 x 2 = $11.96
- Honey (5 lb) $12.94
- Minced garlic (48 oz ) $3.98 x 2 = $7.96
- Chicken bullion $4.98 x 2 = $9.96
- Lemonade mix (82 oz) $6.98 x 2 = $13.96
- Cannned chicken breast (12.5 oz x 6) $9.88
- Large tortillas (47 oz x 2) $6.28
- Medium tortillas (35 oz x 2) $4.98
- Goldfish crackers (66 oz) $7.54
- Grits (5lb x 3) $6.94
- White rice (25 lb) $9.48 x 2 = $18.96
- Canned corn (12 ct) $5.98
- Salsa (138 oz) $8.97
- Tortilla chips (48 oz x 2) $7.98
Walmart Online Order– $66
- Cinnamon (8 oz) (2 pack) $6.88
- Pasta sauce (24 oz) (8 pack) $8.00
- Macaroni (3 lb) (4 pack) $7.48
- Canola Oil (1 gal) $4.74
- Raisins (20 oz $2.86 x 4 = $11.44
- Beef bullion $4.62
- Taco seasoning (24 oz) $4.36 x 4 = $13.08
- Brown rice (5 lb) (3 pack) $9.66
Whew! That was A LOT of food! Our fridge and freezer are stuffed and I’m in the process of reorganizing the food storage. I really love having food stored and I’m excited to help you put together a food storage plan for your family too! We’ll be talking about that soon!
I must say that I was really glad to see that the prices had not sky rocketed! Maybe that’s due, in part, to taking so long off of shopping. I was thrilled to see that butter had dropped in price, which is why I stocked up (that and what I learned from our food storage challenge).
How are grocery prices where you live?
I am so impressed by this !!! But I’m wondering how do you keep it fresh? How many refridgerators and freezers do you have ?? And you must be excellent at meal planning,…..being sure to eat the perishable items first and the shelf stable items for later ??
So fun to see this !! It is just my husband and myself, and we think how fun it must be to have 8 people in your family to quarantine with !!! Never a dull moment I’m guessing.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi Luann! We are only using one regular fridge, a teeny dorm fridge, and our 7 cu ft deep freezer. We have another fridge on our patio, but it’s not plugged in right now. I considered plugging it in, but we were able to make it all fit, probably because we started with an essentially empty fridge! We are careful to eat what will go bad first and we make sure to freeze things if we don’t get to them in time.
And YES– it is a big blessing to be sheltering in place with a big family. Everyone has someone to play with and there’s no time for twiddling thumbs. I’m definitely enjoying not taxi-ing everyone around. I’m enjoying the slower pace.
I am fairly new to your site….This is awesome stock up. I assume you have back-up generator to protect the part of your stored food that requires electricity?
We do now! Last year when our power company (PG&E) started turning off the power for days at a time to reduce the risk of fire danger, we invested in a generator that we can use to run our fridge and/or freezer in those circumstances. 🙂
Oh, what a lovely bag of chocolate chips you have! 🙂
Oh yes! That was one of the first things I opened!!
Amazing haul Stephanie. But a question: you have a lot of produce (lettuce, bananas). How do you keep it from going bad before you eat it all?
I get that question a lot. 🙂 We don’t let any go to waste. Here’s what we do: https://www.sixfiguresunder.com/never-waste-produce-again/
I haven’t seen 25 bags of cream of wheat at my Winco. Is it something you need to order ahead of time?
That should be 25 pound bags
Hi Barbara! No, I didn’t have to order it. It was just back in the bulk section. I had never noticed it before either, but it definiterly beats filling up a plastic bag of it every time I go. Try asking a worker back in the bulk area if you don’t see it.
You are so smart! It’s just a great idea to be self sufficient on food for a few weeks or months even in a stable and reliable country like ours. If for no other reason than that you can always afford to share with someone in need. Your family is blessed to have such a logistics expert in charge of nutrition!
Thank you for the kind words. You’re right, being self-sufficient allows you to be able to help others in a way that you otherwise couldn’t.
We live in a small town with no Walmart or other big box stores. I have been shopping locally throughout the shut down — just for fresh foods, cheese, sour cream and yogurt, mostly. Since things have opened up a bit I have restocked on canned, fat-free refried beans that a friend picked up at Sam’s, and ordered 20 pounds of non-GMO rolled oats. I had just stocked up on both of those before things shut down, and we had plenty of frozen food and canned goods, so we got through just fine. I’m trying to restock a bit every week, but prices at our small, local grocery stores are high. I did order some powdered sour cream that can be reconstituted with water. I’m also going to stock up on cheese, grate it and freeze it in smaller portions like I see that you did. We have to drive over 100 miles to Sam’s or Costco — so am going to figure out what else we need to stock back up and make a trip. I’m waiting to see if there is a resurgence of the virus now that things are opened up and with all the protests and riots. I need to stock things like paper goods, laundry and dishwashing detergents, nuts, chocolate chips, etc. and the prices on those are about quadruple in the small local stores than at Sam’s or Costco. Obviously I’m not going to drive that long distance if there is any chance that things are going to be ugly and we won’t be able to shop. Thanks for sharing your challenge and now your restocking. I always got some ideas from your posts to help me make our meals more appealing.
It sounds like no matter what state you live in we will have a second wave. Better to stock up asap and then shop as normal until things fall apart again. That is my plan anyways!
Hi Nancy! I’m glad you got stocked up on some things before the shut down. I hope you can get everything you need on your next trip in to town! That’s a long way to go, but I’m sure it’s worth it to get stocked up every now and then! Also, I’ve never tried powdered sour cream, but maybe I should! Our family LOVES sour cream!
That’s an amazing haul for the price!! I noticed your canned chicken purchase. Have you ever pressure bottled chicken? I love the convenience of canned chicken (no thawing, precooked, etc) so I have started canning it at home. It has been a life saver for our family on busy dinner nights! Canning it is also a huge money saver if you already have jars and a pressure cooker. I usually wait for boneless chicken breast to be on sale (I don’t expect it will be anytime soon with the restrictions on meat purchase now but eventually) for less than 1.79 per pound. I ask for a box from the butcher which saves on packaging and garbage. I pressure cook it in quart and half quart jars. It’s the easiest thing I bottle(cut in chunks in prepared jars and add nothing). It does take a commitment to staying by the stove so I borrow my friends pressure cooker and have two going at once and make sure my schedule is clear!
Hi Nicole! My mother-in-law bottles meats. I haven’t done it yet, but I would like to. It is a really practical way to get meat stored, especially with the electricty getting shut off here during fire season. I have a pressure canner and plenty of jars. Now I just need a good sale on meat! 🙂
So much fun seeing the food and prices! Our prices are sometimes lower than what you listed because we have Aldi. Ex: Tortillas are 99cents, milk is $2. But a lot of the prices are close. We skip things like Goldfish in favor of Aldi cheese crackers to get a really big price break per oz. I love that you aim for variety!
Hi Tristan! That’s awesome! We had an Aldi near us during law school. California was a shocker after that! Winco and Sam’s have great prices compared to the “regular” grocery stores. I wouldn’t say no to an Aldi if they want to build them in northern California though!
I’m from the UK – what’s Grits? I’ve never heard of it
It’s a hot cereal made from cornmeal. It’s popular in the south of the US. Honestly, I’m not sure how my family will like it, but I figured we could give it a try (just to add some more variety) since they like other hot cereals.
My husband is from the south-grits apparently aren’t supposed to be eaten with sugar and milk like other hot cereals. He served them with sausage or other breakfast meat, eggs and cheese.
Good to know! Thanks Rosie!
Hi Stephanie, You can add a little maple syrup and butter to the top, we eat ours with hot sauce. I also make cheese grits or you can make a cheese grit casserole. Hope this helps.
Sounds good! Thanks Gina!
If you guys dont like them, send them my way…….. 🙂
We LOVE grits, grew up on them. I like a little black pepper with mine, while my husband loads his up with cheese and my son enjoys them with maple syrup. Yes, my family is from the south, it is a staple with breakfast and also goes well with shrimp and fish.
I’ll have to check my Sam’s to see if they have them, I usually shop BJ’s because its closer.
I love it– everyone has it their own way! I got it at Sam’s online.
I make grits casserole which is so good. It turns grits into a more casserole texture. Plenty of recipes online.
Good to know! Thanks for the idea Megan!
So excited to see your grocery haul! Thanks for sharing!!
Glad you enjoyed it Brooke!