Can anyone offer any advice? I am a waitress, and living at home so that I can save. I honestly cannot afford to be spending $100 a week on food. Can anyone help me with this? I would really love to start this new lifestyle, but I got no money in the bank hahaha
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Hey :)
Same problem here!I started this lifestyle about 5 weeks ago and so far I feel AMAZING! But I've been spending SO MUCH MONEY on it! (I'm also a university student with not a lot of money to spend...) SO currently I'm in a bit of a situation, REALLY wanting to continue this lifestyle, but worried about the money! :/
Hey Stephanie!
I had the same worry when I started being a raw vegan. The thing is though, it was a lot less expensive then my current diet (regular vegan). My location probably made it really affordable for me. I've been living near Philly and Newark, DE. You can try to find a Wholesale Produce Market. They have A LOT of fruit in bulk for pretty cheap. I was buying 40lbs of bananas there every week for $13. They also give you discounts if you buy their ripe food (b/c it'll go bad soon). I once bought 24 pints of blueberries for $6! If you don't have a Wholesale store near you, you can try to find a farmers market. In Newark, they have a farmers market. 25 cents per pound of banana, 59cents per pound of gala apples, $1 per stalk of romaine lettuce :] If you don't have a farmers market, you can make an arrangement with a local grocery store where you can hopefully buy their really ripe fruit for really cheap. Grocery stores throw away SO much produce because they always go bad before they get sold.
I hope that helps at all!
Dawn
Here's the catch - it's not more expensive, it's less expensive!
When you eat cooked food you have to buy lots of stuff to flavor it because otherwise it would be inedible. Seriously, what cooked food can you find that's cheaper than bananas?! Even organic white potatoes are $1 per pound!
Buy bananas by the case - convince them to give you a discount. Buy fresh dates from AZ/CA. Buy greens. Shop around for seasonal variety. For example, I bought forty pounds of asian pears from the local food coop for $35. That now supplements my bananas and dates.
its 2013 now so im late.
But I've if you spend 100 a week on food you must live in an expensive place.
I spend about 200 a month on food. 250 max..
I struggled with this a lot this summer, when I started out I was spending about $110-150 a week on food and I just could not afford it.
I ended up investing in a Costco card and it has been a life saver. A lot of their produce is organic and people don't look at you like you are crazy when you buy 5 bunches of bananas at a time.
I spend about $50-70 a week right now and have a decent variety.
Ex: this week I spent $68 and got:
-4 lbs of dates
-28 bananas
-22 peaches
-24 mangoes
-2 big flats of raspberries (this was a splurge, not getting these would cut about $10)
-12 apples
-a bag of about 50 oranges
-5 lbs romaine lettuce
-4 lbs carrots
The only issue is that some weeks EVERYTHING is organic and some weeks they have NO organic produce. You really are at their mercy but I travel a lot and I like that no matter where I go I know I can get my fruit at the same price.
hi molly ;]
im a college students and i was spending about 70 a week when i bought groceries at the supermarket. however i recently found a farmers market around my college area and i can buy fruits and veggies there for muchhhh cheaper. maybe look for a farmers market around where u live and that will help u.
OPTION 1 OF 3 get food stamps.
I'm not sure how your state works but here in Washington state if you live at home and you are over the age of 23 then they don't count your parents income. Just say you're vegan and your parents eat American food, so they know you don't share food expenses.
Go to your local DSHS office and apply.
-bring consecutive pay checks to prove employment wage (the lower the more you get).
-Don't let them know you're a student or else its harder to get. (ironically).
I was always brought up as a child to never use social services and that they were for poor lazy people, but honestly the rich get bigger "handouts" so that argument is invalid and if you need food assistance GET IT.
Also, its there for a reason and being in school and working shows that we don't plan to "suck off the system" as many people claim beneficiaries to be doing.
I get $188.00 a month for food. I use to get $200.
OPTION 2 OF 3
Food banks
some are better than others, but when I was homeless before joining the military I got a great deal of produce from my local food bank.
OPTION 3 OF 3
speak to local produce suppliers and become "friends" with the manager (a means to an end i guess)
and try to get discounts on purchasing "spoiled" produce that they plan on trashing.
a lot of it is still really good and just doesn't look as pretty as they'd like
BONUS OPTION.
grow your own wheat grass and sunflower sprouts. and other sprouts. ITS SO EASY AND SOOO INEXPENSIVE.
youtube it.
(omega 8005/8006 juicer is the best way to juice wheat grass and other greens) (cost $300.00 ish though)
yes, Its hard to stay raw on limited budget :=(
Hey, I don't know if you're still looking for help with this. I'm not a 100% raw vegan yet, just a regular one. Something I've noticed a lot online is buying raw from wholesale stores. They have massive quantities of fruit and they sell it cheaper than grocery stores b/c I don't think they lose a lot of money for when the fruit goes bad (or something, idk why lol). I know there's a wholesales in Philadelphia and I think they buy it right from the source. Your best bet would be wholesales or buying straight from the source.
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