How cheaply could you supply your pantry for a month?

I think porridge oats would be the best pantry filler, and peanut are surprisingly good for protein. I think I could eat for £50/month, but I've heard people claim they could eat for a month for £30 or even less, but I don't understand how they could do it.

 

We've slowly filled ours up over time and most of our stuff we've canned at home, so we only spent money on supplies. We have at least $1,000 worth of food stored but that's for the whole family.

 

I think oats and rice are staples in a cheap diet. I can only see people living for a month on £30 if they just stick to a lot of oats and rice and supplement with cheap fruits and vegetables. Realistically I think £30 a month is too low.

 

You could also supplement with edible plants that grow in the wild, and all kinds of eggs collected from the forest, although you might want to hatch some of those out and I believe some species of birds are quite tasty--other than the usual turkey, chicken and quail.

 

Destiny we have done the same although I have burned through a lot of ours due to a job change situation. I am hoping we can get it back to full, or at least mostly full within a few months. You can save a ton of money by preparing your own foods for long term storage. We dehydrate and can a ton of stuff and we buy most of it in bulk. You can make a quart Mason jar full of rice, and dehydrated veggies for less than $2. Add to that jar a 1/2 a quart jar of pressure canned ground beef and you are probably up to $4 or $5 and I can feed a family of four on that 2-3 times. If you buy a Mountain House prepacked meal you are paying about $7 for 1 meal for 1 person.

 

I've tried these 4 items for 7 days as an experiment to see how I would feel physically and psychologically (and emotionally).
1. Peanut Butter as a main source of Protein and some minerals.
2. Honey as a main source of sugar and some vitamins
3. Ramen Noodles as a main source of carbohydrates
4. Water to stay hydrated and mentally alert

Surprisingly, my energy level seemed stable and at a good pace. Physically I felt fine.
I didn't go hiking and sit in a secluded place for 7 days. I kept my same daily regimen and I felt just fine.
The drawback? It was boring! 7 days. 3x's a day. Emotionally, I wanted something more vibrant to eat, but my belly was content.
This experiment cost me under $20 to sustain me an entire week.
The good thing about this. If I only had a pack back to take with me because of an emergency, these items take up very little space.

I believe you can easily live on this for a month (and longer) with a small cost of less than $80 for the month for 1 person.
A side note: If you were limiting your rations and only ate twice a day, you can easily do it for under $50 for the month.

 

I think if you have the cheap Chinese or Japanese food packet. Then it's possible to keep those around for a month. And this way you can also save money. Most of their rice and the soup packets are cheap. And they taste good too. But you may have to look at what you can consume recurring basis in that case. Another option is corn and related products that can be used as well.