How to do your weekly food shop for under £20

Poverty campaigner Jack Monroe has shared how to keep your weekly food shopping costs to an absolute minimum.

Money-saving chef Jack Monroe has shared tips on how to do a weekly family food shop for only £20.

The 34-year-old has shared in the hope it will help others save some cash, as the cost of living sky rockets.

Taking to Twitter, the mum of one revealed her hacks, originally posted in February, and put them into practice for a weekend trip to Asda.

Also an author and poverty campaigner, Jack says that organisation is key. It's important to know exactly what's in your fridge and cupboard before doing a shop and to stock take regularly.

She told the Manchester Evening News: 'One of my best tips for keeping the food shop down to £20 a week is to do a full stocktake of what’s in the cupboard, fridge and freezer. Let me explain how it works. 

'I get an A4 sheet of lined paper and divide it into four vertical columns: proteins, carbohydrates, fruit and veg. The end column is split into two, flavours and snacks.

'Then I go through the fridge, freezer and cupboards and note down every single thing I have in. When I’m feeling extra meticulous I weigh it all, but usually I do an estimate of the number of portions.'

She uses columns to organise fruit and vegetables nearing the end of their use by date to plan meals around them, adding ingredients from the other columns.

'Starting with protein first, and trying to pick one thing from each column, helps visualise and create balanced meals.

'It also means that my shopping list for the week is made up of ‘gap filling’ – so if i’m running low on fruit and veg, I’ll prioritise that. If I’m short on whole grains, I’ll pick some up.'

Jack added:

'Before Asda brought the Smartprice range back in full nationwide, I would take either my 32 litre backpack or my wheely trolley to do my £20 shop. It’s a testament to how much further that £20 now goes that I filled both to the brim today.

'It still makes me a bit emotional tbh.'

However, Monroe admits it's ‘actually extremely difficult’ to get the food shop so cheaply, requiring ‘a military amount of organisation and self-control and good mental health’.

'To reiterate this takes a LOT of planning, research, literal hours, being in a good place mentally and physically, 10 years of experience, a willingness to do about five laps around the shop, a calculator, and a household with no tricky allergies or dietary needs.

'And over the last 10 years I have built up a store cupboard of spices, flours, pastas, dried beans, frozen veg and fish, which all helps.'

Monroe posted a photo of her Asda receipt on Twitter, which included 23p lemonade, 50p onions, 33p potatoes and 75p bacon. Most items on her list cost under £1. She managed to bag 37 items in her shop including plenty of things to make nutritional meals with.

She said: 'Asda currently have bags of carrots, parsnips, potatoes and broccoli for 20p each. Seems to be a nationwide thing; I found mine on the ‘end’ at the fresh produce bit.'

However, she joked, 'even I am not immune from straying off-list in the dazzling lights of le supermarche.'

How changing your shopping style can help

Monroe claims her way of organised shopping has 'revolutionised' the way she cooks, reduced her anxiety around buying food and helps to reduce waste.

She added: 'I am aware that ‘check what you have in’ is useless advice for those who have absolutely nothing in the cupboards – I know, I’ve been there, it sucks, and I’m sorry.

'But for the majority of people looking to save a bit of money on their food shop, give it a go.

'It’s quite laborious the first time you do it, but as someone who has lived in food poverty, I find it quite powerfully reassuring to have a physical list of all of the food I have.'

How do you keep your weekly food costs down? Tell us in the chat thread below.

Related stories

Martin Lewis's top money-saving tips for families in 2022

CHAT: Exchange budgeting tips with other parents in our forum

Mum's fab trick to get the kids to come down for meals – without shouting