If you’ve been following our Big Family Food series, you’ve only just begun to see how food works at our house right now. I am having so much fun sharing and can’t wait to keep adding to this series. Today I’m going to tell you about a big food shopping trip I had in January!
Where I shop for groceries:
First, let me detail a little bit for you where we buy food for our family.
- I try to sneak away to Lincoln (about an hour away from home) once each month for a big grocery shopping day. At the very least I hit Costco. Sometimes I’ll also go to Aldi. And I just signed up for a Sam’s membership (which I’ll talk about below).
- I usually place 2-3 local Walmart pick-up orders each month. This fills in the gaps before I can go to Costco again, and keeps us supplied with fresh produce. As you’ll see below, WE GO THROUGH A LOT OF FRESH PRODUCE. Oy!
- We get two gallons of fresh milk from a local farm once each week. Of course, that isn’t enough for our family, so I also grab a few gallons each month from the store too.
- This leads me to share that we get WIC benefits for our foster babes, which is a huge blessing because it provides milk, eggs, cheese, cereal, and my favorite: FRESH PRODUCE! ;) Typically, I go pick up our WIC food items at a local grocery store that is close to our house.
- I order several staples every couple of months from Azure Standard, which is a food co-op that delivers groceries right into town for us to pick up! My favorites from them are big bags of frozen veggies, cases of tortillas, and either fresh flour or grain to grind into flour. (Currently, I’m just buying flour because I don’t have time to grind it right now.) You can read here to learn more about the items I often buy from Azure.
The day I spent HOW MUCH?!
So now let me tell you about my great big food shopping trip day back in January. I needed to take our littlest babe to Lincoln for an appointment, so she and I headed out with cooler bags and boxes to get our groceries stocked up! It’s not often I get one-on-one time with our kids, so this was special, even if it was ridiculously cold outside that day!
Oh wait – this first!
Since I was going to be shopping by myself with a six-month-old, and I know that I usually need at least two big Costco carts, which isn’t possible with a baby in tow, I tried out a new idea and I super love it!
I sat down at my computer one day and ordered all of the dry-good staples I like to pick up at Costco. I tell you what, I am going to do this every time from now on! There’s no way all of these items plus all of the fresh and frozen items would have fit into one cart (which you’ll see below). So in just a few days after ordering, and with free shipping right to my porch, here’s my online Costco order:
I know it’s hard to see everything in these boxes, but here’s the rundown:
- 2 Cases of applesauce pouches
- Box of peach cups
- Box of mandarin orange cups
- Box of packs of nuts
- Case of olives
- Case of black beans
- Case of baked beans
- Box of quinoa and rice mix (such a wonderful convenience food to have on hand!)
- Bag of coffee
- Several big containers of spices we use regularly
- Brown sugar
- Pack of canned chicken
- Bag of dried blueberries
- French fried onions
January Costco Online Order $267
Then, I went into Costco with the babe and filled our cart with everything else we needed!
I’m all about grocery shopping, but one of my favorite things about Costco is the clothing they offer! I found really nice coats for three of our kids for just $7 each. Our littlest just moved up a size in clothing, so I found a few outfits and jammies for her. I grabbed a case of diapers. And what about food? Oh joy, all the good food!
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Boneless Chicken Thighs
- Flautas (we love these for a quick meal in our Air Fryer!)
- Tilapia
- Grapes
- Mixed Greens
- Sparkling Water (a fun treat for all the bigs at our house, including me) ;)
- Tortilla Chips
- French Fries
- Chicken Nuggets
- Pizzas
- 2 cases of Naked (because it never gets old to say “I got Naked at Costco.”)
- Ham
- Turkey
- Croissants
- Bananas
- Apples
- Blackberries
- Pears
January In-Store Costco Trip $256
Sam’s too?
Well, shucks if I didn’t get sucked into an offer for “Spend $45, get a $45 eGiftCard.” But a free Sam’s membership, just to try and see if I like it for a year? Why not?
—- > Pssst, here’s a link for you to take advantage of this also if you want!) Spend $45, get a $45 eGiftCard. Online only.
<——
The biggest pull for me is that there is a Sam’s in Grand Island (45 minutes west of us) but not a Costco (which is in Lincoln, an hour to the east). So I think it will be nice to have this Sams membership when I am in GI. Plus, I wanted to compare Sam’s to Costco and see what might meet our needs better.
So after our Costco shopping was complete, Baby and I headed to Sam’s to check it out before her appointment.
I like it!
I feel like I’m going to like Costco better, but at the same time, Sam’s had some fun sales and clearance that I really appreciated! I got a couple of birthday gifts for our littles for super cheap since it was right after Christmas. Awesome fun! Plus they had some really neat food clearance items too.
I filled my cart here too, which I wasn’t expecting to do. But it doesn’t take much to fill a cart when you’re buying in bulk!
- Frozen fruit for smoothies
- Pepperoni
- Rice Cake snacks (for one of our college kids to take to his apartment)
- Clementines
- Salad Mix
- Cheese Slices (x2)
- Canned Pineapple
- Fresh Pineapple
- Instant Oatmeal Pouches (for a special treat for the kids)
- Box of Spaghetti Noodles
- Tub of Whole Milk Yogurt
- Whatever else is buried under there that I can see. I lost my receipt. :)
January Sams Food Purchase $117
Then we had to take it all in and put it all away. :/
This is a huge job, not just because of the big food shopping trip and how it filled the back of our van, but also because there are so many babies who need to be held, especially after Mommy has been gone all day! So while I juggled baby snuggles, Matt, Malachi, Brayden, and our 6yo Girlie trudged in and out bringing everything in. :)
Food piled up all over the living room and kitchen, and we slowly got it put away.
Hmmm. I need to show you my freezers and food storage spaces huh?! Sounds like a good upcoming post in our Big Family Food series!
Big Family Food Shopping Trip: I Spent HOW MUCH?!
Between my online Costco order, my in-store Costco purchase, and my Sams purchase, my total was $640. I was expecting it to be much more, actually. (It was more with the clothes, coats, toys, paper towels, and diapers. But I only count actual food in our food budget.)
I feel like $640 isn’t bad for a great big, once-a-month Costco and Sam’s shopping trip. But here’s something that I am both giggling at and trying to re-evaluate:
Much of this food was gone after a week and a half.
A WEEK AND A HALF!
We still have plenty of pasta, rice, beans, fries, and fruit cups left. There’s a little chicken left in the freezer plus half the flautas. We haven’t finished all of the ‘Pellegrinos, ha.
But did you see all the fresh produce in those pictures? I’m talking six pounds of grapes, eight pounds of strawberries, two tubs of blueberries, seven pounds of apples, five pounds of clementines, eight pounds of pears, two containers of greens, a tub of pineapple, and whatever else I missed. Ten days later, we were left with 3 apples and a small bowl of shriveled grapes. Whoa, baby. Where does it all go?
Truly, feeding this tribe and watching the food disappear fills me with joy!! My college-age niece, who drops by frequently, opened my fridge just after the ten days had passed since my shopping trip and was like, “Whoa, your fridge is so empty!” Hahaha, I know, Kailey. I know.
Not to worry, because we really do have plenty of food in the house at all times. It’s the fresh food that’s hard to keep up with.
I’m chewing on this:
I think it’s time to re-think our grocery budget and my shopping practices. The budget might need to increase or shift in some places. Also, I don’t know how I’d make it happen (because I have to move a few mountains to be able to go out of town for these big shopping trips), but I might need more than a once-a-month Costco or Sam’s trip.
So stay tuned to our Big Family Food series. I’ll share as I figure all of this out. I hope you’re having as much fun with this series as I am!
Where are your favorite places to grocery shop?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
P.S. I finished this post and scheduled it. Then I went back to Sam’s a few days later because I was in Lincoln for an event and there was a Sam’s a mile away. I spent another $250 on produce and meat. Yes. It’s time to take another look at our grocery budget. Oy! But hey, at least I’m getting the most out of my free Sam’s membership!
You might find you like having both memberships. I know I do. I am lucky that both are about the same distance for me. Each store has some items that are a better value than the other.
I agree! I love the organic selection at Costco but Sam’s has a good quality fresh chicken and cheeses.
I’ve hesitated doing online shopping with Costco (it would have been nice when I was bed ridden with my last baby). The prices are $1.50-2 more per item than in the store. I appreciate that Walmart and some other stores have a set “delivery” or “pick up” cost. But when I’m buying 15-20 items, at least, those $2 mark-ups add up quick. I guess if it saves driving and shopping time if the store is an hr away, it would be worth the cost. But mine is literally 5 minutes away ?????
Shoot, I didn’t realize there was a markup!! :(
I’m glad you mentioned it…hahaha….because it really doesn’t seem like that much food for the tribe that you are always feeding. Especially with the appetites of college kids. All groceries have really soared in price and out of season fruits are crazy high! The big ways to cut costs (making more traditional sides, cutting up veggies and fruit yourself) aren’t a great option when you have so little time and so many babies to hold and care for. You are doing great and I am enjoying these posts.
Are you a foster parent? I only ask, because you hard hearts on some of the kiddos’ faces.
Yep!
We have memberships at both, but Sams definitely wins out on the convenience factor. Our store offers free curbside pickup. Total game changer to be able to place my order online and then pick up for free at the store.
When I had a Sam’s membership I could do a click n pull order. I would order what I wanted / fresh, frozen, produce, whatever and it would be ready for me to pick up. It was the greatest thing ever! (This was way before online grocery order – and even Amazon!). Lol
So within a few minutes, I’ve come across TWO posts on how to feed a big family! This one might have some new/helpful ideas for you too! :) https://raisingarrows.net/affording-kids-feeding-them/
I’ve got a lot of great ideas to mull over– thank you!!
We joined Costco several years ago because they are the best place to get hearing aides! Ours are about 45 minutes away, and in an area I have no other reason for which to go. Every time I make the trip, I realize it’s not that bad and think I should go once a month. But in reality I only go every few months.
I absolutely love ordering stuff online from Costco, though, and recently even enjoyed trying their cold pack delivery. I find it totally worthwhile (even with the slight mark-up in price), since it saves not only gas but a huge chunk of a day.
I also love many of their clothing deals as well. Have you noticed they keep running a Buy More Save More deal online for buying 5 or more clothing items? And save MORE if you buy even more! It’s great!) So often I buy 5 or more items online, try them on, and take back any returns on my next in-person trip.
Another thing I figured out is to buy most of my paper products online and have them shipped to me. It admittedly is a LOT of huge boxes to break down (but they are very recyclable), but it saves my filling up valuable space in my Costco cart.
We also have a local BJ’s Wholesale Club, where we’ve had membership for even MORE years, and I’ve wondered if we really need both. But one is so close and convenient, and I will likely keep our Costco membership as long as I need hearing aides (basically forever).
I’ve always appreciated your balanced, thoughtful, but real approach to eating and grocery shopping, as there are different seasons in our lives that require flexibility. Thanks for sharing your fun stories!
Help me understand your online ordering from Costco. You order it for pick up? And then you buy the fresh food, and they bring your order to the van when you are done? Is there a reason you don’t order everything on line for pickup? Sorry I’m a dunce. We don’t have Costco here and don’t know how it works. By the way, I am. Long time follower of your blog, and I just love your big, beautiful family. Thank you for stepping out in faith to provide a godly home environment for God’s children!
What I ordered online from Costco was shipped and delivered to my door for free! :)
I’ve been following your blog for many years! I knew you lived in the Midwest but didn’t realize until now that you live close to me! After living all our lives in TN, This past year old God called us to Nebraska for my husband to pastor a church! We are in Madison County. We shop at the Grand Island Sam’s too! (An hour and a half for us!) ?
SO FUN!!!
Learn to use scan and go at Sam’s. It is the best thing ever! Just scan your items as you put them into your cart, slide to pay and head for the door. No need to unload your stuff, have it checked out and loaded back into your cart. I have memberships to both places, because Sam’s is 2 hours away and Costco is 20 minutes, but I love Sam’s so much more. I have to gear myself up to go through the Costco experience, so I usually don’t.
In my area BJ’s is the better deal in the items I buy. Aldi has gotten too expensive and so has Walmart ?. There’s an overstock/discontinued grocery store I go to once in awhile. Prices are significantly less. If this is a downside, almost everything is expired so you need to weigh the pros and cons in what you’re buying.
Love it! Thanks for sharing.
We moved recently and our closest Costco is now 45 minutes away. I used to swing by whenever I wanted for gas and a few items. BJs is in our area and I find it meets our needs. I used to have a Sam’s nearby. They have great clearance items, like you mentioned. They open earlier, which is nice too.
Your children are so precious.
Is Walmart delivery an option? That’s the way I shop these days! It’s like $100 a year for unlimited deliveries. Much more reasonable than something like instacart, & I think they have a decent amount of Sam’s choice bulk items as well.
Not in my area. I can do walmart pickup, which is truly a huge help but we don’t have delivery here yet. :)
If you are considering ways to save on your grocery budget you might consider buying more in “ bulk” and less single serving items. I’ve never bought individual applesauces, or other single serving items. I also only buy simple snacks such as fruit or crackers. We mainly concentrate on eating more during mealtime and not snacking as much. Snacks can be very expensive!
Love seeing your precious family.
And seeing your grocery hauls help me out slot.
Thanks for taking the time to do this.
Linda