<prompt> Human: I dont want to post this in rfrugal because I dont want to live at the buying date-expired meat level. But there has to be some happy medium. I look at people here saying they spend 200 a month total on food sometimes for two people and I cant figure out what theyre eating. I dont see how that works unless you eat nothing but eggs and rice? Maybe I live in an area with high grocery costs? Can some of you at the low end of food expenditure but not vegetarian give me an idea of what your shopping and meals actually look like?I dont currently have room for a chest freezer tiny apt so bulk meat isnt an option.Example price point in my town: half a gallon of organic milk is five dollars, even at WalmartTarget.Before the inevitable dogpile: the milk is the only thing I buy organic, just like the taste better. I only mentioned it because milk in general seems like a basic staple for comparison, and I figured lots of people do buy organic. For another comparison, bacon is 8 a pound here unless its on sale.  <response>: Im a registered dietitian who helps low income families shop healthy, yet cheap. Here are my suggestions I give my clients:Shop at grocers that are cheaper aldis, food lion, walmart, trader joes, lidel. The less name band promotions, the cheaper the food will be.Shop at an international marketethnic stores for meats, fish, and produce. A few in my area are called H-mart koreanasian and Best Way Hispanic market and Fresh Mart all ethinc food. The prepackaged food typically cost more at these stores, but the basics are a high quality and affordable.Buy meat on managers special. These meats usually have 2-3 days to be eaten or frozen and theyre between 20-50 off. How else could I buy a leg of lamb for 11!! Check smaller grocers for these deals. You can also do family packs of meats which shouldnt take up too much room in the freezer. For fish, choose frozen instead of fresh since its usually cheaper.Buy produce in season aka dont buy berries in the winter. Frozen veggiescanned are an easy and cheap substitute for out of season veggies. Look up seasonal fruits and veggies in your region.Download the stores app. Food Lion often has 10 off of 50, and other coupon deals thats easier than actual coupon clipping.Find the clearance section of the grocery store. Ive been able to get whole wheat pasta for 0.39. Other times shelf-stable foods are about 50 off. The products go on clearance because they arent popular or they purcased too much... Stores are not allowed to sell expired food.Never buy anything on end-caps the end of the isle. Its a marketing ploy and you probably dont need what theyre selling. Shop on the perimeter of the store first produce, meats, delibakery, dairy, eggs, then head to the inside isles... This will cut down on the chances to buy junkhighly processed foodsimpulse buysWhen inside the isles, the cheap items are on the bottom half of the shelf. Items at eye level are usually expensive.Look at the unit price when comparing items. Its located on the price label. Usually the larger item is the best value, but make sure youll use all of it if you choose a larger size. 