Easy Ways To Feed Hungry Kids On A Budget This Summer
As a busy mom on a tight budget, I am always looking for frugal ways to keep these kids full. During the summer the kids are playing in the pool and they have friends over pretty much every day. This means that we go through so much more food and if you have been to a grocery store in the past few months you know that prices are continuing to go up. The good news is that I have a few tricks up my sleeve for feeding hungry kids on a budget.
These tricks will save you money, keep your hungry kids full, and make the most of your grocery budget when you have hungry kids at home eating all day long.
Bulk up homemade basics

One Of My favorite things to make at home to keep kids fed is waffles. I make a few hundred waffles a month for my kids and it is a great way to keep kids full. They can reheat them in the toaster, toaster oven, or air fryer in a matter of minutes or snack on them cold.
To make them more filling on a budget I add flavored protein powders to a basic waffle recipe to up the protein and make them more filling while giving the kids unique snacky flavors to munch on. Adding oats to the recipe is a great way that we bulk it up as well as adding protein, and fiber to help keep kids full.
Making waffles like this is super easy and can be done in bulk while you play on your phone, read a book, or even clean in the kitchen.
Stock up on fruits and veggies
While we have a thriving garden we have put in over the past few years that provides a lot of snacks for the kids I still make a point of hitting the closet wholesale fruit market for large batches of extremely cheap produce for our kids to munch on.
Cut-up apples, grapes, cucumbers, and other treats that we find for cheap make amazing snacks, and work out well for the pool, park, or just when everyone is hanging out on devices hiding from the summer heat.
Shop sales and store brands
Kids go though a lot of chips, snacks like pizza rolls, and other typical snacky foods through the summer. One great way to make this fit into your budget is to shop the store brands and sales to save money. I only buy what is on sale and if both a store brand and name brand are on sale I go for the cheaper option. If these sales are really bad like this week was I grabbed some store-brand stuff for the kids just to keep the cost down. I use apps like Ibotta to help save money.
Make ahead lunch boxes

Things like lunchables are not very filling and the price is constantly climbing. These make are also a favorite for many kids to munch on in the summer. One way we lower the cost of food to fill up our kids is to make our own.
When we make ahead lunch boxes for the kids we can have an easy answer to what’s for lunch, I’m hungry, and what can I eat. I make tiny pizza crusts to put together pizza Lunchables. Stack together crackers, cheese, and lunch meats for the classics. And simply put together lunches with sandwiches, veggies, and snacks.
Get an ice cream maker
Ice cream prices are crazy and the cost is too much for many families. Things that used to run $1 on an ice cream truck is not $3-$4 easy. To help lower costs and still get to enjoy summer treats get a cheap ice cream maker so you can whip up plenty of ice cream to keep kids content.
When it comes to keeping hungry kids fed on a budget look for things you can make ahead of time, can do on a budget, and simply looking for more frugal options when shopping.