We barely have a large family. We are like a small, large family. But most people cannot fathom having a few more kids than they have. And they are curious! Boy are people curious about my family. And that is really fine. We don’t mind curiosity. It is interesting. We know. I’d be curious. I’m sometimes curious about families larger than mine. One question we get a lot is about groceries. Most people see six kids all they can think is, “How on earth do you feed them all?” I feel like Costco was built for me! And when you are buying multiple Costco sized packages of things, well, you are aware that you are an anomaly. Most people see a Costco sized butter pack (4 lbs.) and think, how long will it take me to use that? It isn’t Christmas right now! I see it and think, I sure hope 2 packs lasts me through the month!
Here are our usual food purchases for a month. A couple notes before I list all this. (1) I have no teenagers yet! The six lovely children range from 8 months to 9 years. I imagine I will have to double this in a few years and then triple it a few years after that. (2) This isn’t everything. These are just our base staples. I meal plan and we buy what is needed for those meals. I usually go with whatever meat is on sale. And we eat vegetarian half the time, so I buy a lot of bulk beans and use my Bean by Bean Cookbook. This also doesn’t include any canned goods. (3) This is just an average month. Some months my kids will get on a yogurt kick and we’ll go through more yogurts and less bananas. It happens. This is just an average month when they are spreading their likes around. (4) These are per month totals. And some are a combination of bulk and regular grocery store purchasing. (5) I also buy household items each month like toilet paper and paper towels, those things aren’t included. This is just food.
Bananas – 4 dozen
Apples – 6 lbs.
Gogurt – 72 pouches
String Cheese – 96
Mozarella Snack Cheese – 36
Granola Bars – 96
Popcorn – 2 lbs. unpopped kernels
Lemons – 3 lbs.
Onions – 10 lbs.
Garlic – 2 lbs.
Sweet Tea – 45 gallons
Bread – 12 loaves
Tortillas – 88
Applesauce – 48 pouches
Oatmeal – 2 lbs.
Peanut Butter – 80 oz.
Raisins – 24 snack size boxes
Milk – 8 gallons
Almond Milk – 8 gallons
Eggs – 4 dozen
Butter – 8 lbs.
Sour Cream – 4 lbs.
Cottage Cheese – 3 lbs.
Heavy Cream – 3 quarts
Shredded Mexican Cheese – 3 lbs.
Pretzels – 3.5 lbs.
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Notes From the Parsonage 