I find myself having to buy my own food at home at times, so what I do to save is at night, I don't go out to buy food anymore, and I just sleep instead of eat. I also drink lots of water too to make me full and not get hungry.
Even when I had more money, I pretty much lived like I was broke; the cost of food has always been pretty high where I live. So the two changes I’ve made have more to do with my method than what I buy. I keep a close eye on prices so that I can comparison-shop, and I try to consolidate my grocery shopping trips into as few places as possible. Which means I’ve cut down from three or four shops to two, haha. But it still makes a difference. I stopped eating red meat for dietary reasons, but I would also consider dropping poultry and fish from my diet if I had to tighten my belt further.
I am much more careful now than I used to be when I'm out buying my groceries. I just buy as much as we need so that we waste no food if possible. Also, I'm looking for better prices without losing in product quality.
I've always been growing my own vegetables wherever I can. Since I now live in an apartment in a city, I use my balcony to grow tomatoes, basil, cucumbers, lettuce, and various edible flowers. I almost exclusively shop at the local farmer's market on weekends and try to buy as much bulk food as possible.
I think food costs have been gradually getting higher and higher yes, bit we tend to cook big meals all the time rather than buying snack foods. It makes it cheaper, especially when you cook extra and freeze it. Something needs to happen to reduce the costs soon though, or people on low incomes will suffer!
Meat is the food item that seems to skyrocket the most as far as cost goes, so I just try to use less of it, and only purchase meat when it is on sale. I am buying a lot more veggies like some of the others have said, and making those items the main component of the dish with just pieces of meat sprinkled throughout. I like to use potatoes and onions as fillers because they are cheap veggies.
I have been learning to cook more and more meatless items to make the budget go farther. I learned to make black bean burgers and cheick pea burgers, they do not taste like a hamburger but the taste is not bad and the cost is a lot less.
