$0 Groceries for February?

 I might be able to spend zero on food for February.   Just doing this as an experiment.

I haven't been grocery shopping since January 2 when I spent 20$ on coconut oil and coffee for about 19$, and 50cents on candy.

2nd Harvest has had more than they can give out so I've been in what is lovingly called, on the reservation "the cheese line."  There have been bonus days about once a month where a box is prepacked with canned (low salt!) veggies and fruit, beans, franks and beans, pasta sauce, and a few other things.  Last time we also got organic bread options that had expired that day, a huge amount of potatoes, 2 3-4lb bags of apples that were in potato bags. Also 3lbs of pasta and 3 or 4lbs of brown rice.  ("Pommes de terre" was on the label which is "potato" in french.  Must have been headed for Canada.  In fairness, it translates as "apples of earth" so someone got the first word right.)  I still had onions from a previous distribution.  The potatoes were large and had a few shovel stabs but are nice yellow taters.  Today I had soup from one of the onions and a few potatoes.  Excellent.  I gave away about half the potatoes, most of the pasta sauce and some of the higher salt canned items.   

I even skipped the most recent distribution because I just didn't think I could use it up and didn't have time to run it to a food bank.

I still have garlic from my garden.  Seeds to sprout (some sprouting now), a bit of flour from a 2nd harvest lot that someone passed on to me, jam from christmas gifts, salsa from the farmers market, currents from a super sale in November (dried), and most of my berries in vinegar that I put up last fall.  Also some dried veggie soup base I got in October or November, a cup or so of dried lentils, and a gift card for artisanal sourdough bread.

Astounding.  I have 7 rolls of TP (got one as a gift at work.  Funny).  Oh!  And several jars of meat that I put up with friends last fall and 2 ducks in the work freezer.  JEEZ!

I have a ton of food.  There are condiments (honey, hot sauce, mustard) and a bunch of vinegar of course.  The pineapple vinegar I made is FANTASTIC!!!!  Sweet and kind of thick like balsamic.  I had it in the potato soup.  Yum.  Really cuts down on the urge to salt stuff.

The hens are putting out an egg or two a day as the amount of sun increases.  Could get more.  And I have some gelatin as a protein supplement.  Make gelatin 

SO...I think I can get through February without buying food.  Including having some to share.  I have a loaf of potato sourdough at work that I picked up Friday from the bread guy using my gift certificate. Plenty for a week.  I might be shy on fresh veg, but not if I sprout the seeds regularly.  I even have some kombucha brewing at work.  I have tea and coffee and stevia if I want them sweet but I usually don't.  

Seems nuts but by Tuesday it will be a month since I've bought food.  One person took me out for lunch in January.  Otherwise I made everything I ate.   The home-canned meat makes a meal pretty quick.  It's already cooked and is delicious.  I wouldn't mind more flour but I don't need it.

I am going to try going through February on what I have, maybe another loaf of bread on the gift card, and if there is plenty, some 2nd harvest.  This is something between a no-spend challenge and a pantry challenge.

It seems odd to hear about people struggling to get food when I have so much and can spend so little.