Completely off topic but as someone who had to do something equivalent in an European country you can eat well for less than 40$ a week if you know how to cook.

Completely off topic but as someone who had to do something equivalent in an European country you can eat well for less than 40$ a week if you know how to cook. Buying a whole chicken is far less expensive that buying cuts and is a cheap source of meat. You can make good stock from the bones. Vegetables at the end of their shelf life are often substantially marked down and you can often freeze what you cook with them (sauce and curry for exemple). Rice is very cheap, polenta too. Fresh pasta are easy to make and delicious as are homemade tortillas. Eggs are only 16c a piece. Fresh garlic and ginger are not too expensive and with a small selection of spices and soy sauce they will go a long way in making things better. Then, you can somewhat easily grow basil, parsley, thymes and cilantro on a window sill. Olive oil and butter were the only expensive product I used to buy but a little goes a long way.