klugeryid,
“Let’s talk numbers of possibility”
The OP asked for what the average frum family paid for groceries per week, not what amount is theoretically possible to spend to avoid malnutrition. I’m also not sure that your menu would meet even that goal if followed for more than a month or two. And I think some of your estimates on how much food is needed are a bit low.
Family of six children – I’m assuming two parents as well, so 8 mouths to feed.
Two Dozen eggs $2 – This would theoretically work for breakfast, but I hope everyone likes eggs, or at least does not have an egg sensitivity. A breakfast of nothing but scrambled eggs wouldn’t work for most families. Any alternatives add to the cost.
Bottle milk $2.40 – Everyone’s limited to 8oz per day, not a drop more. And no milk at all on the weekends?
Cream cheese $4 – Everyone gets a 1 micron thick schmear on their sandwich? I think two containers is needed here, so make this $8, unless doing cholov stam. And lunch is nothing but a cream cheese sandwich? I guess you can have the glass of milk with it? Yes you’ll mention extras below that can be sides. We’ll get there.
Two boxes macaroni (constantly on sale at shop rite) $1.76 You don’t have any sides with the mac and cheese, so the family of 8 will need more food for supper than this. So either more mac and cheese or another reliance on the extras below.
Total $10.16 and you’ve fed your family amply. Times five days $50.80 for the week – Breakfast was sufficient for those who like or can eat eggs, but a cream cheese sandwich and glass of milk for lunch and a small serving of mac and cheese per mouth for supper is not “ample.” And yes, the extras below will try to mitigate this, but we’ll see how well that works.
You can add whatever you want to this basic.
Brick of cheese $14 – this is a lowball, especially if having mac and cheese multiple times in a week. 2-3 bricks per week is a more realistic estimate. Tomato sauce is a cheaper topping on pasta, but then you lose a protein.
Bottle ketchup $3
Three orange juice $9 – Everyone’s limited to 3.4oz of orange juice a day over 7 days?
2 Family packs of chicken bottoms $24 – Ok, so we eat supper on Sunday, with maybe some leftovers on Monday for one or two people in the family sick of cream cheese sandwiches.
Package of hot dogs $10 – Ok, so we eat lunch on Sunday. But lunch being one bare hotdog per person doesn’t seem “ample”, even if taken with ketchup.
Fruits and vegetables $50 – This is where you kind of gave up on the breakdown and ended up lowballing considerably. A cream cheese sandwich for lunch on weekdays and a single un-bunned ketchup-covered hotdog on Sunday followed by a 6 hour wait until supper isn’t really ample or healthy, so let’s add an apple as a side. Apples typically run around $1.20/lb, and a single apple weighs about a third of a pound. So an apple per person per day over a week runs you around $22.40. That doesn’t leave much for other produce, sides, or snacks (potatoes, carrots, greens, peas/corn, maybe you’d put rice and beans here, other fruit) that’s critical to making this diet nutritious and sustainable.