Feeding hungry mouths on a budget

Protein and grains stay with you.  Carbs go into your bloodstream quickly.   Fat fills you up.

Ideas you can use,   Kids, especially growing teens just can’t get enough to eat.

1. Have a number  - like maybe 4 - things that are FREE.   That is to say, they can make themselves and eat when they are hungry provided it isn’t an hour before dinner,   With my children it was air popped popcorn , ramen noodles, beef and bean burritos, and  PBand J. I would change the ramen out to a baked potato 🥔 these days,   They are things that get protein into the children and aren’t garbage,   
2. I would buy a bulk bag of flour, rice and oatmeal.  @@Costco. That would be about less than 25.00.  You can make bread for as low as .25.  Easy bread.   You can get orowheat with healthy grains and bagels, buns, etc at the dollar tree.  There are some coupons out there.   Save the inserts.  If you don’t get the later, it’s a dollar at the dollar tree (DT) and you can get it Saturday.   Mark the date on the front.   Rice in bulk calculates to a few cents a serving.   Oatmeal is less than ten cents a serving and fills a kid up.   Use 1/2 cup per serving.  We add fruit and a splash of milk.   
3. Buy meat  in bulk and limit your choices to things you can get for an average of 2.00 a pound,   Buy limiting to a pork, a beef and a chicken, you can buy in bulk and rotate what you buy based on RBP sales.  Recently we got pork loin for a dollar at Fred Meyers.  I got chicken for a buck in bulk at Zaycon.  I get boneless skinless chicken breast at FM for 1.77.  You can almost always get whole chickens for a buck a pound.   Hamburger is more expensive, we just eat it once a week.  If another cut is cheaper, we grind our own.   Not serving a piece of meat is always a stretcher.   Sloppy joes go further than hamburgers.   Serve children smaller portions and offer seconds if they eat the first portion ...and their veggies .    
4. Eggs are a good source of protein and I can still find diktat a dozen eggs.   My family loves impossible pies.   A good dinner that stretches.  
5. Growing up, we never saw a can of pop, a bag of potato chips , a specialty child food., or a fresh piece of fruit except bananas that were given to us.  No kool aid.  We just didn’t see junk food.   I do always have fresh fruit in the house fir granddaughter.   Snacks didn’t happen.   
6. A lot of child friendly recipes can be made cheap.   Cheese pizza cost 1.05.  Burritos can be made with a combo of meat and beans,  
7. Beans (pinto) are cheapest  at the DT.  Made in USA, no gmo. 
8. Hearty soups can simmer a,omg in a slow cooker and are a good , cheap meal.  
9. The more cheap, efficient, scratch meals you can make the better, the less ready made foods the better.