170$ per person per month is cheap. I am assuming you feed your family nutritious food, yes?
There is even a plan for 140$ per person per month. I assume the USDA also knows what they are doing, yes?
Some posters are able to eat (presumably) nutritious food for even less. Surely, they also know what they are doing, yes?
This is where it gets tricky.
I think that I'm doing pretty good, and yes, I consider it pretty cheap. However, compared to other people here, other families in different areas of the country, even my own family 5-6 years ago, it's high.
I guess it depends on your definition of cheap. My neighbors spend $24,000 a year on food. So I feel pretty good. I cook a lot from scratch, but I'd say the *biggest* contributors to a grocery bill are where you shop and what you eat. Still, that comes out to about $34,000 in 20 years, per kid.
My daycare bill is middle of the road for this location. Some people see the annual bill (one kid in preschool) of $15,000 and choke.
However, about half of the full time options are more expensive, and half are cheaper. A majority of the cheaper options are church based. While that would probably be fine, I'm an atheist, and I'd rather just keep it "school" and "fun" with no religion.