Chelmsford YHA Group

Shopping List for Hostel Trips

The following is my "standard" shopping list and guide to quantities. Please feel free to vary it if you're sick of sausage & beans!

Breakfast: Cereal followed by sausages & beans

  Cereal        Variety of Cornflakes, Weetabix, Muesli etc.   

                1 BIG packet per 15 breakfasts                 

  Sausages      2 per breakfast                                

  Baked beans   1 big can (840g) per 6 breakfasts              

                or 1 standard size (450g) per 3 breakfasts     

  Milk          1/3 pint per person per day                    

                (More may be needed for heavy tea-drinking     
                sessions it's useful to have some UHT or       
                dried milk)                                    

Lunch: sandwiches (1 cheese, 1 ham), chocolate biscuit, piece of fruit

  Bread         1 large medium-sliced loaf per 4 lunches       

                (this allows 4 slices per lunch plus some      
                spare for breakfast - more may be needed if    
                there's a toaster)                             

                (most people prefer brown bread)               

  Cheese        1 kg per 30 lunches

  Ham           1 slice each (wafer thin)                      

  Marge         500g per 20 lunches                            

  Choc bics     1 each  (Penguin Kit-kat etc or cheap          
                equivalent)                                    

  Fruit         1 each (Apples & bananas usually more popular  
                then oranges)                                  

  Pickle, lettuce, tomatoes etc to make sandwiches tolerable. 

    
  Sandwich bags

Extras (these are usually in the food box)

    
    Tea bags - allow at least 2 per person per day - running out oftea is a
      fate worse than death!
    
    Coffee
    
    Salt, Sugar, Cooking oil, herbs etc.

If not going to a hostel, check whether we need:

      Toilet paper, Washing-up liquid, scouring pads, tea towels

Evening meals

Simple meals that can be cooked in a couple of big pots are usually most successful. Remember that most hostels don't have ovens.

Some rough guides to quantities:

  Mince      4 to 6 oz per person                      
                            
  Spagetti   At least 100g per person                                         

  Rice       100g per person                           

  Potatoes   1/2 lb per person, or 3/4 lb if mashing   
                                             

  Custard    Best to use "instant just add water"      
             packets 1 packet makes 3/4 pint which     
             will do 3 people                          

Please contact me if you have any additions, corrections, or interesting recipes for this list!