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When islander Hannah Fitzgerald shared a cheap recipe online to try and help those struggling to feed their families, she did not expect it to result in the creation of an 800-strong online 'cost of living community' within just a week...
"I started the group by accident," laughed Hannah. "I was having one of those evenings when you have to just cook something from what is left in the cupboard and spotted an old pack of sausage casserole seasoning.
"I knew I had sausages in the freezer so I just threw it all together with some vegetables and it turned out great! I was thinking to myself 'that's really cheap' so I decided to write the recipe out and share it on a local Facebook group."
Hoping that the recipe might help one or two people struggling with the rising cost of living, Hannah did not expect the huge response it got.
She explained: "People were commenting saying that I should start a blog or make a recipe book, and asking if I had any more ideas for cheap family meals.
"That's when I decided to create the Facebook group called 'Feed A Family. Low Cost recipe ideas (Jersey )'. I expected maybe 30 people to join it at a push, but then I woke up the next day to 460 member requests and a lovely lady called Liz offering to be an admin - I didn't even know what an admin was!"
Pictured: Hannah's spontaneous sausage casserole was the "accidental" inspiration behind her group.
Hannah has always loved cooking and ensuring there is a healthy homemade meal ready for her family each night, a trait she inherited from her mother and grandmother. However, when Hannah was unwell recently she was left unable to cook for a while. This resulted in her husband and son ordering online delivery boxes to help them make their meals, but Hannah was shocked when she realised how expensive they were.
She said: "I sat down and worked out how much it would be to make these meals from scratch yourself buying ingredients locally, and it was so much cheaper than was being charged.
"Now that I'm strong enough to cook and eat again, I want to share my tips for cheap and healthy meals with others. I hope this will help just one family if using a food bank or supermarket get a good kick start to a winter menu. That’s value for money."
Pictured: Hannah's Facebook group had accumulated almost 800 members at the time of writing.
Although there are many cheap recipe ideas online, the ones that Hannah posts on Facebook are all priced based on Jersey prices from local shops, which can often vary significantly from prices in the UK.
She added: "My top tip for doing your weekly shop is create a meal plan for the week and only buy what you need. People can end up with cupboards full of food items that they never use -- in fact I've even tried to create recipes based around this. Everyone seems to have a random tin of hotdog sausages in their cupboard so I created a 'Halloween Treat' recipe of posh hotdogs using garlic bread!
"I know a lot of people buy mince often too, but it's so easy to get stuck in a rut and use it to cook Spaghetti Bolognese every week. I've tried to think of other things that mince can be used for as it's so cheap to buy. One of the mince recipes even involves getting the kids involved to create homemade burger patties."
Pictured: Some other low cost meals that Hannah has created include Shepherd's Pie and a one-pot Leek and Potato Soup.
Hannah has been experimenting with more recipes since the group gained popularity, trying to make them all take less than 30 minutes to make and cost less than £1-£1.50 per person. Tonight, she is trying out homemade kebab pittas which work out at only £9.60 for six people.
"They are cheaper than a takeaway kebab and chips," Hannah says. "And you don't have to be drunk to eat them!"
Hannah is aiming to post at least one or two recipes each week and it pricing them all based on local prices. However she hopes that other people will contribute their ideas too to create a group with a range of recipes ideas to suit all different tastes and budgets.
She said: "I hope everyone has an idea they can contribute to help with people struggling with the cost of feeding their families at the moment. I want this group to be inclusive to everyone and I will be delighted if it helps just one family have a healthy meal."
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