A DORSET man has set himself a challenge of buying 23 items of food from supermarkets for £23. 

Mike Meade, who founded coupon company 360Vouchers, set himself the challenge to practice what he preaches and find yellow sticker bargains. 

He went on the hunt for cut-price food from multiple supermarkets which would see him and his mum through the week. 

The 37-year-old started his mission at 3pm on Monday, June 12 when he thought the food discounts would start to be applied for the day.

Bournemouth Echo: Discounted food at a food bankDiscounted food at a food bank (Image: Daily Echo)

Mike managed to buy seven items, including pizza, cooked meat and packets of sushi, for less than £7 at Asda. 

For less than £5, he bagged himself a pasta bake meal for two, a side of mashed potato and a sandwich from a Tesco supermarket. 

The savvy shopper said: “Inflation was 8.7 per cent in April and, in many cases, wages are not increasing at the same rate.  

“This means that people are getting much less for their money compared to what they used to.

“Purchasing food is unavoidable for many households, meaning that it is harder to make the savings they might want to.  

Bournemouth Echo: Budget supermarket LidlBudget supermarket Lidl (Image: Daily Echo)

“The answer to this problem may be visiting supermarkets at peak times and taking advantage of the yellow sticker offers. 

“Many items will be close to their sell-by date, but many will be frozen and consumed at a later date.” 

In the end, after travelling to five supermarkets including Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Lidl, Mike paid £22.62 for 23 items. 

Here is a full breakdown of what Mike bought and how much he paid: 

  • Asda - total shop £6.53 for seven items 

Sushi - £1.11 (was £2.05)  

Cooked meat - 81p (was £1.77)  

Fruit - 63p (was £1.15) 

Fresh cream - 85p (was £1.47) 

Pork pies - 0.52p (was £1) 

Pizza - £1.50 (was £2.34p)

  • Tesco - total shop £4.16 for three items

Pasta bake meal for two - £2.58 (was £4.60) 

Buttery mashed potato - £0.55p (was £1.30) 

Sandwich - £1.03 (was £2.10) 

Lidl - total shop £1.22p for two items 

Potato and cheddar salad - 67p (was £1.69) 

Classic chicken soup - 55p (was £1.89)  

  • Sainsbury’s - total shop £5.45p for five items

Four cream scones - 49p (was £2)  

Skimmed milk 0.5L - 74p (was 90p) 

Four brioche burger buns - 84p (£1.05) 

Two jam doughnuts - £1.39 (was £1.75) 

Raspberries - £1.99 (was £2.50) 

  • Morrisons - total shop £5.26 for seven items  

Smoked haddock - 82p  

Mini chicken fillet - £1.87  

Mushroom stir fry - £1.11  

Fresh basil - 36p  

Brussel sprouts - 60p  

Peeled potatoes - 50p  

  • Total spend = £22.62 for 23 items.