She can feed 150 people with $20. She wants to feed 30,000.

The average thrifty person spends about $40 per week on groceries, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Lauren Puryear says she can spend half that and feed 150 people.

But instead of using that to save money for herself, the 29-year-old from New Jersey is using her coupon skills to feed the hungry.

Puryear started For the Love of Others in 2012, an organization that seeks to help people “from all backgrounds through providing opportunities to enable them to live a purposeful life.” She told NJ.com she has been inspired to help others through her grandmother, who died four years ago.

The mental health clinician and mother started buying food in bulk from stores such as Costco to feed those in need, but felt she wasn’t reaching enough people. So someone suggested she try using more coupons.

“I started couponing for food items like spaghetti, meatballs, and I was (often) able to get the items for free or for little to no money,” Puryear said.

She said she could provide food for up to 150 people with as little as $20 using coupons, depending on the food. It requires going to specific stores and buying certain items, but Puryear said it’s an easy process once you get the hang of it, and it has enabled her to expand her giving to thousands more people.

Puryear told NJ.com her goal is to feed 30,000 people by her 30th birthday. She has already fed 5,000.

“It’s probably the most exhilarating thing I could ever do in life,” Puryear said.

This story was originally published September 19, 2016 at 8:55 AM with the headline "She can feed 150 people with $20. She wants to feed 30,000.."