Teaching meal planning, food shopping and food budgeting is easy when using the resources below!
Meal Planning, Shopping and Budgeting
10 Steps to Help You Fill Your Grocery Bag Through SNAP
USDA. Food and Nutrition Service.
Offers tools to help you learn if you or someone you know might be eligible for SNAP. Also in Spanish and as a printable PDF (57 KB).
101+ Ways to Save Food Dollars (PDF | 580 KB)Alabama Cooperative Extension System.
Tips to save money on food at the grocery store, at home, and while eating out.
A Healthier You - My Shopping ListDHHS. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
Make a healthy foods shopping list, based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005.
Eating Healthy on a BudgetUSDA. Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion.
Eating healthy doesn't have to cost more. Use these tips and materials to help you make choices that are not only healthy but also economical.
Busy Families and Mealtime/Las comidas en familiaExtensión en Español.
Helpful Hints for enjoyable family meals. Also available in Spanish.
Cheap and Healthy Shopping List (PDF | 64 KB)Food and Health Communications.
This handout includes a list of inexpensive, healthy items to purchase in the grocery store and 9 strategies for saving money that are often overlooked. Also includes tips to plan meals on the go.
Creating Top-Notch MenusUniversity of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service.
Provides tips to create menus with balance, variety and moderation.
Eat Well for Less Web based Learning: Stretching Food Dollars
Oregon State University Extension Service.
Web based learning module providing tips and instructions to participants on basic food resource management which include "Strategies at Home" and "Strategies at the Store."
Freezing SandwichesUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension.
Freezing sandwiches in advance can help you save time and money. This fact sheet reviews ingredients that DO and DO NOT freeze well and provides simple frozen sandwich recipes.
Eat Healthy, Be Active Community WorkshopsHealth.gov
These six one-hour workshops are based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 and 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Each workshop includes a lesson plan, learning objectives, talking points, hands-on activities, and handouts. The workshops are designed to teach to adults in a wide variety of community settings.
Ideas for Planning Thrifty Menus (PDF | 177 KB)The University of Maine Cooperative Extension
This 4-page fact sheet includes specific suggestions and recipe substitutions to help you stick to your food budget.
Learning for Better Living Meal Planning: Stretching Your Dollar (PDF | 108 KB)University of Missouri. Human Environmental Sciences Extension.
This short handout, available in both English and Spanish, entails several suggestions to help stretch money used for food as well as propose simple ways to save at the supermarket.
Make It At Home (PDF | 833 KB)University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension.
Save money by making and bringing your food from home! This handout compares the costs of buying take-out and making food at home, suggests easy items to make at home and provides tips to get kids involved.
Making the Most of Your Food Dollars: Food Shopping on a Budget (PDF | 420 KB)University of Georgia; Ft. Valley State University.
Reviews three ways to get the most for your money: making a budget, planning meals and snacks, and making a shopping list.
Managing Your Food Money (PDF | 510 KB)University of Wisconsion Extension. Wisconsin Nutrition Education Program.
An envelope is used to keep family money set aside for food. In the activity, small groups use this "envelope method" to keep track of a cash and SNAP benefits (paper or electronic) allotted for food. "Shopping cards" give various situations in which the groups must decide when the food money/SNAP Benefits should be used to purchase food and non-food items. Discussion questions are also included.
Planning Healthy Meals for One or TwoUniversity of Nebraska - Lincoln Extension
This Web site links to a PDF checklist (672 KB) to help get motivated to cook for just one or two people, including general tips, shopping tips, restaurant tips, storage tips, and helpful information about reducing a recipe size. Related resources and single serving recipes are also included on the site.
Planning to Stay Ahead: Dollars and Cents (PDF | 309KB)University of Wisconsin. Corporative Extension.
This document offers useful information for family budgeting. It provides worksheets to help develop family spending plans which can be an effective way to help budget groceries. It offers ideas so that dining out does not have to ruin a budget. In addition, the document provides the names of agencies that can grant financial assistance.
Simply Good EatingUniversity of Minnesota Extension.
Curriculum helps low literacy or English learning participants become more comfortable shopping and saving money at the grocery store. Includes four hands on activities, including unit pricing and price comparison
Spend Smart. Eat Smart.
Iowa State University Extension.
Web site offers consumers information to help them build the skills and knowledge necessary to make or buy affordable, healthy meals.
Spending Less Eating Better (PDF | 2.5 MB)University of Hawai'i at Manoa Cooperative Extension Service.
This 2-page handout provides 28 summary tips for saving money when buying food.
Squeezed by Rising Food Prices?University of Missouri Extension.
This handout contains tips on how the consumer can save money at the grocery store, when eating out, when eating at home, and when eating at work.
Stretch Your Dollar by Spending Smart (PDF | 88 KB)University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension.
This article confers ways that individuals can pay more attention to spending money on food items. Discusses ideas for consumers utilize menu plans, shopping lists, in addition to reading food labels and food packaging.
Stretching Food Dollars (PDF | 337KB)Mississippi State University. Extension Service.
This document gives consumers ideas for what to look for while grocery shopping and how to compare food items.
Saving Money at the Grocery StoreUniversity of Florida. IFAS Extension.
Look here for twenty one tips to help you save money on at the grocery store. Includes tips for budgeting, meal planning, and how to meet nutritional needs.
Raising Healthy Children: Frugal Shopping Tips for FamiliesUniversity of Florida. IFAS Extension.
Tips to help families save money at the grocery store and ensure they can afford enough healthy foods for the whole family to enjoy. Includes tips for before going to thes tore, shopping at the store, and way to save at home. Also available in PDF format (368 KB).
Supermarket Savings: 16 Tips that Can Total Big BucksUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension.
Includes 16 easy tips that can total over $2,000 of savings yearly. An example is given for each with the potential savings from spending less and/or avoiding uneaten food (and lost grocery money).
