SHOPPING FOR FOOD. Shopping For Food

SHOPPING FOR FOOD Shopping For Food

(teacher) Sample questions: If you have ever looked inside other peoples grocery carts you probably observed they don t always buy the same foods you buy. When grocery shopping on a tight budget there are some food items you wouldn t want to do without and there are other food items you do not need. What are examples of foods you wouldn t want to do without? What are examples of foods you could do without? What are some of your favorite foods found in your grocery cart? Shopping For Food 3 Shopping For Food 2

What are some of your favorite foods found in your grocery cart? Shopping For Food 3

(teacher) Share with participants: Make a plan for how much you are going to spend on food each week, month or paycheck. How much money do you have to spend on food? Look at your expenses and decide how much money you have to spend on food. You will need to budget extra money for extra items. Shopping For Food 5 Shopping For Food 4

How much money do you have to spend on food? Shopping For Food 5

(teacher) Share with participants: Once you know how much money you have to spend on food you can begin to plan your meals so you can get the most food from your food budget. Look to see what foods you already have at home in your refrigerator and cupboards. Check to see what foods you have on hand. This is a good place to start in planning your meals. You can use the items you already have on hand and add other foods or ingredients to make a meal. You might plan a meal from such items as: a can of tomato soup, tuna, macaroni, and peas. Check to see what foods you have on hand. Make a list of items you need. Shopping For Food 7 Keep a pencil and paper near your cupboard and make an ongoing list of items as they run low or you use them. By doing this, you will not forget items that you need. Shopping For Food 6

Check to see what foods you have on hand. Make a list of items you need. Shopping For Food 7

(teacher) Share with participants: After checking your cupboards, plan your meals and snacks for the week. Plan meals around advertised store specials and food coupons. Try to limit shopping to no more than once a week. This reduces the number of trips you make to the grocery store. The more times you shop, the more unnecessary money you will spend. This is why a weekly meal plan and grocery list are good ideas. Plan meals for the entire week. Plan meals around advertised store specials and food coupons. Try to limit shopping to no more than once a week. Shopping For Food 9 Make a list of the foods you will need to buy. Shopping For Food 8

Plan meals for the entire week. Plan meals around advertised store specials and food coupons. Try to limit shopping to no more than once a week. Shopping For Food 9

(teacher) Share with participants: Different stores charge different prices for similar items. Check for the best food prices by looking at grocery ads in newspapers. Reading grocery ads can help you save money when you shop for food. If you check through the ads each week before you go shopping, you can plan your grocery list around the foods that are on sale. Make sure sales are really the best buy. Make sure you understand the advertised sale. Everyday low price or Always the same low price? What does this mean? It means that it is not on sale at all! Use grocery ads to save money. Shopping For Food 11 Ads that say Two for a dollar. This might mean that you have to buy two to get the one-dollar price, but sometimes you can buy one item for 50 cents. Be sure to ask questions if you are not sure what an advertised special means. Buy one, get one free or Two for the price of one. To get the special price for these items, you must take home two. Be sure that you can use both or have a place to store them until you can use them. Shopping For Food 10

Use grocery ads to save money. Shopping For Food 11

(teacher) Share with participants: Make sure the sale is really the best buy. Make sure the sale is really the best buy. Sometimes an advertised special/sale may not be your best buy. If the advertised special involves buying more than one of the same item, check to see what the price would be for one item to compare prices. Shopping For Food 13 See example below: The store special at Sylvia s Food Market for generic tuna (2 cans for $1.60) will cost consumer 80 a can. The advertised special in the newspaper for Sylvia s Food Market for Name brand tuna costs 85 a can. Generic tuna is the cheapest. Shopping For Food 12

Make sure the sale is really the best buy. Shopping For Food 13

(teacher) Sample questions: Do you use coupons? Where can you find coupons? Coupons might be found in Sunday newspapers, weekly newspaper food ads, magazines, etc. Use coupons to save money. Use coupons for items on your shopping list. Compare prices of similar items with and without coupons. Using coupons can save you money on your weekly grocery bill. Read each coupon carefully to make sure you re using it right. Is there an expiration date? If there is, you can t use the coupon after that date. Are there any size or quantity restrictions? Can you only buy a certain number of items? If a coupon says limit two per customer, you must follow that restriction. Use coupons for items you were already planning to buy and that are on your shopping list. Be careful not to spend money just because you have a coupon. You may need the money for other things. Before using coupons, subtract the value of the coupon from the cost of the item. Compare this price with prices of similar (same ingredients and same amounts-fl uid ounces or weight) items. You may fi nd that another brand is cheaper than the item that has a coupon. Let s look at this example: Shopping For Food 15 Shopping For Food 14

Use coupons wisely to save money. Use coupons for items on your shopping list. Compare prices of similar items with and without coupons. Shopping For Food 15

(teacher) Share with participants: Now that you have looked to see what you have on hand, looked at the ads to see what is on sale, and looked at coupons, it is important to put the items you have decided to buy on a shopping list. Make a list of the foods you will need to make your meals for the week. Your shopping list will include food items from: List of foods you have used up List food you are running low on Advertised specials Foods with coupons Food list from weekly meal plan Make your shopping list. Your shopping list will include food items from: List of foods that have run low or used up. Advertised specials Foods with coupons Food list from weekly meal plan Shopping For Food 17 When you go to the store, it is important to stick to the shopping list. Shopping For Food 16

Make your shopping list. Your shopping list will include food items from: List of foods that have run low or used up. Advertised specials Foods with coupons Shopping For Food 17

(teacher) Sample question: Why do you think you should not go grocery shopping when you are hungry? Don t go grocery shopping hungry. Don t go grocery shopping when hungry. When you are hungry you have a tendency to buy foods you don t need or that are not on your list. Shopping For Food 19 Shopping For Food 18

Don t go grocery shopping hungry. Shopping For Food 19

(teacher) Sample question: When grocery shopping it is important to look at the different types of products available. Do you buy name brands foods, store brand foods or generic brand foods? Compare food brands to save money. Name brand foods are sold by food companies nationwide or in a particular region of the country. Store brand foods are usually sold by grocery store chains. Each store chain has its own brand of food, and it is only sold in that store. (Give examples of store brand foods in your area. Milk is often packaged under the grocery stores name.) Shopping For Food 21 Generic brand foods have plain labels and don t mention any food company or grocery store name. Compare brands to save money. Different brands of the same kind of food item may come in different package sizes. Shopping For Food 20

Compare food brands to save money. Shopping For Food 21

(teacher) Sample question: Have you noticed a difference in pricing between the name brand, store brand and generic brand of foods? Don t be fooled by good looks! Store brands and generics are usually less expensive than name brands. Generic foods are usually the cheapest. They may not look as appealing as store brand or name brand foods but they are still healthful for you and safe to eat. Shopping For Food 23 Compare taste and quality with different brands. If you like the taste, buy the lowest cost to save. Shopping For Food 22

Don t be fooled by good looks! Shopping For Food 23

(teacher) Share with participants: Grocery stores sell food in different sized packages. This will change the price of the food item. Often the larger package size will save you money. Often the larger package size will save you money. The food with less packaging usually costs less. The food with less packaging usually costs less. When purchasing the larger sized package you will need to think about: how you will store it at home. if you can use it before it spoils. Shopping For Food 25 Shopping For Food 24

Often the larger package size will save you money. The food with less packaging usually costs less. Shopping For Food 25

(teacher) Share with participants: The unit price for food is the cost per unit (such as per ounce, per pound, per sheet) to buy the product. Compare unit prices to find the best buy for your money. Unit price for a food is the cost of that food per ounce, per pound or per sheet of that food item. Compare unit prices of similar food items of different package sizes to see which package size is your best bargain. Unit Prices Example: Milk Half gallon milk vs. Gallon milk $0.03 per ounce milk $0.02 per ounce milk Gallon of milk is your best buy. Shopping For Food 27 Unit prices are usually displayed on food shelf labels. Unit prices are listed as price per ounce, per pound, per sheet, etc. Example: Milk Half gallon milk vs. Gallon milk $0.03 per ounce milk $0.02 per ounce milk Gallon of milk is your best buy. Shopping For Food 26

Unit Prices Example: Milk Half-gallon milk vs. Gallon milk $0.03 per ounce milk $0.02 per ounce milk Gallon of milk is your best buy. Shopping For Food 27

(teacher) Share with participant: Homemade food is usually cheaper to buy than convenience foods that are ready-to-eat or require little preparation. Convenience foods are foods processed and packaged in some way so it takes little time to prepare and cook the food. Often convenience food reduces the amount of clean-up Convenience Foods Shopping For Food 29 Convenience Food Homemade Food Rotisserie chicken from grocery store vs. chicken cooked at home Microwave popcorn vs. popcorn cooked on the stove or in popcorn popper Frozen prepared chicken dinner vs. homemade chicken dinner There are many new convenience products in the supermarket because most consumers want to spend less time preparing food at home. You can buy many foods in different forms. Some have built-in conveniences Convenience foods often cost more than homemade foods. Compare the costs of convenience foods with homemade foods. Shopping For Food 28

Convenience Foods Shopping For Food 29

(teacher) Share with participants: Some convenience foods save work and time and are low cost. Some low-cost convenience foods are: cake mix pancake mix boxed macaroni and cheese taco seasoning mixes spaghetti sauce Choose convenience foods wisely. Compare cost, preparation time, cooking skills, and nutritional content of the convenience food and homemade food. Shopping For Food 31 Convenience foods may have more fat, sugar or salt than foods you make yourself. Read food labels on convenience foods. When you make food yourself, you have more control over how much fat, sugar, and salt are in the food. Shopping For Food 30

Choose Convenience Foods Wisely Compare cost, preparation time, cooking skills, and nutritional content of the convenience food and homemade food. Shopping For Food 31