STRETCHING YOUR FOOD DOLLARS

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STRETCHING YOUR FOOD DOLLARS

If you run out of food money before the end of the month check which ones might be the reason:: ______ Eat out too much; ______ Make more food at some meals than your family needs; ______ Buy lots of snack foods such as chips, cookies, candy, and pop; ______ Lose foods because they spoil before you can use them; ______ Don't have a plan for using leftovers; ______ Buy food items you don't really need; ______ Poor storage that can cause mold, drying out or stale food; ______ Buy non-food items such as cleaning supplies, magazines with your food money; ______ Buy pre-prepared foods such as one-serving frozen dinners

There's Help on the Way:

Plan meals one week at a time.
Ask your family to help you with food ideas.
Make a plan to use up leftovers.
Decide what food items you will need to prepare all of the meals.
Check your cupboards and refrigerator to decide what you need to buy.
Write a shopping list for the week.

When you plan your meals, include foods from each of the five food groups.

Food Group	Daily Servings
Vegetables Fruits Breads, Cereals, Rice and Pasta Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs and Nuts	3 -5 2- 4 6 - 11 2 - 3 2 - 3

Other Things to Think About:

Figure out how much money you can afford to spend on food for one month. Divide this amount of money by four to figure how much you can spend each week on food.

Check the newspapers (usually Wednesday paper) for grocery store sales. Take advantage of fruits and vegetables that are grown in season.

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Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Elbert C. Dickey, Interim Director of Cooperative Extension, University of Nebraska, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension educational programs abide with the non-discrimination policies of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the United States Department of Agriculture.