TIGHTENING YOUR FOOD BUDGET

If you find that your income has been reduced by the current COVID-19 pandemic, or simply
want to lower your food budget to free up money to be more charitable or support local
businesses, we have put together some tips to help.

PLAN AHEAD & BE FLEXIBLE
This may sound like conflicting advice, but both can be helpful strategies. Plan ahead by listing out
the meals and snacks you and your family will have. Start with doing inventory of what you have
on hand. Plan to use ingredients before they go bad by building them into your meals and snacks.
Group common ingredients so that you can plan for leftovers. If you are going to roast a chicken
for dinner one night, consider having chicken tacos a day or two later so that you can utilize the
leftover chicken. Within your overall plan, allow for some flexibility. You may find that some items
are sold out or that others are on sale. Look for swaps that keep your overall plan in mind but let
you take advantage of items that are on sale or seasonal.

STOP FOOD WASTE
Nothing can derail your food budget like throwing away food. Keep your refrigerator organized. It
can be easy to forget that you have strawberries waiting to be eaten if you can’t see them behind
the milk. If possible, store leftovers in clear containers so they are easily visible. Date your food so
you don’t have to rely on your memory of when something was opened or prepared. Use your
freezer! If you have fresh items or leftovers that you won’t use before they go bad, freeze them.
Make clean-out-the-fridge recipes. Soups, stir-fry meals, frittatas and smoothies are perfect for
using up a variety of ingredients before they go bad.

CONSIDER COST VS CONVENIENCE
Individual packs of snacks and drinks can be handy if you are packing lunches, but that
convenience comes at a cost. Bulk items are usually less expensive. To make them more packable
and control portion size, use reusable containers to repack them yourself. This will cut costs and
send less packaging to landfills.

Written by Jennifer M. Roberts, MS, RDN
JUNE 2020
weeatlivedowell.com