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

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National Nutrition Month 2017: Save the Food

Up to 40% of the food in the US is wasted and never eaten. Considering how many people don’t have enough to eat, the idea of so much food ending up in landfills is startling. Here are some tips on how you can do your part to reduce food waste:

Plan Ahead
There are two rules of shopping that can help you reduce food waste, save money and improve how well you eat – don’t shop when hungry and bring a list. A good shopping list is based on what you plan to eat for the next week or so. Remember though, that meal planning doesn’t mean you have to cook from scratch every night. Map out days for quick meals, new recipes and no-cook nights of leftovers or eating out. If your shopping includes the local famers’ market, go there first and then make any adjustments to your meal plan and shopping list to include any great finds you weren’t expecting.

Choose Wisely
Buy what you need. While bulk discounts can seem like too good a deal to pass up, if you end up buying more than you need, the deal may not actually be that good. Bulk bins, on the other hand, can be a way to purchase smaller amounts than what is typically found on the shelves to better match what you need. Embrace imperfection. When shopping for produce, look for fruits and vegetables that aren’t bruised, damaged or overripe. Do, however, give ugly produce a chance. Fruits and vegetables don’t always grow in the exact shape or size that we expect.

Use It:
Too often, we end up tossing food that could have been saved. Don’t be fooled by dates. Dates on foods are not always expiration dates. Sometimes they aren’t even dates, but codes used by the manufacturer. Unless the date specifically says “expiration” or “use by” it is most likely safe to use the food past that date if it has been stored properly. If you won’t use something before it goes bad, consider freezing it. Many foods can be frozen safely for use later. For more information on reducing food waste and food safety, check out savethefood.com and homefoodsafety.org

REFERENCES:1. Gunders, Dana. Wasted: How America Is Losing Up to 40 Percent of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill. NRDC Issue Paper. August 2012. Available at: https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/wasted-food-IP.pdf.2. Home Food Safety. Available at homefoodsafety.org.3. Save the Food. Available at savethefood.org.

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Save The Food

Up to 40% of the food in the US is wasted and never eaten. Considering how many people don’t have enough to eat, the idea of so much food ending up in landfills is startling. Here are some tips on how you can do your part to reduce food waste:

Plan Ahead
There are two rules of shopping that can help you reduce food waste, save money and improve how well you eat – don’t shop when hungry and bring a list. A good shopping list is based on what you plan to eat for the next week or so. Remember though, that meal planning doesn’t mean you have to cook from scratch every night. Map out days for quick meals, new recipes and no-cook nights of leftovers or eating out. If your shopping includes the local famers’ market, go there first and then make any adjustments to your meal plan and shopping list to include any great finds you weren’t expecting.

Choose Wisely
Buy what you need. While bulk discounts can seem like too good a deal to pass up, if you end up buying more than you need, the deal may not actually be that good. Bulk bins, on the other hand, can be a way to purchase smaller amounts than what is typically found on the shelves to better match what you need. Embrace imperfection. When shopping for produce, look for fruits and vegetables that aren’t bruised, damaged or overripe. Do, however, give ugly produce a chance. Fruits and vegetables don’t always grow in the exact shape or size that we expect.

Use It:
Too often, we end up tossing food that could have been saved. Don’t be fooled by dates. Dates on foods are not always expiration dates. Sometimes they aren’t even dates, but codes used by the manufacturer. Unless the date specifically says “expiration” or “use by” it is most likely safe to use the food past that date if it has been stored properly. If you won’t use something before it goes bad, consider freezing it. Many foods can be frozen safely for use later. For more information on reducing food waste and food safety, check out savethefood.com and homefoodsafety.org

REFERENCES:1. Gunders, Dana. Wasted: How America Is Losing Up to 40 Percent of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill. NRDC Issue Paper. August 2012. Available at: https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/wasted-food-IP.pdf.2. Home Food Safety. Available at homefoodsafety.org.3. Save the Food. Available at savethefood.org.
Written by Jennifer M. Roberts, MS, RD.
September 2016

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