Supermarket Savvy More Nutrition for Your $ Arizona Nutrition Network January 30, 2009 Sharon Hoelscher Day, CFCS Area Extension Agent, Family & Consumer Sciences University of Arizona Cooperative Extension

What do families spend?? How much did you spend the last time you went to the grocery store? How much do you spend on all food? Per person per month Family for a month

Cost of Eating Healthy Billions around the world eat on $1/day Food Stamp - SNAP Arizona average $112.38/month per person $3.73 per day per person $271.88/ Arizona SNAP household/month $9.06 per day per AZ SNAP household Average American spends $7/day Parker-Pope, New York Time, Nov. 3, 2008 AZ DES, Oct. 2008

Cost of Eating Healthy Low-Cost - month 1 Adult = $195 Family 4 = $ Thrifty Plan - month 1 Adult = $ Family 4 = $ $17.53/day Liberal - month 1 Adult = $ Family 4 = $ Moderate - month 1 Adult = $ Family 4 = $ USDA Official Food Plans: Cost of Food at Home Nov. 2008

Eating Healthy in the Media Dollar a Day - couple in CA Food Stamp Challenge Michigan Governor tried $5.87/day Oregon governor ate on $3/day Parker-Pope, New York Time, Nov. 3, 2008

Cost of Eating Healthy Low income or high school or less education More likely to consider food price important Considered fresh fruits & vegetables too expensive Consumed less energy Consumed less milk and non-starchy vegetables Drank more sweetened fruit drinks More likely to add fat to vegetables & fried meat More likely overweight plus health problems Bowman, Qualitative & Quantitative Assessment of Community Based Nutrition Programs, June 2006

Price of a Calorie $1.76 for 1000 Kcalories “energy dense” junk foods Cost Increased 1.8 percent in 2 years $18.16 for 1000 Kcalories “low energy”, high nutrition foods Cost Increased 19.5 percent in 2 years Drewnowski, Univ. of Washington, 2007 Journal of Amer. Dietetic Assoc.

Eating Healthy in the Media Eating local Eat more plants to save the world! Slow food Organics Vegetarians, Vegans & pescetarians

Barriers to Good Nutrition Money and... ??? Break into groups of 3 and brainstorm for 5 minutes What are other barriers to good nutrition for the SNAP families you work with? How can we overcome those barriers?

Barriers & Solutions Lack of storage Limited cooking skills Limited cooking equipment & utensils Poor refrigeration Limited transportation Time squeeze with jobs Vary by community Others...

Usual Suspects... Cook from scratch Use coupons wisely Purchase fruits & veggies in season Plan meals with nutrition in mind!!! MyPyramid.gov Low Cost 2 week recipes - pdf file tofFood.htm tofFood.htm

Supermarket Savvy Shop the perimeter Limit items from the middle of the store Buy more single ingredient foods Store brands Quality & nutrition similar to national brands Limit processed foods Anything in a box

Store Brand vs. National Peanut Butter PricePrice per oz. Sodium mg - 2 T KCalories 2 T Fat grams Kroger2.99/ 18 oz16.6 cents Jiff2.79/ 18 oz15.4 cents Laura Scudder 3.69/ 16 oz23 cents Kroger Natural 2.89/ 16 oz18.1 cents Fry’s Foods, January 2009

Store Brand vs. National Chunky Beef Stew PricePrice per serving Sodium mg Fat grams Campbell3.39 / 2 servings $ Store Brand1.50 / 2 servings 75 cents7408 Progresso1.77 / 2 servings 88.5 cents4802 Homemade$ servings cents 2002 Fry’s Foods, January 2009

Shops the specials Plan meals around sale specials Especially expensive items Meat and milk Stock up on canned produce Choose low cost protein Rice, beans Eat more plants, less meat

Freezing Meat on Sale It’s safe to freeze meat or poultry directly in its supermarket wrapping but this type of wrap is permeable to air. Unless the food will be used in a month or two, over wrap these packages for long-term storage using airtight heavy-duty foil, (freezer) plastic wrap or freezer paper, or place the package inside a (freezer) plastic bag. USDA Food Safety & Inspection

Freezing Meat on Sale At 0 degrees F, frozen foods remain safe indefinitely, but quality decreases. Frozen raw ground meat maintains optimum quality for 3 to 4 months. Larger pieces of meat like steaks or chops maintain optimum quality for 4 to 12 months. The safest way to thaw meat is in the refrigerator on a plate on the bottom shelf so it doesn’t drip on other foods. USDA Food Safety & Inspection

Cost of Protein How much is needed for 20 grams? 3 eggs 3 oz chicken or ground beef 2 cups milk 3.5 oz cheddar cheese 2 cups cooked rice 1 cup soybeans 3 oz tuna 4.5 Tablespoons peanut butter 1.5 cups beans 10 slices of bread What is Protein?, G. Lauritzen Utah State U. Cooperative Extension

Cost of Protein Market Unit Price per Unit Cost 20 gm Protein Eggs, Lgdoz cents Peanut Butter18 oz cents 1 % milkgal cents Chicken breastlb cents Cheddar Cheese lb cents Fry’s Foods, January 2009

Cost of Protein Market Unit Price per Unit Cost 20 gm Protein Beans - canned 15 oz can44 cents Tuna6 oz cents Lean Gr. beef lb cents Pork choplb cents Round roastlb cents Fry’s Foods, January 2009

Store Brand vs. National Tomato Sauce SizePriceSodium mg Store Brand8 oz15 cents280 Store Brand8 oz25 cents290 Hunts8 oz50 cents370 Del Monte8 oz69 cents240 Fry’s Foods, January 2009

Store Brand vs. National PuddingPricePrice per oz.sugar grams KCalories CA mg Kroger Instant 1.29/ 4 servings 32 cents + milk 7.8 cents Less if Skim milk 150 Kroger Instant 1.19/ 6 servings 20 Cents + milk 7.8 cents Less if Skim milk 150 Hunt mini- pack.88/ 4 servings 22 cents Jell-O1.28/ 4 servings 32 cents + milk 7.8 cents Less if Skim milk 160

Healthy Foods Under $1 Oatmeal Eggs - half dozen Kale Potatoes sweet or white Apples Bananas Parker-Pope, New York Time, Dec. 29, 2008 Beans Butternut squash in season Broccoli Whole grain pasta Milk Rice

Healthy Foods Under $1 Canned Pumpkin Beets Carrots Spinach & dark greens Tuna UA WorkLife Connection 2008 Parker-Pope, New York Time, Dec. 29, 2008 Tea Sweet potatoes Yogurt Canned tuna Tofu Frozen berries MORE

Save on Snacks Buying one less bag of chips weekly Save $ $3.80 per week $130 - $198 in a year Make your own popcorn Low cost, high fiber, whole grain

Save on Produce Balance conventional vs. organic Fruit & vegetables in season Look for low sodium canned Frozen fruits and vegetables have similar nutrition to fresh and can be much less expensive

Fresh vs. Frozen Straw- berries Price$/ServingKCalories Fresh$1.50 / lb37.5 cents23 Frozen$3 / lb75 cents40 Frozen$ lbs 70 cents40 Fry’s Foods, January 2009

Fresh vs. Frozen vs. Frozen PeachesPrice$/ServingCalories Fresh$1.99 / lb66 cents36 Canned Store Brand $1.19 / 3.5 servings 34 cents50 Canned Lt Syrup $1.49 / 3.5 servings 42.6 cents30 Frozen$3 1 lb33 cents50 Fry’s Foods, January 2009

Fresh vs. Frozen vs. Canned Baby carrots Price$/ServingSodium mg Fresh$1 / lb25 cents0 Frozen oz oz 24 cents 47 cents 0000 Canned oz oz 19 cents 29 cents Fry’s Foods, January 2009

Fresh vs. Frozen vs. Canned BroccoliPrice$/ServingSodium mg Fresh$1.25 / lb25 cents0 Frozen Store $2 = 11 servings 97 cents - 16 oz 18 cents 24 cents 0000 Frozen Pictsweet$ oz47 cents0 Frozen Steam pkg $ servings $ Frozen w/sauce $ servings 50 cents390 Fry’s Foods, January 2009

Fresh vs. Frozen vs. Canned Green Beans Price$/ServingMg sodium Fresh cents0 Frozen$ servings serving 18 cents 30 cents 0000 Canned cents 29 cents Fry’s Foods, January 2009

Think your Drink!! Purchase high nutrition drinks Milk 100% juice Buy a reusable water bottle and fill with tap water instead of buying bottled water SAVE $4-6 / week $298 - $312 / year

Barriers into solutions Turn less healthy foods into healthier ones Ramen noodles - 15 cents for 2 servings BUT 880 mg sodium and 190 calories/serving Use half the seasoning packet Add canned or frozen vegetables Add left over chicken or canned tuna for entre Complete meal

Keep a grocery list Saves gas money on extra supermarket trips Reduces impulse purchases Easy access in kitchen Stay flexible for sales Divide into groups of 3 Pick 2 stores and select food a day under $10

Savings Examples Save gas for extra trip driving 6 miles to store $1 - $2 Save on impulse purchase $1.50 bottle of soda $ lb. crackers $4.79 for twelve 1.25 oz Cheeze Its Mini packs

Reduce food waste Money is tossed when food is tossed! $1 - $10 per week of the trash! $52 - $520 per year Buy only what you need!

Reduce food waste “Reuse” it in menus more often – serve more salads; add to sandwiches, tacos or enchiladas; make “wrap” sandwiches Eating your lettuce before it gets “tired” and needs to be tossed!

Savings Examples Too many mashed potatoes? Reduce the amount made Recycle in a day or two as potato patties, shepherd’s pie, potato soup Bananas too ripe? Recycle in banana bread or smoothies

Don’t Shop Hungry Extra costs of hunger $1.40 candy bar to tide you over until you get done $1.50 bottle of soda If ONLY once per week, totals$150 in year

Pack lunches and snacks It can be as simple as a peanut butter sandwich and piece of whole fruit Or, leftovers from last night Save $5 – 1$5/week

Choose convenience foods wisely How much time & money are really saved! Microwaving regular oatmeal takes only a few minutes more than pouring hot water over a pre-measured package Cutting your own fruits and veggies saves money – they keep longer than precut ones, too!

Choose convenience foods wisely Buying a carton of oatmeal providing 30 servings vs. buying 3 boxes with 10 instant oatmeal packets each Savings $5.50

Stock up on Staples Sales Tuna Cereal Tomato sauce Canned vegetables Store brands are comparable in nutrition to name brands

Store Brand Savings TunaPriceCost per serving Sodium mg Store Brand77 cents 6 oz30.8 cents280 Starkist$ oz47.6 cents170 Starkist pouch $ oz$ Starkist pouch $ oz$ Fry’s Foods, January 2009

Buy Bulk for Nutrition Buying a 5-pound instead of a 1-pound bag of rice (if you serve rice frequently) Only if you can safely store and use it!

Bulk & Convenience Savings RicePricePrice per serving Sodium mg Store brand white dry lbs14 cents mg Brown dry rice lbs13.5 cents mg Brown dry rice servings 16.5 cents mg Brown Minute Rice servings 33.2 cents10 Fry’s Foods, January 2009

Bulk & Convenience Savings Pinto BeansPricePrice per serving Sodium mg Store brand dry lbs 52 servings 9.6 cents mg Store brand dry lbs 26 servings 10.3 cents mg Store brand canned 44 cents12.6 cents350 Ranch Style canned 99 cents28.3 cents690

Cost of Eating Healthy A dollar saved is even better than a dollar earned You don’t have to pay taxes on it! 10% saved Better than Interest %

More information Sharon Hoelscher Day Sources: University of Arizona Cooperative Extension USDA, New York Times, NBC Alice Henneman, MS, RD University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension Brand names are only used as examples and no endorsement is implied