Healthy eating and saving money can go hand-In-hand!

Image courtesy of SNAP-Ed Connection

"Jane" is a young, single mother attending Community College full-time trying to make ends meet. She attended individual Nutrition Education Program classes once a week for one month. At our first appointment she expressed her concern of not having enough money or SNAP benefits (food stamps) to buy food throughout the month.

After discussing the problem, Jane realized she spent all of her money at the beginning of the month rather than budget a certain amount to spend each week. Through her nutrition programming she learned to divide her food budget by 4.3 to get the allocated amount to spend each week.Jane is now getting through the month without running out of food. She is also participating in the SHARE program, which provides her with fresh fruits and vegetables (something she was previously lacking in her diet), at a lower cost. Not only is Jane eating more nutritiously, but she is also saving money.

Clients learn to spend SNAP benefits more effectively!

Our "Building Nebraska Families" Educator reported that a woman she was working with showed her the woman's EBT record. It was almost completely filled out. She takes it to the store with her all of the time. She wanted another one. This person was enrolled in March and graduated in July.

Behavior change continues after clients graduate!

"At WIC I saw a person who had graduated from SNAP-Ed two years ago. She came in a year ago to get extra help on meal planning and grocery shopping. I asked her if she was still planning meals and making a list. She said that she was. She was spending 1/3 less and was eating better."

As parents’ diets change, so do their children’s!

A participant said that since she has been eating more fruits or fresh vegetables for snacks, she has noticed that her children are also. She attributes part of this to the children watching her and part to the fact that she is more aware of the importance of eating healthy most of the time. She watches more closely what they are eating instead of just letting them “find their own” snack. She stated that since our lesson she has actually been purchasing less “junk” food and more fruits.