Introduction | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
Part 2: Food Budgets and Ways to Save
Modules 3 and 4 demonstrate how to shop for food in the U.S. and gives participants ideas for things that can be made in batches and frozen for leftovers. Participants will also learn about food budgets coupons, rewards programs, and free community resources. Experiential activities offer tips for using SNAP and WIC and for tracking food spending.
The toolkit ends with a Bolani recipe and a story from Zohra, who made the recipe for her husband to take to work when they first arrived in the U.S. Zohra also offers her advice for newly arrived Afghans on how to save money by cooking at home.
In this lesson plan, participants explore the importance of a food budget, and discover simple ways to start tracking and planning their food expenses. After this session, participants will be able to set financial priorities for their food budget and use tools to track their food spending.
Key learnings include:
- Shopping for food
- How to freeze foods
- Make a food budget
Materials Needed:
- Tools (computer, pen, paper)
- Cutouts of Handout: Foods that Freeze Well at Home
- Cutouts of Handout: Spending Priorities
- Presentation slides
- Video projector
For Facilitators
In this lesson plan, participants explore the importance of ways to save money when shopping for food in the U.S. and where to access free food resources in the community. After this session, participants will be able to learn how to find coupons and in-store discounts, as well as other free food resources.
Key learnings include:
- Where to shop
- Coupons Sales
- Store rewards programs
- Free community resources
Materials needed:
- Tools (computer, pen, paper)
- Handout: SNAP and WIC
- Presentation Slides
- Video projector
- Experimental Activities for Adaptation Suggested Resources:
- Facilitator gathers weekly ads and coupon examples for class
- Adaptation of Handout: Community Food Resources. Review Instructions beforehand.
- Gather real food, non-food items, & seeds for SNAP/WIC activity.
