How to spend food dollars wisely at the store

It can be difficult to feed a family on a budget. Even with rising food costs, it is possible to trim food costs and still eat well.

Mary Meck Higgins, an Associate Professor of Human Nutrition in the College of Human Ecology at K-State offers some tips to make the most of food dollars.

Eating out only occasionally, rather than regularly, can cut food costs and also yield health benefits. Food prepared at home is generally healthier, because the consumer can choose the food and decide how food is prepared.

Have a meal plan before you shop. While you may not want to plan each meal in detail, use the store ads to help you make a general plan for the week's meals. Consider the foods you already have in the refrigerator or pantry and work them into your meal plan. Whenever possible, plan to cook once for two meals. If leftovers won't be used in a day or two, freeze for a quick meal at a later date. Most perishable foods should be used within two to three days.

Eat before you shop. Grocery shopping on an empty stomach can lead you to buy more food, including items you don't need.

Use coupons for items you will use, and always compare prices of an item with coupon versus a store-brand without a coupon. Coupons do not always guarantee a savings. Combine sale prices with coupons for bigger savings. Ask for a rain check to buy sale items that have been sold out so you can buy them later at the same low price.

To save on groceries, shop regularly and with a list to reduce the need for extra trips to the store. Extra trips to the store often result in unplanned purchases which may not be the healthiest choices. Making a shopping list that follows the general layout of the store can reduce the amount of time a shopper will spend retracing his or her steps and the temptation to pick up extra items along the way.

The least expensive items -- seasonal fruits and vegetables, dairy products, grain products, and lean meats, poultry and fish -- often are arranged around the outside edges of the store. Promotional items may be placed at the end of the aisles, but don't assume that such items are sale priced. More expensive processed foods are typically displayed in center aisles.

The most expensive items often will be within easy reach -- in the shoulder-to-knee range. Less expensive items often are placed on a higher shelf that can be more difficult to reach or on a lower shelf where such products may be overlooked.

Processing adds to food cost and consumers often can realize a savings if they are willing to do some of the preparation themselves. For example, the cost for a block of cheese is typically less than the cost for the same amount of grated cheese.

Packaging also will add to the cost. Breakfast cereals packaged in a waxed paper or cellophane bag often will be less expensive than similar products offered in a gimmicky box.

Check the cost-per-serving or unit price posted on the edge of the store shelf where the product is displayed. Generally it's better to buy the lowest cost per serving item. But, for a single person or a small family, buying a supersized package of a seldom-used item may result in waste and no savings. Buy in realistic quantities so as not to waste food, time and money.

Editor's Note: Ann Ludlum is a K-State Research and Extension family and consumer sciences and 4-H extension agent assigned to Bourbon County. She may be reached at (620) 223-3720 or aludlum@ksu.edu.