There are many ways to make shopping for groceries more affordable when shopping with SNAP benefits. Over the pandemic, SNAP recipients have received additional funds added to their EBT card monthly, these additional funds known as EAs or Emergency Allotments, have allowed many to stretch their food dollars even further during a difficult time. Once the Public Health Emergency Declaration comes to an end, these additional benefit funds will no longer be available, causing a loss of around $82 per person a month! Currently the average SNAP allotment per person (with EAs) is about $145 per month, or around $4.76 per meal (according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities). SNAP is meant to offer a supplement to an individual’s grocery budget, but with increases in other costs of living, it is often times the only funds available to individuals towards their groceries. In order to stretch one’s food dollars, we have some great tips for you, let us know in the comments what your favorite tip is or share a tip of your own!

  1. Sign up for a Cooking Matters workshop, store tour, farmers market tour, or course! Cooking Matters offers hands-on educational programing that teaches parents, caregivers and adults with limited food budgets to shop for and cook healthy meals. Click here to learn more.
  2. Compare unit prices, just because the price of an item is less, does not mean it is the best bang for your buck. Unit pricing tells you how much each item costs per measured portion(ounce, item, etc). To learn more about unit prices click here. 
  3. Reduce food waste and purchase only what you need. Though it may be a better deal when comparing unit prices, still only buy what you will use. Make sure to use a calculator to determine the best price if you get stuck. 
  4. Learn how to preserve and store the foods you aren’t using within their perishable timeline. Meats freeze very easily, and it only takes a few more steps to store some of the vegetables or fruits you may not be using right away (to learn how to preserve common fruits and vegetables and which ones you can actually freeze click here). 
  5. Shop 1x a week or less. This may not be possible for everyone, but shopping less forces you to be intentional with your grocery trips, and often times buying in bulk is less expensive down the line. 
  6. Make a list, and stick to it. When you make a list, you are more likely to shop for the items you need and less likely to get distracted by the impulse buys.
  7. Plan meals and snacks ahead of the week so you know how much to buy and are less likely to buy food away from home.
  8. Cook more meals at home and eat out less. Home cooked meals cost way less than prepared meals or ordering out. 
  9. When possible purchase store brand/compare brands, prices vary which means you can save money by going with the less expensive store brand. Store brands are often very similar to the name brand but cost less. 
  10. When in season, compare fresh, frozen and canned. Produce is much less expensive fresh, when it is in season compared to when it is not. 
  11. Pick produce relative to when you will eat it in regards to ripeness. To avoid waste, learn how to identify when something is ripe and estimate shelf life. Pay attention to how long something lasts at your house and how quick you are able to eat the produce.
  12. Be open to substitutions, often times similar products that are on sale or less expensive can be great place holders for the items that tend to be more expensive.
  13. Grow your own food, buy seeds and seedling when available.  Did you know, for every $1 in seed and soil you purchase, it produces $25 in food!
  14. Don’t shop while hungry. Most of us know this trick, if you are hungry when you go shopping you are often more likely to shop for foods not on your list. 
  15. Join store loyalty programs to get coupons/use coupons when relevant. Only use these coupons if you are actually going to eat the item-you still have to spend money to get it and no purchase is still less expensive than getting something you won’t eat for a deal. 
  16. Buy in bulk when more affordable (pay attention to unit pricing) and pack your own portions, this is relevant to meat too (separate portions and freeze until you will use it).
  17. Avoid convenience foods, and shop the perimeter of the market. The perimeter of the grocery store has more staple foods where as the center tends to carry more processed and value added products.
  18. Plan recipes in which you use foods in more than one meal. This way you can shop for items that are packaged together and or not waste something just because you need a portion of it for one recipe. 
  19. Keep track of what you paid, knowing what the average cost of what your staple items are allows you to identify when something is a good deal or not worth it. 
  20. Spend time 1x week processing and prepping groceries for the week ahead. This doesn’t have to be complicated or too time consuming, you could have all your fruit and vegetables washed, ahead of time for ease. 
  21. Look high and low in aisles, most expensive items are usually at eye level.
  22. Eat breakfast at home and skip the drive-thru: it wastes gas money and money on food is usually more expensive.
  23. Set a budget, and stick to it. 
  24. Identify food needs vs wants, shop for the items you know you need first and if you have funds remaining then add wants to the cart.