Hancock County Cooperative Extension Expanded Food Nutritional Program Assistant (EFNEP) joined the rehab program at True North to teach the Healthy Choices program.  At the time of the entry paperwork, most of the ladies openly said they didn’t know good skills for food management at home.   

Through each lesson the EFNEP discussed how to be better prepared for the upcoming week for meals, and snacks at home.  During the Healthy Affordable Meals for Every Body lesson it was discussed how to be prepared for home cooked meals.  Such as cook once, eat twice, this is a wonderful way to make those meals go further and keep us on a schedule to have healthier meals.  Along with that, keep it simple, because these meals don’t need to be large with several choices.  Sale ads, before shopping always check the paper ads, or online to compare for the best deal.  Make a list, the group discussed how to check the cabinets, making sure all ingredients were bought.  If a person has done all this before they shop, they would be much better prepared to have not only healthier meals, but also, a less stressful week.

At the end of the program, when it came time to take the exit paperwork, the group came to appreciate all the ways to better shop.  Being able to make the most of the shopping trip, money to spend and make more meals at home.  At the end, 69% of the group improved on making a list before grocery shopping, 69% also improved an checking sale ads before shopping, and 63% improved on making a written out weekly plan of meals.