Meal Planning each week can take the stress out of mealtime and save you time, money, and effort.  The Jefferson County Nutrition Education Program partnered with Goodwill Young Adult (16-24 yr. old) RISE for a 4 day biweekly in person nutrition education series using the Healthy Choices for Every Body curriculum. The program aims to provide nutrition education and food resource management education for individuals with limited resources. Sessions were interactive and engaged the young adults in the lessons, incorporating virtual activities and using visuals to reinforce the messages being taught. The Healthy Affordable Meals for Everybody lesson was taught, which included steps for planning meals on a budget and other topic such as how much food to buy per person, creating a weekly menu and shopping list, how to reduce waste, shopping the food groups on a budget, and using sales ads and coupons to purchase and prepare meals.

 At the conclusion of the program, twelve young adults completed the class series, and the exit survey shows that out of twelve in the group, 58% of participants show successful behavior change in checking for food items on sale while they are at the store. One client shared, When I finally took stock of my spending by sorting through piles of receipts, one stack for eating out and another for grocery shopping, I was shocked to see how much more money I was spending on dining out. That's when I decided to start recreating those meals at home for me and my family. Not only do they taste better, but I've also discovered significant savings. By taking advantage of meat sales, I'm getting more value for my money than ever before.