WESTBROOK, Maine — Through avian flu cases affecting bird populations, a war sparking between Russia and Ukraine, and a global pandemic, your shopping bill at the grocery store has likely gone up.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in just one year the average price of ground beef has increased by 2.9 percent, chicken by 2.1 percent, potatoes by 2.6 percent, and sugar by 1.9 percent.
Of course, anyone who's bought a carton of eggs lately knows that's increased as well. There are free resources in Maine that can help, including websites to show you how to make the most out of your dollar while forming better eating habits.
The two experts we spoke with from Hannaford and Good Shepherd Food Bank both agree it starts with a plan.
"Build your menus out for the week with what you already have on hand and then reach for the flyers to help fill in some gaps to figure out what that final thing is going to look like," April Byron said. She's one of many dietitians with Hannaford Supermarkets, all are free and available to anyone.
"Generally dietitians are teaching classes, we are in stores and available. We can meet with you one on one, help you make some decisions. We can take a tour, walk the aisles with you," Byron said.
Byron sometimes sets up shop in the produce section, with a cart of healthy foods that can be paired with certain diets. But if you don't feel comfortable approaching her, you can get that advice online.
At Hannaford.com/health-wellness.com you can build your grocery list online, mapping out your local store's aisles and figuring out what's on sale that week. You can also find healthy recipes for kids or easy recipes for families.
"We do teach an online class for shopping on a budget so people could try that to learn some tips and tricks," Byron said, sharing you can even learn the time of day to shop the best deals.
Some of those tricks include reading nutrition labels, or keeping it simple and understanding guiding stars, which show you the healthier option of the bunch, or buying the larger carton of yogurt, to save money.
"Portion it out yourself, add some frozen fruit or fresh fruit, whatever is a good deal that week, and you’re actually going to save money," Byron said.
"My goal in life is to squelch the myth that eating healthy is expensive," Courtney Kennedy with Good Shepherd Food Bank said. Through programs like Cooking Matters in Maine or Nutrition for ME, anyone can access meal guides and tips for getting the most out of the food they have.
"We wanted people to be able to say, 'Well maybe I have pasta or maybe I have beans,' and can plug that into the database, and then they can come up with a plethora of recipes that they could go to as a resource," Kennedy said about nutritionforme.org.
On that website, you'll also find tips for meal planning, including choosing a set day to plan, eating what you already have, and including sale items in your meals.
"I believe, believe, believe in shopping the flyers," Kennedy said. "Generally, there’s a chicken, a beef, and a pork option that are always on sale and so if you’re shopping those you’re definitely going to get the biggest bang for your buck when it comes to extending your limited food dollars."
Make the most of a roast chicken by using the carcass for a soup base or any leftovers in a chicken salad sandwich. And shop bulk if you can.
"Maybe you go along with a couple of friends and maybe one of you buys carrots and one of you buys potatoes and one of you buys onions and then you all come together because when you buy in bulk, you can generally get a better price," Kennedy suggested.
There are also rebate apps Kennedy recommends including iBotta and coupons.com, but she also suggests downloading your grocery store app for deals, whether it's Hannaford or Shaw's.
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