November 2013: Question 3
Q3: The study found that a lower income level and a lower
education level correlated with unhealthier eating habits. What are some suggestions you could make to
mothers who may be on a budget or do not know how to prepare many meals?
posted by Erin M. @ 9:32 PM
10 comments
10 Comments:
To address the budgetary concerns, I would consider referring the family to other community resources. For example, if the children in the family are under 5 I could refer them to a WIC clinic to receive nutritional food supplements. Referral to this service would also help them learn more about preparing meals through the education provided by WIC. Other ideas might be to supply mothers with a list of local food banks and then doing presentations/cooking demos at those food banks to show ways to prepare healthy meals on a budget.
I would also refer the mother to community resources for help gain access to healthier while on a budget. I would talk about ways to manage your grocery bill while still eating healthy foods by utilizing coupons, bulk, canned items, and menu planning. I would provide her with some recipes of easy, healthy, low-cost dinners, and refer her to websites and cookbooks with more information.
I agree with Kaitlin and Emily that creating awareness among this population of the resources that they have at hand like WIC or a local food bank is a good first step. I think that another way to help these mothers is to provide these mothers with a cookbook that incorporated healthy and low-cost items and spend a couple classes working on basic cooking skills. Teaching the basics like cooking, budget making, and meal planning would go a long way.
Sarah S said...
I would refer them to community resources and government aid if appropriate. I would also hopefully be doing food demonstrations as mentioned in the last question and invite them to those. If not, I would give them resources where they can find simple and inexpensive recipes online and other sites that show how to do basic things like chop vegetables, etc.
I agree with Kaiti with referring them to WIC and/or area food banks. I would stress the importance of cooking (and buying) in bulk and perhaps freezing some meals. Time is always an issue so having premade frozen meals would be beneficial to them. I would suggest crock pot meals and provide some precosted out recipes. Also, I would provide them with a list of any free cooking classes in their area or online.
For these mothers, I would find out what they are currently preparing and see what alterations could be made. For example, rinsing canned vegetables to reduce sodium, buying fruits in their own juices, not heavy syrup, choosing low fat milk and cheese products, and choosing whole wheat breads. This way, they can make small changes and continue to stay on budget. For those that do not know how to prepare meals, I could provide a demonstration or give tips. I would also encourage them to try cooking more often. The more you try, the more you can only learn from it.
I agree that using coupons, meal planning, and freezing leftovers is a great money and time saver.
As most of the girls said, governmental resources is always an option if they are eligible for them. I would also educate them on shopping tips when shopping on a budget. I would also provide them with simple healthy recipes they can try at home. I think that taking them on a grocery shopping trip and showing them ways to save money by comparing prices while at the grocery store would be beneficial.
Giving mothers shopping tips or even taking them on a grocery store tour might be helpful, in addition to referring them to other community resources such as food banks, EFNEP and/or WIC. I would focus on showing them how to shop smart around the perimeter of the store, using frozen or canned produce, & buying in bulk/store brands. Food banks often have great programs such as cooking demos, & cooking healthy with kids that would be helpful in building an arsenal of recipes.
As a WIC intern I have seen many of these mothers with low education and low budgets to work with. As an RD I would suggest the mothers/families look into any aid they could qualify for to increase their budget and access to healthy food choices. With the WIC program mothers are provided coupons for supplemental foods for their children which include dairy, whole grains, fruits/100% juices, and vegetables. They also provide tools for healthy cooking/recipes to the families which. Cooking methods are often another issue for these families of lower income and other health dept programs can help provide families with the resources they need for cooking.
Carly brings up a great point of buying shelf stable items in bulk to save money and utilizing food banks or other feeding programs in the community to bridge the gap in financial resources.
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