Nutrition 101

How can we get healthy food when it's expensive?

While shopping for organic food can be expensive, there are ways you can make it cheaper.

This is the list of assistance programs you want to make sure you are receiving/applied to in order to make your shopping more affordable.

1. SNAP Assistance (Learn & Apply HERE)

2. WIC (Learn & Apply HERE)

3. Check you local food shelf (Find one near you HERE)

4. Check your campuses food pantieries

   1. Sometimes colleges run out of food really fast, ask them what day/times they restock.

5. Are there any reduced price grocery stores or programs offered in your area?

   1. Fare for All (LINK) – a pop-up grocery store that sells packs of fresh produce and frozen meat at up to 40% off retail prices. Food packs are sold Monday-Friday in a variety of sites around the Twin Cities metro area. Anyone can shop at Fare For All grocery sites.

   2. Meals on Wheels (LINK) – delivers hot, nutritious meals at lunchtime, Monday through Friday, to homebound, elderly, and disabled individuals in the Twin Cities. There are 40 Meals on Wheels programs in the seven county Twin Cities metro area that are members of Metro Meals on Wheels. Each program serves a designated geographic area. Click here to learn more about how to get meals delivered.

   3. The food Group (LINK) – Maximize your SNAP benefits 

   4. Check for any programs in your local community centers and churches

6. Are there any meal programs for you and/or your kids in the neighborhood?

7. During the holidays there tends to be holiday meal programs (particularly during Thanksgiving and Christmas) Talk to county workers, campus staff and people who operate food shelves to learn more about these types of programs and resources) The earlier you do it the better.

While healthy food options can be expensive it also depends on the store. Here is a list of grocery stores from least expensive to most expensive. If you are looking to save money try to shop at the least expensive stores.

1. Aldi

2. Walmart

3. Trader Joes

4. Target

5. Hy-vee

6. Cub Foods

7. Costco (best value when buying in bulk)

8. Sam's Club (best value when buying in bulk)

9. Co-op’s

10. Lunds & Byerlys

11. Whole Foods Market

Things to make sure we do when we are buying food

1. Make a meal plan and go to the grocery store with a list rather than going in blindly.

2. Since fruits and vegetables tend to spoil fast, buy only what you're going to use – a good thing to do would be to make meal plans ahead of time so you are not allowing food to go to waste because you don't know what to cook with it. 

3. If you want your berries to last longer washing them with baking soda, vinegar and water then storing them in a sealable container can make your berries last a long time

4. Putting a paper towel in your leafy greens can then last longer

5. Before your fruits go bad, freeze them.

   • Freeze them for smoothies, baking, oatmeal, or future snacks.

   • Cut and freeze bananas for smoothies, banana bread, or "nice cream."

   • Turn berries into jam or compote and store in the refrigerator or freezer.

   • Bake with them (muffins, breads, crisps, pies, etc.).

   • Make fruit popsicles for yourself or your children.

   • Add them to yogurt, oatmeal, or cereal before they become overripe.

     • Add it to yogurt and then freeze.

   • Freeze grapes for a refreshing snack.

   • Blend overripe fruit into pancake or waffle batter.

   • Plan meals and snacks around ripe fruit first to reduce food waste.

Who are some Tiktok, Youtube, Facebook influencers that can teach me about cooking healthier?

1. Frankie Celenza – Simple Recipes from Emmy award winning cook & TV presenter. The host of Tastemade’s Struggle Meals, Frankie vs the Internet & Frankie’s World.

2. Kylie Sakaida — Registered dietitian who shares realistic healthy meals. Excellent meal prep and grocery shopping tips.

3. Maya Feller — Focuses on culturally inclusive healthy eating.

4. Sally Kuzemchak (Real Mom nutrition) — Focuses on feeding children healthy foods without stress. Her website includes good information on picky eaters. 

What are some things I can do to eat healthy when I don’t have time?

What if you do need to eat out or eat fast food? That's ok! There are healthier options we can order at all fast food/restaurants to make healthy eating still a choice. Focus on that. There are some content creators that give you meal ideas particularly if you are going to fast food restaurants. 

About the Author

Karina Villeda is the Campus Compass Policy & Program Director