Cooking Matters at the Store

There is a gap between the healthy eating aspirations of many low-income Americans and their ability to consistently prepare healthy meals for their families. Families on a tight budget report that the cost of healthy groceries is their biggest barrier to making healthy meals at home, and smart shopping skills at the store can help.

Cooking Matters at the Store tours can be led by any individual, in any community, anywhere people shop for food. The program includes two specialized curricula - one for adults and one for WIC (Women, Infants and Children) parents. During the 1.5 hour-tour, participants are empowered with four key food skills: reading food labels, comparing unit prices, finding whole grain foods, and identifying three ways to purchase produce. Cooking Matters at the Store often ends in the $10 Challenge, an activity where participants use the skills they've learned on the tour to buy a healthy meal for a family of four for under $10. Participants are also given a booklet with recipes and shopping tips, a reusable grocery bag, and $10 worth of nutritious groceries.

Cooking Matters seeks to teach families to stretch their food budgets so their children are fed healthy and nutritious meals at home.

Graduates of Cooking Matters at the Store learn how to compare food labels, read ingredients lists, and identify healthy food choices that fit their budget.

Cooking Matters at the Store improves shopping habits of participants - 58% of program graduates compare food labels to make healthy food choices and 65% intend to read ingredients lists and look for whole grains. Of participants in the WIC program, 85% are confident in their ability to identify WIC foods at a grocery story, and 88% of WIC parents who graduate are "very or completely confident" in their ability to make the most of their fruit and vegetable vouchers.