The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service recently reported that the price of groceries (food at home) has risen over 1% in the past month and more than 7% over the past year. The cost of some foods have risen more rapidly than others, including fish, seafood, eggs, and milk.

Janeth Orozco, FoodWIse Nutrition Educator, presented the “Spend Smart, Eat Smart” app and website from Iowa State University Extension to parents at Sheboygan County Head Start/Early Head Start. The lesson included a QR code to download the app directly on the phones. The app and website have numerous resources to help a family with food budgeting, including a unit price calculator, meal planning sheets, food expense tracking tools, and a list of in-season produce. There are also many helpful videos and healthy recipes. This presentation was also a great opportunity to build relationships with the Head Start/Early Head Start staff and parents, since FoodWIse also teaches the children in the classroom during the school year.

Many young parents struggle with food budgeting, with lack of time, lack of money, and picky eaters at home. Meal planning can seem intimidating and unrewarding. This class helped parents realize that meal planning does not have to be time consuming. Meal planning is not only for those with unlimited food budgets. And, finally, that meal planning can encourage even the pickiest of eaters to try new foods.

• Updating the Sheboygan County Food Drive 5 Toolkit, which is designed to provide a variety of
resources and tools for local food pantries and potential food drive sponsoring organizations. The
purpose is to encourage food drives that encourage food safety and nutritious foods.
• Began a new partnership between FoodWIse and the Sheboygan Housing Authority to provide
nutrition education classes to residents, including older aged adults and families. The goal is to
better serve Sheboygan County residents that reside in local housing units.