Cooking Matters at the Store Flyer 101413

Each month, CCE-Tompkins’ Nutrition Program will offer an interactive, guided supermarket tour for families who use the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to explore ways that they can choose healthy foods on a limited budget.  During the tour, called Cooking Matters at the Store for WIC Parents, participants will share what they already know and get plenty of hands-on practice as they learn how to find WIC foods at the store, maximize the amount of produce they get for their WIC fruit and vegetable vouchers, compare unit prices, read food labels, and pick out whole grains.  At the end of the tour, participants receive a $10 gift card to the store.  Tour organizers, Lara Parrilla Kaltman, CCE Tompkins Nutrition Team Coordinator and Elizabeth E. Boze, WIC Nutrition Educator, cited the growing need for families to learn how to make the best possible use of their resources when shopping for food in this difficult economy.

Share Our Strength’s Cooking Matters®, nationally sponsored by the ConAgra Foods^® Foundation and Walmart, developed Cooking Matters at the Store for WIC Parents based on input from experts on the WIC program and research showing that careful food shopping practices, such as price comparison and nutrition label use, are associated with measures of better dietary quality.  The program aims to promote real changes to food shopping habits by creating a dynamic learning experience for WIC families.

For more information, or to sign up for an upcoming tour, please contact Lara Parrilla Kaltman at (607) 272-2292.