RUMFORD — Eating more fruits, vegetables and grains, using coupons and buying in season to reduce the grocery bill are topics covered in a new booklet for food stamp recipients and food pantry users.

Copies of 50-page reader-friendly publication are available at the River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition office on River Street.

“Planting the Seeds: A Guide to Healthy Eating” is a collaborative project of the coalition and Healthy Oxford Hills. The Maine Nutrition Network provided nearly $12,000 to fund the spiral bound, 8- by 10-inch booklet.

“We’re trying to increase access to healthy foods as well as educate people,” Patricia Duguay, executive director of the coalition, said.

Within the next few weeks, copies of the booklet will be available at virtually every food pantry, Women, Infants and Children office and unemployment office in Oxford County.

The colorful cover shows pastoral farmland and more than a dozen different vegetables being gathered by a family. The original painting was created by Peru artist Carol Rickards.

The booklet contains instructions on how to cook rice, serving sizes, sources of whole grains, how to plan menus, how to read food packaging labels, ways to create an inexpensive shopping list, and how to maintain a healthy weight.

There’s also information on how to grow your own vegetables in pots and raised beds, the dates when vegetables and fruits are in season, how to avoid bacteria in foods, and other food-related data.

Duguay said she’d like to print more than the 3,000 copies targeted for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps) participants, but money isn’t available now.

Those who aren’t eligible for a booklet and are interested in the information, may obtain a copy by logging onto the coalition’s website at www.rvhcc.org.

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