LEWISTON — Andrea Quaid, district representative for Michael Michaud, joined Healthy Androscoggin’s Cooking Matters at the Store tour on Aug. 27 to observe nutrition educator Katherine Lary teach local families on low incomes how to shop healthy while on a budget.

Teaching people how to eat and shop healthy on a budget are the basics behind the program. Cooking Matters at the Store are grocery store tours guided by a trained facilitator who teaches healthy food shopping basics including how to compare unit prices, select whole grains, read the Nutrition Facts on food labels and purchase fruits and vegetables on a budget.

Tours in Androscoggin County are organized and led by Healthy Androscoggin’s nutrition educators. Along with the tours, there is a grocery store challenge where participants are asked to pick a recipe that follows USDA’s MyPlate guidelines to create a healthy meal for $10. The participants then shop for these healthy ingredients and purchase them in the store with a Hannaford gift card.

Locally, Cooking Matters at the Store is managed by the Good Shepherd Food Bank and implemented by Healthy Maine Partnerships across Maine, like Healthy Androscoggin, as part of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – Education (SNAP-Ed) Program. SNAP-Ed is a federal program, funded by the United States Department of Agriculture. In Maine, SNAP-Ed is managed by the University of New England through a contract with the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. Funding for the program to purchase groceries is provided through Hannaford.

SNAP-Ed is the nutrition education and obesity prevention arm of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly Food Stamps). SNAP-Ed uses evidence-based, comprehensive approaches to improve the likelihood that low-income families want and are able to make healthier food and physical activity choices, consistent with the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans, on a limited budget. SNAP-Ed helps assure that the investment in SNAP pays off.

In addition to the grocery store tours, Healthy Androscoggin and the Good Shepherd Food Bank offer a six-week healthy eating and cooking instruction course, called Cooking Matters. For Cooking Matters, local professional chefs and nutritionists volunteer their time and expertise to instruct adults, teens and children on how to get the most nutrition out of a limited budget while learning healthy cooking skills.

To inquire about Cooking Matters, Cooking Matters at the Store or to join a tour with Healthy Androscoggin, call 207-795-5990. Tours are two hours long, and involve a shopping challenge that includes a gift card to Hannaford.

Healthy Androscoggin, at 130 East Ave., can be reached at www.healthyandroscoggin.org or by email at info@healthyandroscoggin.org.

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