Savvy Shoppers Create Fun, Nutritious Meals On Budget: By Mary Murray

    Shoppers at the Aldi store on upper Peach Street nodded approvingly and smiled knowingly as they watched the students compare prices, count slices of bread in a loaf and negotiate what they’d put on the table for dinner that night.

    Under the leadership of Lesa Scalise, the beloved teacher at the Erie County Transition Center, 11 students and five instructional staff, including the Goodwill instructor, descended upon Aldi’s with blank shopping lists and meal-planning sheets to learn how to create nutritious meals and stay in budget -- not an easy task for the most seasoned parent.

    The goal of the outing was to teach students independent living skills and to give them the opportunity to make decisions about finance and food. Armed with clipboards and pencils, each of the three groups was given an envelope with a separate budget for groceries and staples – items such as cooking oil, toilet paper, cleaning products and sandwich bags for packed lunches. The budgets were quite modest – ranging from $30 a week for groceries and $25 for staples, to a high budget of $50 for groceries and $35 for staples. Students negotiated and weighed in on food choices and a mostly democratic process emerged. One teacher laughed as a student named Sam lamented, “Do we have to eat that every day?” Nate, the leader of one group, kept a tight rein on the budget. When teachers repeatedly tempted him to buy snacks  -- cookies and chips – for the ‘house’ he firmly replied, “We’ll see what we have left.”

    Students employed a variety of methods to plan 21 meals for the week, along with 7 snacks.  Although they did not physically put items in a shopping cart, one group ‘bought’ a block of processed cheese with the plan of making grilled cheese sandwiches and a kid favorite – mac and cheese – while another group ‘bought’ boxed mac and cheese. Students were creative in their breakfast planning. Two of the groups decided French toast would allow them to stretch their dollars, but they both passed on the powdered sugar and one group opted not to buy syrup to stay in budget. The groups seemed to be on the same page when it came to dinner menus. They all opted for spaghetti and two groups planned to make tacos or wraps with a portion of their ground beef purchase while saving the remainder for burgers or pasta.

    In comparing notes after the shopping spree, students shared choices and options for stretching their food dollars. And while all of the groups stayed in budget, moms would be happy to know that they all remembered toothbrushes and toothpaste. Toilet paper as well!