• Prepare a shopping list before going grocery shopping. A list will help you avoid impulse purchases and will also help prevent extra trips to the store. A good idea is to keep a note pad near the cupboard or refrigerator to write down out-of-stock items to buy on your next trip to the grocery store.
• Check the store ads and be on the lookout for store specials. Buy foods, such as fruits, vegetables and fish when they are on sale. Foods are often are on sale when they are in-season and at their freshest, an extra benefit.
• Replace staples like flour, rice and pasta when they are on special.
• Shop after eating so you're not hungry and less likely to give into temptation.
• Read labels and compare prices to get the best buy. While you shop, use unit pricing to identify the lowest cost package size and find the brand that costs less. Remember that just because something is on sale, it doesn’t mean that it is the best buy. Usually, store or generic brands are lower in price. Take the unit price quiz below to test your knowledge.
• Use coupons, but only for products you normally buy. Coupons can gobble up both time and money, if used unwisely.
• Incorporate less meat and more dried beans into your meals. Canned beans, such as kidney or garbanzo, may be easier to use than dried beans.

Click on the product below which you think is the better buy for your money: WRONG! Quick Oats 15 oz. Unit Price: $1.80 per pound Retail Price: $1.69 RIGHT! Raisin Flakes, 20 oz. Unit Price: $1.75 per pound Retail Price: $2.19

Stock your pantry and refrigerator with quick to fix foods to save both money and time.

Start with staples - Staples are foods you eat all the time, maybe even every day. Keep your pantry, refrigerator and freezer well stocked with your favorite basic foods. If you do, you will be able to make healthy meals fast.

Staples for your family might be:

Milk, eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese, bread, tortillas, pita bread, flour, peanut butter, beans (dry and canned), lentils and peas, canned tomatoes, canned tuna fish, frozen veggie burgers, nuts, rice, pasta and noodles, potatoes, garlic, onions, raisins, fruits and vegetables (frozen, canned and fresh), cooking oil.

Don't forget the flavor

Spices, herbs and condiments, such as soy sauce and salsa, can also make simple foods taste special.

Additional links and resources:

• Hotline for Food Assistance
  Family Food Line which is a toll free and state wide phone line that can connects you with WIC, Basic Food Program, summer meals, food banks, meal sites, WIC and senior farmers market nutrition programs. Call: (888) 4-FOOD-WA or (888) 436-6392
  
  
• Seattle and King County Food Bank Resource Directory
  Access a searchable database which contains detailed information on food banks in the Seattle and King County area
  
  
• Seattle and King County Meal Programs Resource Directory
  Detailed information on meal programs in the Seattle and King County area.
  
  
• Senior Services Nutrition Program
  Whether you're dining out or dining in, Senior Hot Lunch-Congregate Nutrition, Meals on Wheels and Mobile Market Programs are all unique and designed to meet the nutritional and social needs of today's seniors.