Procrastadabbler

In my Language, Literacy, and Diversity in American Education class one of the experiential assignments students can choose is creating a grocery list and menu for a family of four (2 adults, 1 high schooler, 1 elementary student) on $147 (which is based on the max amount available through SNAP (formerly known as food stamps). I told them to assume the kids get breakfast & lunch through school and they can use coupons. They have to comparison shop at an urban or rural store and a suburban store.They also have to strive to follow USDA dietary guidelines and buy foods kids will eat.

Anyway, I have to admit, I don’t do coupons. I stopped doing it a few years ago because I rarely found anything I wanted to buy was available via coupons. Except maybe toiletries (which aren’t eligible for SNAP anyway). Call me an elitist. But given this assignment, this weekend I paid attention to coupons.

I found that coupons are for highly processed foods–foods that aren’t particularly healthy. So once again it seems that in efforts to save money, we actually undermine our health. Maybe I’m not looking hard enough or am not skilled enough in the art of couponing.

It’ll be interesting to see what my students come up with. I’m hoping I’ll learn how to be a better shopper from them.