How to Help Poor People Eat Healthy on a Budget

Don't have children or a pet if you want to help poor people eat healthily on a budget. You are then consuming less and allowing those in need additional vital resources.

Donate directly to a charity for those in food poverty. Buy basic foodstuffs and donate these to charity. Basic foodstuffs typically cost less as they are not processed. Good examples of basic foodstuffs would include meat or poultry found in the meat department. Other examples could include produce, flours, pasta and rice. Learn to prepare home cooked meals using these food stuffs. Purchase a general purpose cookbook to learn how to prepare these items. You can also download Tips for Healthy, Thrifty Meals that is a free PDF file from the USDA.

Buy foods in season. They typically cost less and taste better. and save on global resources such as furl for delivery costs.

Learn to buy in bulk when groceries are on sale. Plan to rotate and use bulk groceries so you do not waste food. Donate your purchases or use this method to help reduce global hunger.

Join a food co-op. Food co-ops purchase foodstuffs in bulk and share the savings amongst other food co-op members.

Find out if there is a SHARE program in your area. SHARE is a volunteer food distribution program offering low cost food packages.

Plan ahead by maximizing leftovers. Call them planned overs. Prepare a roast for a Sunday dinner and then use the meat to make tacos, beef hash, beef sandwiches or casseroles throughout the week.

Eat less meat. Consider meat an accent to the meal rather than the main course.

Eat meat-free meals. Plan a meat free day and learn how to prepare meat substitutes. You could fix beans and rice or cheese enchiladas. If cholesterol is not a concern try preparing a quiche, souffle or omelet.

Use a slow cooker to prepare tough cuts of meat, soup or legumes. Slow cooking tenderizes tough cuts of meat, allows soups to tastefully simmer or prepare legumes with ease. Another bonus is when you come home from work your dinner is ready-to-eat or requires little prep to finish.

Try Once-A-Month cooking. Cook and freeze a month of meals and tuck them away in the freezer. If this is too daunting try preparing a week's worth of meals instead. Either way having food stashed away in the freezer means you'll not be ordering take-out thereby saving you money.