Lincoln, Neb. —Low-income families, anyone experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19, and those who are looking to eat well on a budget, can find practical tips on meal preparation, budget-friendly grocery shopping, nutrition and more through The Dish – Real Talk About Food website.
Part of Nebraska Extension’s Nutrition Education Program (NEP), The Dish – Real Talk About Food, aims to help Nebraskans improve their health, well-being and resilience. The Dish recently produced five podcast-style video lessons that address the special challenges of shopping for and preparing healthy food on a budget during COVID-19.
“We wanted to have real conversations with moms and young people who are purchasing and preparing food for their families,” said Donnia Behrends, extension educator and registered dietitian at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. “The niche of those topics were very COVID-19 specific, such as online grocery shopping and saving money at the store in new ways.”
In addition to the video lessons, the site offers a plethora of budget-friendly tips and resources. What started as five lessons pre COVID-19 has expanded to over 15 lessons to date, with more lessons to be released soon.
“I think the real value in the website resources is that it has a very conversational and real tone,” Behrends said “Sometimes talking about nutrition with somebody can seem overwhelming and judgmental, and that’s not at all what we want it to be. We want it to be real talk about food and how we can all feed our families as healthy as possible, while staying safe and while enjoying our time together as a family.”
From grocery store shopping hacks to saving money, meal prepping, stocking your kitchen with staples, seasonal meal planning, stressing less about mealtime and simple snacks for the family – The Dish – Real Talk About food has something for everyone.
“Food and food preparation is something that has been constant the entire time that we’ve been in our homes. Eating healthy plays an important role in your physical health and these resources are intended to the process of preparing healthy food as simple, and enjoyable, as possible.” Behrends said.
All lessons may be accessed at thedishrealtalk.com.
The Dish is funded by USDA through a collaborative project between Nebraska Extension’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – Education (SNAP-Ed) and South Dakota State University’s Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) and SNAP-Ed.