For the Herald & Review

We recently asked our readers for suggestions on helping others stretch their food dollars. Here are a few of the responses we received.

Look for markdowns

I am the head meat cutter at Kroger in South Shores with 18 years of grocery experience..;Not only that, but I have three children, with two teenage boys still at home..;Additionally, my three grandchildren are constantly visiting, so our household also has to stretch that dollar. I would start off by telling people to shop the advertisements each week..;Plan your dinners around which foods are on sale during the week. Also, check the markdown areas throughout the store for meat, produce, bakery and dairy items..;You can find product that is still great but at a lower price.

- Laurie A. Rhode, Decatur

Change habits

* Purchase store brands. In most cases, these are satisfactory.

* Read the ads for sale items. Buy as many of these items as you can use in the immediate future and can store effectively.

* Use coupons on items you are going to purchase anyway. Don't be tempted to use coupons on items you will not use just because it seems a bargain.

* Always shop with a list and don't deviate from it by impulse buying.

* Eat before you go to the store so it will be easier to bypass impulse items.

* Learn to use home popped popcorn, fruits and vegetables as snacks. Nuts are more expensive but nutritionally good for you. If you must buy snacks, larger packages usually are cheaper. Divide these into smaller servings so you will not overeat.

* Learn to use leftovers. Anything thrown out is a waste of money.

* The more you go to the store, the more likely you will succumb to impulse buying. Time visits as far apart as possible. Do not get in the habit of running to the store for a few items. Plan ahead. Cook what you have in the house.

* Buy your produce when it is in season. Following the seasons will still give you a good variety.

* Purchase second-day breads and pastries from the thrift stores or your grocer's second day shelf.

* Prepared items usually cost more than those you prepare yourself. They contain more additives such as salt and spices. Cake mixes are an exception, in my opinion. Check prepared foods for additives. Purchase as few as possible.

Leftover magic

Start any meal by checking your leftovers to see what you have and how you can use them.

Plan meals so leftover vegetables can be combined (corn and green beans, peas and carrots).

For small amounts of vegetables, keep a stockpot in the freezer for future vegetable soup.

Not everyone at a meal needs to eat the same vegetable. Divide several vegetables into individual servings according to their preferences.

Plan to have a serving of each meal item left over. Prepare a TV dinner to be used in the future. Plastic and paper divided plates are available to be used in the microwave. Lack one item? Peel an apple and put sugar and cinnamon on it in one divider.

Cook in larger batches to have items to freeze. I cook about three times the amount of mashed potatoes we will eat. I freeze in two containers potatoes to have in the future. If I have gravy left, I include it in one of the containers.

Cook large batches of food to divide into smaller containers for future use. We do this with vegetable soup, chili, chop suey, spaghetti, lasagna and most casseroles. We always have something in the freezer when we are in a hurry.

When you have turkey, ham, beef sliced, put wax paper between slices and freeze. Individual slices can be removed without thawing the whole package. Use this instead of purchased deli.

When pennies count

Sometimes we do all the big things to save, and it is still not enough. That is the time to look at the little savings and tackle those things that might be harder for us.

* Taking your lunch to work is a big savings. Maybe you can start a trend. Is there a park nearby? Enjoy the outdoors. Take a walk.

* Make eating out ordering from the dollar menu at your favorite fast food outlet.

* Always order water only (at a restaurant). Drink your coffee or soda later at home. A big savings.

* Substitute tap water flavored with fruit juice for sodas.

* Casseroles stretch your meat. Have a meatless meal occasionally.

* Make your own hamburger patties. Save 10 cents a pound.

* If you are buying 90 percent hamburger, move down to 85 percent.

* Buy a roast at a cheaper price and cut it into stew meat.

* Cut down or cut out paper products. Use sponges to wipe up spills.

* Clean glass table tops, mirrors and windows with a mixture of vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Dry with newspaper sheets.

* Cloth napkins are much cheaper than paper. They are easily washed with your whites. If you receive a stack of paper napkins when you order out, save them for use at home.

* Use china instead of paper plates and cups.

* Read Mary Hunt's column regularly for tips on saving.

Help is out there

During the Depression, families survived because they gardened. If you have space in your yard, start planting. There are many who can advise you. If you do not have a yard, look for an empty lot and ask permission to garden it. Both you and the owner will gain. Even a plant or two in a large pot on a porch or patio will produce many tomatoes or peppers.

My father was a carpenter working three days a month in the depths of the Depression. My family had started a new house in November 1927. This house was finished by bartering labor with friends who were in the same predicament. There are many out there to help you. Ask.

- Iona M. Watts, Decatur

Crockpot strategy

I buy a whole chicken that I cook in the Crockpot for the first meal. There is enough leftover chicken and broth that I can get at least two more meals out of it. I make chicken and noodles to use the broth; then I make chicken fajitas. Just add fajita seasoning. And there's usually enough to make a small amount of chicken salad.

You can freeze the leftover chicken to space out the chicken-based meals.

I do the same with a beef roast. Crockpot roast the first meal, then beef and noodles, and I add sour cream to beef and noodles for an easy version of Beef Stroganoff.

- Steve, via email

Smart substitutions

Following are things I do to stretch the grocery dollar:

* Use powdered milk in cooking. With all the other flavors, no one can guess.

* Boil a diced potato or two, drain and.;use the starch water to mix with instant mashed potatoes, add the slightly mashed boiled potatoes and season. Smoother than all "real" mashed potatoes, but tastes better than all instant.

* Make menus for the upcoming week(s). Use what you currently have and what's on sale over the next bit of time..;The menus also help when deciding what to serve after working all day. If I'm too tired, I might just grab fast food rather than thinking out what to cook.

* When heating the grill or oven, put on/in enough for two nights. Some things taste better the second night.

- Sarah Britton, Sullivan

Help from an Angel

The newest best thing going on in town and surrounding communities is the Angel Food Ministry. You can get about $60 worth of wonderful food for $30. There are no eligibility requirements, no paperwork! Just pay the $30 and you're in!

The food is great and of high quality. I would think people would be flocking to participate..;Either they have not heard about it or not taken their own taste-test or think it's only for the "poor." People are really missing out on a great deal.

I drive from Niantic to Decatur every day for work. My monthly gas bill has been high. So I participate in the ministry to give me more money to pay for the high-priced gas..;It is delivered right to my local church (Niantic Foursquare Church). That's like having groceries delivered right to my door..;Yes, we have two incomes in the home, but why would I want to throw unnecessary money down the stomach drain when I don't have to?

I also watch the grocery ads in the Sunday paper and stock up on the sale items.

I read Mary Hunt's "Cheapskate" every day for tips and have implemented some of her great saving ideas.

- Jackie Kapper, Illiopolis

I have found that others and myself are participating in the Angel Food Ministry to save on my food dollars.

I am receiving quality meats, vegetables, desserts and canned goods for half price. Best yet, this is not damaged or outdated foods, and the meats are restaurant quality. For $30 I receive more than $60 worth of groceries.

This is open to anyone, regardless of their income.

- Sheila Overheul, director, Angel Food Ministry, Niantic Foursquare Church

I will tell you my story. It was 2006 and my husband was talking about partial retirement; he now drives a school bus for Durham School Services.

I was trying to get all the information I could about saving money. I was on a Dave Ramsey forum (he gives financial advice), and one woman said to check out Angel Food Ministries.com to see if there was a host site near as she saved a lot of money on groceries by using their program. So when I looked up my ZIP code on the Angel Food Web site, the closest host site to us in Decatur was Sherman, five miles north of Springfield. So every month, my husband and I would make a trip to the Sherman Nazarene church to pick up our food and order for the next month. Then, very soon, we started adding a box for our family members, a box for friends, and soon we were bringing six to seven boxes back to Decatur every month.

It was December of 2006, and there was an elderly man on the television stating that with the rise in his utility bill, he would have to decide between heat and his medication. My husband and I were eating some of our Angel Food at the time and I said that we needed to get this program in Decatur.

I then talked to Diana Knaebe, Heritage Behavioral Health Center president and chief executive officer, about having staff and clients order, and we would use the agency van to retrieve the boxes of food every month. I also started calling churches (as most Angel Food host sites are churches and you do have to be a nonprofit agency to become a host site). The churches I talked to said they thought it sounded like a wonderful idea, but they would be unable to manage a program like that right now.

After having no success with getting a church to become a host site, I decided to ask Diana Knaebe about Heritage becoming a host site as we qualify as a nonprofit agency. She was open to the idea and stated I would need to make a presentation to give the details of the commitment. At this time, we were not an official host site, but I was taking orders from staff and our clients and using the agency van to go to Sherman and collect our food every month. Diana came to our next distribution to assist us, and the value of the program was immediately clear to her. Here was a way to help the entire community and reach people we would normally not see. We filed papers for Heritage Behavioral Health Center to become an official host site for Angel Food Ministries. It was decided that Oasis would be the recipient of any donations from Angel Food Ministries. (Angel Food Ministries donates a dollar for every box sold.) We have raised more than $1,400 for Oasis since becoming a host site.

- Kate Sargent, Heritage Behavioral Health Center, Angel Food host site director