Section 6: Planning and Shopping Tips

• Plan menus in advance. Use the menu planning checklist found in Section 9: Sample Menus so that the foods you choose for your meals or snacks follow the SNP Nutrition Guidelines. Offer a variety of foods from different food groups every week.
• Make a list of the things you need to buy by taking an inventory of what you already have on hand.
• Check online and store flyers for sales, coupons and specials that will help reduce food costs. Use price matching if allowed at your grocery store.
• Choose Ontario grown vegetables and fruits, and other Ontario-made products. Look for the Foodland Ontario symbol when shopping.
• Choose fresh vegetables and fruit in season. If these become too expensive out of season, consider using frozen and canned. Frozen and canned vegetables and fruit are also nutritious choices.
• Choose local foods when possible. Shop at local markets and stores that feature local produce, or create partnerships with local farmers. Contact your Lead Agency before creating partnerships with local farmers to determine whether the farmer's practices meet program requirements.
• If using fresh produce from school food gardens, follow safe food handling practices.
• Read food labels to compare products and choose the healthier option. When looking at nutrients using the Percent Daily Value (%DV) on the Nutrition Facts Table, 5% or less of a nutrient is a little and 15% or more is a lot.
• Opt for store brands when possible. They are usually cheaper and are just as nutritious as name brand products.

Food Purchasing Guide

Once you have planned your menu, it's time to shop for your food supplies. Use the table below to help you plan the amount of food that you need to buy based on the number of children and youth that your program serves. Foods often used in SNPs are listed, along with examples of one serving size from each food group in Canada's Food Guide. Approximate amounts to buy for 50 and 100 children and youth are also provided.^{footnote H[H]}

Use the total weight in grams or kilograms, or volume in millilitres or litres provided on the food label to calculate the number of servings in a product, and what amount you will need to buy. For example, if you are preparing scrambled eggs for 75 children and youth, and the serving size per child is 2 eggs, you would need 150 eggs. There are 12 eggs per carton, so you will need to purchase 13 cartons of eggs (150 eggs / 12 eggs in carton = 12.5).