Baltimore Shoppers Learn To Buy Healthy Groceries On A Budget

Interactive Shopping Matters Tours Offered at Walmart

BALTIMORE, June 26, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Shoppers at Baltimore's Walmart learned new skills for buying healthy food on a limited budget today, after a series of educational grocery shopping events in the store.  The events, organized by the anti-hunger nonprofit Share Our Strength, included two interactive Shopping Matters grocery store tours and four stations where shoppers learned to compare unit prices, read food labels, identify whole grains and buy fruits and vegetables on a limited budget.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120626/DC30292)

Shopping Matters is an initiative of Share Our Strength's Cooking Matters, a program that helps low-income families get the most bang for their buck at the grocery store and cook healthy, delicious meals.  The interactive tours are led by volunteer nutrition and culinary experts. 

"With nearly 20 percent of children at risk of hunger in Baltimore, we need to do everything we can to get children the healthy food they need to thrive," said Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. "I applaud Walmart, Share Our Strength and the Partnership to End Childhood Hunger in Maryland for efforts like Shopping Matters, which empower families to make the best food choices for their own lives."

Tours started in Maryland in early 2012, and will continue to be offered across the state as part of the Partnership to End Childhood Hunger in Maryland's efforts to increase access to healthy food for children at risk of hunger. Cooking Matters and Shopping Matters are part of the No Kid Hungry campaign, which works to connect children and families to federal food and nutrition programs and educate families on how to get more from their food resources.

"We recently released a study that showed 85 percent of low-income families want to make healthy meals, but only about half are able to do so on a regular basis," said Share Our Strength's Anne Sheridan, Director of the Maryland No Kid Hungry campaign. "The cost of groceries is a big concern for Maryland families, but healthy eating doesn't have to break the bank."

After completing a Shopping Matters tour, 54 percent of participants say they intend to compare unit prices to get the best deal and 56 percent say they will seek out whole grains on ingredient lists.

In early 2012, the Walmart Foundation announced a $4 million grant to Share Our Strength to support the expansion of Shopping Matters tours across the U.S. and to reach low-income families with hands-on cooking, shopping and nutrition education in six-week Cooking Matters courses.

For a video tour, or to learn more, visit ShoppingMatters.org.

ABOUT SHARE OUR STRENGTH'S COOKING MATTERS

Share Our Strength's Cooking Matters teaches families at risk of hunger how to get more food for their money and better nourishment from those foods, as part of the No Kid Hungry campaign to end childhood hunger in America. Volunteer culinary and nutrition experts lead six-week cooking and nutrition courses and hour-long Shopping Matters® grocery store tours where participants learn how to select nutritious and low-cost ingredients and prepare them in delicious and healthy ways. Cooking Matters is nationally sponsored by the ConAgra Foods® Foundation and Walmart. For more information, visit CookingMatters.org.

ABOUT PHILANTHROPY AT WALMART 

Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are proud to support initiatives that are helping people live better around the globe. In May 2010, Walmart and its Foundation made a historic pledge of $2 billion through 2015 to fight hunger in the U.S. The Walmart Foundation also supports education, workforce development, environmental sustainability, and health and wellness initiatives. To learn more, visit www.walmartfoundation.org.

CONTACT
Laura Hosny
[email protected]
202-649-4335

SOURCE Share Our Strength