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Making the most on less
Five dollars is all it costs to make a delicious meal for a family of six.
A few dollars can go a long way when preparing meals. Napier's Maraenui Tenancy Managers, Ngaire and Deana ran a series of courses to help families make the most on less.
“We saw families struggling to make ends meet,” says Ngaire. “Meals are one of the bigger weekly expenses.”
Ngaire and Deana saw a need to show people how to prepare meals from scratch.
Course sessions included a talk with Work and Income and budget advice staff followed by a cooking demonstration from the locally owned Kai Time Butchery.
They showed how cheaper cuts of meat can make a nutritious meal for five people. A casserole was made for about $15.00. The leftovers from the casserole were made into a pie with a crust made from slices of bread - sufficient for another meal.
One session included a vegetarian tomato and pasta meal. It was prepared by tenant Rangi Uriarau.
“I used to work as a chef,” said Rangi. “I know how to keep meal prices low. My meal worked out at less than a dollar per person.”
The final session included setting up a vegetable garden for one of the course participants.
Janet, from the Sustaining Hawke's Bay Trust supervised the group as they turned part of tenant Deidre's back lawn into a garden.
Within two hours a large patch of lawn was turned into a garden planted with corn, potato, spinach, broccoli, lettuce, peas, silver beet, radish, garlic, red onion, spring onion, brown onion and puha.
“It's really cool,” says Deidre. “I am learning how to grow my own veges so I can make my meals even cheaper. It is fun and a great way to keep costs down.”
