Meal Planning and Grocery Shopping This guide is written for blind and low vision youth who are building independence with meal planning and grocery shopping. The tips, tools, and strategies here are meant to help you find what works best for you.
Planning meals and shopping for groceries are skills you'll use your whole life. This guide shares strategies, tools, and apps that other blind and low vision youth have found helpful, so you can find what works best for you.
Parents, family members, and professionals may also find this guide useful. You might share it directly with a student, use it to start a conversation about independence skills, or refer to specific sections when supporting a young person with these activities.
Making Meals Making meals is a skill you will use throughout your life, as a middle/high school student, a college student, an employee, and beyond. Planning meals ahead of time can lower stress, save money, and make cooking feel more manageable. This section covers two key areas: organizing your kitchen and creating a meal plan.
Kitchen Organization A well-organized kitchen makes meal preparation easier and safer. Here are some tips from battleforblindness.org on how to make your kitchen more accessible:
Set Up Specific Zones: Assign different areas of your kitchen for different tasks, such as chopping, mixing, and cooking. Keep the tools and ingredients you need for each task within reach of that zone. Label and Organize: Use tactile labels, braille, or large-print labels on containers, drawers, and shelves so you can quickly identify what is inside. Group similar items together. For example, keep spices in one area and canned goods in another. Maximize Counter Space: Keep countertops clear so you have plenty of room to work. Non-slip mats under cutting boards and mixing bowls help keep them steady while you prepare food. For more detailed guidance on kitchen organization, consider exploring the resource Organizing Your Kitchen for the Visually Impaired (The Disability Channel) .
Create a Meal Plan Meal planning means deciding what you will eat ahead of time, usually for a few days or a week at a time. Planning your meals in advance can reduce last-minute stress, help you stay organized, and make grocery shopping more efficient. These skills become especially useful as you move toward college or employment.
Here are some strategies to get started:
Make a Weekly Meal Plan: Create a simple weekly meal plan that lists meals for each day, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. This can help you manage portions, reduce food waste, stay healthy, and stay on top of what you need to buy. Keep a Recipe Book: Build your own recipe collection using braille, large print, or audio descriptions. Include details like cooking times, ingredient lists, and step-by-step instructions. Some members of the EMPOWER VI Adult Advisory Board recommend The Blind Kitchen for accessible recipes. If you find visual supports helpful, Accessible Chef is another option worth exploring. For accessible recipe apps and tools, the American Foundation for the Blind offers recommendations in its article Accessible Recipes for Holiday Cooking and Entertaining.
Grocery Shopping Buying groceries is something most people do regularly, and it is a skill that supports independent living. If you live in a rural community, you may have fewer grocery stores nearby, limited public transportation options, and less access to delivery services. These are real barriers, and the strategies below are designed with that in mind, so you can plan ahead and shop with confidence whether you are in person, online, or working with support from others.
Shopping List: Before heading to the store, make a shopping list. Organize your list by department, such as fresh produce, meat, and dairy. This can help you move through the store more efficiently and avoid backtracking. Shopping Support: Most grocery stores offer assistance through their customer service team. You can ask for help navigating the store and locating items; this is sometimes called a personal shopper service. You might also choose to shop with a family member, O&M specialist, or someone else you trust for your first few trips, until you feel comfortable navigating independently. Online Shopping: For those who have access, online grocery shopping and delivery services can be a convenient option. Members of the EMPOWER VI Adult Advisory Board recommended Instacart and Kroger Boost as useful services. However, delivery coverage in rural areas can be limited. Before building your grocery routine around a delivery service, search by your zip code to confirm it is available where you live. If delivery is not an option, some stores offer curbside pickup, which may be more widely available than home delivery. Specials and Coupons: If there is a supermarket chain near you, check their website for sales, coupons, and product information. Many chain store websites also list which aisle products are located in. Smaller local grocery stores may not have websites, but most have a phone number you can call in advance to ask questions. Building a relationship with staff at a local store can also be helpful, particularly in smaller communities where staff may be more familiar with regular customers. Assistive Technology: Apps like Seeing AI and Aira can help you identify products, read labels, and navigate store environments. Organized Check-out: When you are ready to check out, grouping items by category as you place them on the belt (e.g., all dairy together, all produce together) mirrors your shopping list and makes unpacking at home faster and less confusing. Payment Support: You may choose to pay for your groceries with a credit or debit card. Apps like Seeing AI can help you review your receipt for accuracy. If you prefer to pay with cash, Cash Reader is an app that uses your phone's camera to identify the value of bills in real time. Advancements in technology and accessibility are helping individuals who are blind or have low vision shop more easily. Shoppers can decide what’s best for them, whether that’s shopping in physical stores, online, or with support from others. For additional grocery shopping strategies, visit Shopping for Essentials: How Visually Impaired Individuals Can Navigate Stores and Online .
Putting These Skills into Practice The best way to build confidence with meal planning and grocery shopping is to practice. Below are some activities to help you get started. You do not need to try all of them at once. Instead, choose what feels manageable and build from there.
Try one strategy at home. Review the meal planning and grocery shopping tips in this guide and choose one or two to practice. You might start by organizing a section of your kitchen, creating a grocery list, or researching grocery stores and delivery services available in your area, including checking whether delivery services cover your zip code. Plan a store visit. Work with a family member, O&M specialist, or someone else you trust to plan a trip to a grocery store. Before you go, use the strategies in this guide to prepare. Make a list, organize it by department, and identify the store's customer service options in advance. Explore online shopping. If online grocery shopping is available in your area, explore a grocery store website or app and practice building a shopping cart. You can add items without completing a purchase. It is a low-stakes way to get familiar with the interface and your screen reader or other assistive technology. Talk to people in your life. Ask friends and family members how they shop for groceries. Make a pros and cons list comparing in-person and online shopping. Think about which approach works best for your needs, your location, and your preferences, and practice explaining what supports help you shop successfully. This kind of self-advocacy is a skill that will serve you well beyond grocery shopping.
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