There are many considerations that go into meal planning. Do you want something easy that will feed your family for multiple meals? Are you looking for meals that can be frozen and reheated later? Do you have special dietary needs? Do you have an abundance of backyard tomatoes and few ideas about what to do with them? The resources below are aimed at helping you navigate existing resources to plan healthy, fresh and affordable meals to meet you or your family's specific needs using local seasonal ingredients.

Focus on the Season	By planning your menus around what's in season, you can eat food at its best. Seasonal food is at the peak of freshness and flavor. Eating in season means incorporating plenty of whole fruits and vegetables for more nutritious meals. It also provides a great opportunity to experiment with new foods and recipes.
Choose Your Food Source	Seasonal foods can be grown at home and are available at various restaurants and retailers, through CSAs and buying clubs or at your local farmers' market. Joining a CSA or buying club can take some preparation work out of meal planning by giving you the opportunity to plan around the ingredients in your share each week. The fixed rates can also help you to stay within your food budget. When shopping at a farmers' market, you can speak directly with the farmers who grow the food about their growing methods, handling recommendations and cooking tips.
Use Time-Saving Resources	Our favorites for meal planning: Foodapedia: Look up a Food Meal Planning Worksheet Sample 2000-Calorie Menu Plan 30 Ways in 30 Days to Stretch Your Food Budget Planning by the Plate Method Guide Weekly Budget-Focused and Health-Focused Menus Healthy Meal Planner Tool Sustainable Table Shopping Guides
Connect with Others	Neighbors, friends and family are great resources for recipes, meal and shopping tips: Dinner Swap - Three to five households each prepare a large-batch recipe and swap with one another so that each household has three to five nights of home-cooked meals. Potluck Meals - Potlucks, perhaps with a local food or ingredient theme, are a great way to try new foods and recipes and share a meal with good company. Recipe Exchange - An in-person or email recipe exchange is also an easy way to learn about new recipes you can use to incorporate more local foods into your family's meals. Networks - Joining the Local Food Cleveland action network can put you in touch with a range of different local food related communities and a calendar of learning opportunities, such as workshops and cooking classes.