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Community Corner

Church Member Using "Extreme Couponing" to Help Needy Families

The 'Save it Forward' program has distributed food to more than 100 families so far.

The words “extreme” and “coupon” may not seem to fit together in the same sentence. But believe it or not, “extreme couponing,” as it is called, is becoming more and more common among people wanting to get the most out of their money at the grocery store.

One Woodstock resident is now using the technique to assist families all over the metro Atlanta area.

For those who might not know, “extreme couponing” is the art of combining multiple coupons to rack up huge savings. The savings can be so tremendous that shoppers who use this technique can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars – sometimes walking out of the store with merchandise having paid nothing.

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Rhonda Smith had been extreme couponing for a while, amassing plenty of food and toiletry items, when she had a revelation. Smith works at Vinings Lake Church, where she frequently sees people come in to ask for help with their current situations. She felt she had to do something to help and decided to use her newfound skill to do so. 

“I see the needs of people who come in to the church all the time,” she said. “God convicted me.”

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Smith decided to form Alive Ministries, Inc. in 2009 and soon after started a program called ‘Save it Forward.' The program is designed to teach people how to effectively use extreme couponing to purchase food for needy families. Alive Ministries, which consists of Smith and around 20 volunteers, teaches the art of extreme couponing and then sets out envelopes that contain a list of products and coupons at several local churches, including Vinings Lake.

These envelopes allow shoppers to buy numerous items for around five dollars. Food pantries are then set up in local schools and distributed to needy families of children there. 

“It allows you to be generous without a significant impact on your wallet,’’ said Smith. “Your five dollars can be stretched further than you think it can and almost every week there is something you can get for free.”

Save it Forward has already had a significant impact. A food pantry set up at Birney Elementary in Marietta distributed food and other products to 67 families from September to December last year, and almost 90 others since January. Families usually receive six to eight recycled bags of food, toiletries and other items. These numbers are even more impressive when you consider that only around 40 shoppers have participated so far.

According to Smith, Birney Elementary was a good school to establish the first pantry at because 79 percent of students there receive free or reduced lunch – significantly above the state average. 

“It may be even higher than that, but that was the last number I heard,” she said.

With the success at Birney, Smith said that Alive Ministries plans to set up a food pantry at another school in the fall.

In today’s economy, people who want to help those who are less fortunate than they are can often feel like their hands are tied, while the ones needing the help are left to do without. Save it Forward makes it possible for everyone to help the less fortunate without putting their own futures at risk.

“It’s a win, win for everybody.”

To find the best deals of the week and find out more information about Save it Forward visit www.ishopforhungrykids.com.

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