And there is definitely a trend to eating more at home. I guess some of them are going to have to learn how to cook now. I know that I went out for dinner for the first time in months this weekend and thank heavens I was being treated (thanks Paula) because I just can’t rationalize spending $60.00 for dinner anymore.

Check out the statistics below:

Coupon use is up 23 percent for the first half of 2009, according to Inmar CMS, a company that manages coupon promotions for packaged-goods manufacturers. The rise appears to be tied to the bad economy, with coupon use seeing double-digit growth since October 2008. Food was the biggest beneficiary, with food coupon redemptions up 28 percent in the first half of 2009. But food marketers are also driving the increase, putting out 29 percent more coupons in the first half of 2009, compared with 13 percent more coupons from nonfood manufacturers.

As my mother used to say as me, my sister, brother and father would call out the correct answer to some obscure Jeopardy question, “Why do you people know this?” Because it is out there and we just love to know useless facts.

If you like trivia here is more at the Daily Commercial.

Here’ are a few interesting facts on how coupons became coupons:

– In 1894, Atlanta businessman and co-owner of Coca Cola, Asa Candler, used handwritten tickets for a free glass of Coca Cola to help market his new soft drink. Within one decade Coca Cola was in every state and within two decades one in every nine Americans had received a free Coca Cola soft drink.

– One year later, grocer C.W. Post began using coupons to help sell groceries. His coupon gave people a one cent discount on his new breakfast cereal, Grape Nuts.

– By the 1940s chain supermarkets, which were popping up all over the country, continued the tradition of using coupons that the smaller neighborhood grocery stores had developed.

– In 1957, The Nielson Coupon Clearing House was established devoted entirely to coupon redemption.

– Half of all American households were clipping coupons by 1965.

– The first National Coupon Month was in 1998. In 2000, the program expanded to help parents teach children about the importance of saving money.

I have never seen coupons for Farmers’ Markets but what they are doing up in British Columbia is a brilliant idea. Not only are they giving people coupons but they are showing them how to cook with the healthy food.

With America’s obesity problems this is definitely something we should try.

Nanaimo families are cooking up healthier meals thanks to a program that provides coupons for local produce.

The Farmers’ Market Nutrition and Coupon Project, offered by the B.C. Association of Farmers’ Markets, gives low-income families and pregnant women $15 a week in coupons to buy produce, meat and dairy products from their local farmers’ market.

In Nanaimo, the association partnered with the Tillicum Lelum Aboriginal Friendship Centre and Nanaimo Community Kitchens Society for the 2009 season.

Participants in the program attend cooking and skill-building programs to learn how to prepare nutritious food using fresh ingredients.

HealthESavers – HealthESavers is the new coupon site from Eating Well Magazine. There are not many coupons on it yet but they are actively looking for manufacturers. They have a weekly coupon e-mail I am waiting to receive to see what they offer.

Organic Valley – The coupons are valid for 30 days from the date on which they are printed. Online coupons are limited to two (2) prints per coupon offer. Their coupon offers are typically refreshed once per year, normally in the month of March.

Organic Prairie – The coupons are valid for 30 days from the date on which they are printed. Online coupons are limited to two (2) prints per coupon offer. Their coupon offers are typically refreshed once per year, normally in the month of March.

Mombo Sprouts – They have both online coupons and a coupon booklet distributed in almost 1,000 retail outlets four times a year. Additionally, the booklets are mailed three times a year in the following metro and suburban areas: Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore/Washington, D.C., Chicago, Denver/Boulder, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles, More mailing regions are coming soon.

Whole Foods Market – They have a PDF of their publication called The Whole Deal Value Guide.  It is filled with coupons, budget recipes, money saving tips and more.

Horizon Organics -Horizon Organics has a few coupons and they ask for your name and email address to get the coupons. They ask if you want to receive their email. They don’t force you to take the newsletter and they have some very useful educational material on the site.

Turtle Mountain – They didn’t have any coupons posted when I looked at this site but they did say to check back.

Stonyfield Farm -They have a number of coupons on their site. Coupons must be viewed using Internet Explorer and are good for 10 days and can only be downloaded once.

Brown Cow – You have to give your email address to access the coupons. They only allow one printing of coupons per email address.

Every few weeks, coupons arrive in Williams’ Elizabethtown, Ky., mailbox for items she usually loads into her cart. While Kroger is building loyalty – with 95 percent of a recent mailing tailored to specific households – Williams is saving money without searching through dozens of pages of coupons.

“I’m not that big a coupon-clipper,” she said. “It seems like a lot of coupons you see are (for) things that you never use.”

Although the recession has revived penny-pinching, Americans are still redeeming only 1 percent to 3 percent of paper coupons. In contrast, the nation’s largest traditional grocery chain says as many as half the coupons it sends regular customers do get used. Kroger’s part ownership of a data-mining firm allows it to put the reams of information its shopper cards collect to use in more ways than other retailers do. And one way is to give shoppers coupons mainly for products they regularly buy.

If consumers intend to cut spending, they will have to learn how to grocery shop, cook meals at home and pack brown-bag lunches, while eating out less.

“I think that more shoppers will be trading down on their grocery shopping, such as shopping at Wal-Mart or Target supercenters instead of supermarkets or wholesale clubs,” said Stephanie Nelson, founder of CouponMom.com. “And people will definitely be trading down to store brands to save wherever they shop.”

Coupons will be cool–from newspapers and online printable coupons. In December 2007, Nelson’s site had 200,000 members who printed 81,000 coupons. A year later, 1.2 million members printed 800,000 coupons.

Look for expanded use of electronic coupons, which involves going online to add “coupons” to your store loyalty card. You then use your loyalty card at the supermarket. The coupons are applied at checkout to items you bought.