I hit the local co-op and organic friendly grocery store tonight. We’re lucky that our neighborhood stores carry a lot of the local foods we love. When I can’t buy direct, I support the same local producers and farmers through the retail option.
I was surprised, and not in a good way, at how much my milk, butter, coffee, beans, wine, and other boring staples added up to. It’s been a while since I’ve bought more than a few things at a time at the store and while I knew prices were going up it hadn’t really hit me yet.
At the same time the papers and the blog world are filled with advice about how to cut your grocery bill and eat for less by shopping sales and clipping coupons. While I wholeheartedly support the ones that focus on shopping locally and cooking with whole ingredients, I’m not sure that I think cutting our food budgets is the first place we should all start tightening our belts.
As a country we spend less on food as a percent of income than almost any other first world society. We’ve pushed producers decade after decade to make food cheaper, and by consequence traded quality and variety for empty calories. And while I understand that there are many families that have, and will have, no choice but to feed themselves on as little as possible, the rest of us still have a choice.
We can choose to give up other wants instead, like our cable and our expensive cell phone plans, our lattes and take-out, we can turn the heat down a couple degrees. We can continue to make quality food using seasonal ingredients from local, sustainable farmers a priority.
If we need to reduce our out of pocket costs, we can learn to use meat for flavor instead of the headline and learn to like squash, we can make simpler meals with quality ingredients, we can learn to cook. And we can find ways to do that while still choosing food that fits our values and belief in sustainability.
Is that a controversial thing to say? That we should prioritize the food we’re feeding our families over the luxuries we’ve come to take for granted?
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Have you signed up for the 08/09 Dark Days of Winter Eat Local Challenge yet?
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I agree that wholesome, high-quality food should be a priority. I feel like we are eating better than we ever have for less than we ever have. Going straight to the producer has raised the quality while lowering the price, especially on things like meat, and I feel like everyone wins.
At the same time, I think we are in a very special segment of the population. There are so many people at one end of the scale who have huge food budgets, for vast quantities of processed crap, most of which probably goes in the trash. And then there are too many people on the other end, who have tiny budgets that often stretch the farthest with the processed, industrial foods that go on sale and have coupons available.
Right on!
I’ve already cut everything I know to cut. I’m on the cheapest phone plan I can find, I don’t have cable, I drive a cheap, fuel efficient car. Our budget was already pretty lean before I got laid off. After 2.5 months unemployed, it’s amazing just how far we were able to cut it. And, yes, food is one of those things.
Surpisingly, though, what most people don’t realize is that cooking from scratch is a lot cheaper than buying pre-mixed meals. I mean, think about it. When you buy hamburger helper, you’re paying someone else to mix all that stuff for you. Buy the ingredients and make it yourself, and you’ll save a lot of money.
Still, the rise in food prices is hitting us hard. I wish I could afford to buy at the local Co-op and buy all local and organic, but we just can’t do it. It’s the local grocery store, scanning the meat case for marked down items, picking up whatever’s on sale, and working our menu around the coupons. For some of us, it was the only option before, now it’s a prime imperative if we want to eat.
You’re right — obviously those luxuries should be less important than what we feed our families. Where the difficulty comes is for those of use who have never enjoyed cable, a cel phone plan, lattes, and for whom take-out is a rare treat. We already cook a lot from scratch and often use meat just for flavor so I’m trying to figure out what’s next as food prices continue to rise. I’m looking for quality meals that use cheaper (whole) ingredients since, for me, using coupons to go back to mass-produced empty calories is unthinkable.
Denise – It’s funny, I was actually thinking of your October no grocery store project when I was writing last night. To me, you and Holly are doing exactly the right thing. You’re prioritizing good local food even while you’re cutting back to the bone. And I am in awe of your ability to do so with good cheer and great success. I wish more people could figure out how to make that work as opposed to cutting back their budget and choosing to eat all the processed crap that they can buy with coupons. I saw a great quote the other day (can’t remember where) about how you never see coupons for real food like broccoli or free range chicken at the farmer’s market and that’s a shame.
Ali – Thanks.
Maritzia – I totally get that, and I am well aware of just how lucky Mike and I are. Both that we can continue to afford our food choices in a down economy and that we buy very little due to our ability to buy local meat in bulk and stock the pantry from the garden. And I applaud your efforts – I would love to hear more about how you’re finding ways to make it work. After last night we’ll be looking for new ways to supplement what we have with less expensive staples like beans, rice and pasta.
Donna – you’re right, this time is hardest for those that already didn’t have the luxuries and that are now having to start cutting the basics. I was directing my comments more towards the vast middle that has all the luxuries and that is now automatically looking to their food budget to cut instead of their $200/month cell phone plan, cable, and other non-needs.
I’ve spent the last week talking about this in nyc. We already live very simply, so places for us to cut would be in eating out, gas, movies. Maybe working more with cuttings rather than buying new plants. How can we can more? How can we squeeze every drop out of our gardens?
For mass America, there is still plenty of room to cut. They can certainly move more towards buying whole ingredients, learning to cook and preserve again like our grandparents, buying less soda, buying in bulk, etc. There is now a culture of living in debt that needs to be reversed. We don’t all need plasma TVs, video games consoles, new cars/multiple cars, etc.
I am hopeful that the silver linings in this economic crisis will be evening out the cost of local vs. processed foods, so it becomes more economical for the masses to buy local. I also think being frugal builds character and I would love to see us living more like our grandparents did and being conservative with spending. We’ll see!
Hats off to those who are struggling and still making best efforts to feed their families wholesome meals.
I hope people come to realize that the health benefits of avoiding the highly processed foods should also be considered in the cost/benefit equation. For instance, for 15 years I would get crippling stomach aches, visited tons of doctors, tried different medicines and procedures and nothing helped. But then (unrelatedly) I started buying most of my food at the farmers market, thereby eatting a lot less processed foods, cutting out pesticides, growth hormones etc., and I haven’t had a stomach ache in a year. If I had started eatting that way sooner, I believe I would have saved my family thousands of dollars in medical bills.
There’s no doubt that our food spending has decreased from shopping this way, too.
I admire Kate (from Jon & Kate Plus
who has a family of 10 to feed but said that her gift to her children is to cook them organic food and she’ll find somewhere else to cut the budget to make that work.
Good post Laura, food has taken a back seat for too long, mostly people treat themselves no different than cars, put in the gas and go and worry about the consequences later.
Real food should be worth more, and not relegated to the back page so to speak.
After having a family cow for many years, I would not call my butter and tasty milk, and the beef her calf provides boring staples though.
I think that one of the best ways to cut the family food budget without sacrificing–(As Much)–is to stop buying the junk food. We still get a treat once in awhile, but if you have something all the time, it ceases to be a treat. I am trying very hard to make sure that the food that we buy is of high nutritional content. I am not buying processed cheese or hamburger helper.
I clip coupons, but they don’t seem to be for items that we buy anymore. The coupons used to be really great–especially if the store doubles the amount off. Lately though they have a specific sizes and quantities, with a smaller discount.
I bought peanut butter, raisin bran, lunchmeat,cheese and milk and my total was $25.78–that was with everything generic and on the sale ad.
My potatoes are sprouting all over–I was getting a bit worried–The indoor garden is doing well. I think that the outside garden is pretty well finished, they are calling for snow mix on Thursday.
My vegetable gardens and chickens give me some of the organic food I love, for next to nothing.
I can’t always afford organic, but meats, chicken, dairy, and certain fruits and vegetables are a requirement for health in our family. We can’t afford health insurance for my partner, so we consume healthy foods in hopes it will keep him healthy.
However, I grew up dirt poor, and I know what it’s like to have $7 for a weeks worth of groceries to feed a family of four. Mom had to cut back on food to be able to afford a pair of shoes when our old pair was covered in holes. We didn’t have any extras.
Oh, and I think if people eat out less, they’ll be able to afford better food at home. I once heard a woman complain about an organic gallon of milk costing nearly $6 while ordering a $5 coffee drink.
I think you’re right on, we all need to take a step back and check our priorities.
I’m with you. On one hand I’m grateful for cheap food because people I love depend on it but I know we all end up paying for it in other ways. And on the other hand I feel like it’s almost our responsibility if we have the means to buy food that is grown nearby, organically, with respect and fairness for the farmworkers. Food that doesn’t cause dead zones off the coasts and respects the soil. Great post. Thank you.
PS: Did you hear MP with Terry Gross the other night? He touched on some of this. You would like it.
My budget has actually increased recently as I try to stock up on stuff like olive oil, honey, dried fruit, beans, chocolate… My big dilemma has more to do with the point at which ‘stocking up’ becomes ‘hoarding’. I’ll also admit to indulging in a few things with the expectation that they won’t be available at some point.
But in talking to my local growers and vendors lately I’ve heard that any reduction in my spending is actually being offset by a continuing increase in the number of customers they’re seeing. I don’t shop much in the big supermarkets but apparently here in central New York the bigger increases in supermarket prices (which of course haven’t come down despite the drop in fuel prices) have made locally produced foods more competitive price-wise.
I wholeheartedly agree with you. Nina Planck addresses this same issue (as do other food writers) and has an op-ed on her website called “Can the Poor Afford Real Food?” – and the answer is yes. She’s not even talking about those of us who are just feeling a bit of a pinch.
It’s unfortunate that people are taught that good, real food is a privilege, and that so much emphasis is placed on cutting corners when it comes to what we eat. I absolutely think this is the last place one should scrimp.
Renee – I completely agree about the hoped for silver lining. Perhaps we won’t be the oddballs for that much longer?
Einat – interesting about your stomach pains. I’ve found a few similar things with some stomach issues that I had in the past – they only show up now when I’m traveling for work and end up having to eat crap on the run. While I wouldn’t want Kate’s life, I do admire her dedication to good food for her kids.
MOH – well now, when it’s milk and butter from your own cow they’re certainly not boring. Mine still come in jugs and tubs though so it’s not nearly as exciting. But the beef, man ours is certainly not boring either (so good!).
Anita – agreed. I heard someone complaining about the cost of groceries the other day at the same time that they were eating their $10 take out lunch. Go figure.
Katrina – I too am grateful for cheap food for the friends and coworkers I have that are depending on it. But as Mike and I can afford to support local and sustainable farmer’s, I feel strongly that we should. I’ve got the MP interview on my iPod, now I just need to find time to listen to it. I’m going to see him on 10/30 with my mom – super excited!
Marcy – I’ve been a bit in stock mode as well (for beans, rice, oil, vinegar, etc) and have decided to quite for a while. Glad to hear that farmer’s markets are becoming relatively more cost comparable in NY!
Risa – I read Nina’s book a couple of year’s ago, but haven’t checked out her website, I’ll have to do that soon.