Well, friends, it's that time of the month again. Time to say adios to one challenge and hola to the next. In comparison to my first challenge of extreme couponing, I found true love in September. Finding passion is key to finding happiness, so any passion found is a blessing. You know when you think of your ideal self and what all that person encompasses, and actually make a step towards that, how amazing it feels? This, in a nut shell, is what eating locally has done for me.
I've always been one to tout the idea that eating locally was the right thing to do. When it came down to where my dollar went, my ideals and actions didn't mesh. I was a bit lazy and a lot bit frugal, so easily rationalized my non-local food choices. Then came the buying local challenge. I had to live up to my ideals. I had to say good-bye to bargain hunting and hello to early morning grocery shopping. Despite the downsides of such a challenge, I firmly believe that this challenge was a push in the direction I needed. Let's discuss some of the costs and benefits to such a lifestyle below.
 |
| Week 4's bounty. Those cheese curds are AMAZING! And? NUTS (pecans to be exact)! |
PRO's:
-Shopping at the farmer's market put some money back into my state. Like every other state, our economic woes are large. By shopping for food locally, I'm ensuring that the money is going back into the hands of the residents. Plus, when you buy your meat from a local rancher and fruits from a local farmer, you're putting money directly back into the food source. You're allowing them to continue to feed you and also feed their own family. You can't put that money back into the community any more easily.
-When you shop at the farmer's market, you pay no tax. I consider this a huge win. Since our taxes keep getting hiked up to cover the bureaucrats' asses, the residents take the hit. Our food budget is small enough, so saving that 5-10% every week helps tremendously.
-Food packaging be gone! Ok, so we weren't package free, but purchasing mainly fruits and veggies drastically reduced the amount of packaging and subsequent trash pile. Less packaging also saves time because you don't have to fuss over opening that stupid plastic ring with no tear mark or waste water rinsing out everything in order to recycle it. You can just rinse, cook, and eat. More time, less trash--exactly what I wanted.
-Grocery shopping became a fixed time every week. Initially, we found ourselves trekking to various farmer's markets and stores to figure out what we needed. By the end of the month, we had a system hashed out. I only had to go to one market on Sunday and possibly make a Whole Foods run mid-week if things became too dire. Having a set time and place to grocery shop is a godsend! I tend to procrastinate things, but when you know you only have three hours to grocery shop, time constraints become a great motivator. Also, since the market is smaller than most grocery stores, you spend less time walking around and avoid more temptation. Penciling in our weekly food shopping is definitely a win!
-No more bargain shopping! I spent so much time in August looking for the best deals, so local shopping brought a sigh of relief. Farmer's markets don't have ads or coupons or special membership programs. You just go, buy your food, come home, and eat. I found it much less stressful and so much more relieving to shop for food when I wasn't constantly worrying if I could've saved a few bucks by purchasing the items elsewhere. In a sense, the farmer's markets allowed me to live life without allowing money to rule my life. It's amazing how such a small change as to where you shop can have such a drastic effect on your relationship with money. This is likely my biggest gain from September's experiment.
-Look, Mom, I can cook! Ok, so probably not well, but I'm learning. Shopping locally forced me to learn to use new ingredients. I had to be inventive and brave to try foods I may have otherwise passed on. I'm learning to make do with what we've got. This is not only good for food, but is also a lesson in minimalism. In the US, we are spoiled. When we want food, we can get it, even if we're poor or homeless. Often, we take for granted the wide array of food at our fingertips. When we lived on a smaller selection, we had to learn to appreciate what we had more. This only solidified my love of minimalism because it taught me another area that needed improvement. I don't need all the food, but I can surely appreciate and make do with what's available today.
-COMMUNITY! Can I say this any louder?! I've shopped at the same few grocery stores for years, and rarely has a worker remembered me. I go to the farmer's market for a few weeks, and I'm already making friends. I partly want to continue shopping at our local Sunday market just to see the same friendly faces. It's safe to say that there are more smiling faces at a farmer's market than you'll ever see at a big box grocery store. There's nothing more contagious than that happiness either. Thus why I already can't wait for Sunday to roll around!
CONS:
-Price. Okay, so the first few times we ventured to the farmer's markets, I had near heart attacks. How much for meat? You want $7 for a bag of cheese?! Local food can cost more than the grocery stores. No doubt about it. However, we found that we saved money almost every week because our packaged food intake reduced so drastically. Plus, we learned how to use our WIC checks more effectively to make that food count rather than buying even more food on top of the WIC food.
-Oh the legalities of labels. I'm sure you're all more than aware of my love for organics. However, most local food can not be called "organic" due to USDA labeling laws and standards. I found this quite tricky. I wanted to buy organic, but without the label I was quite confused. Most of the farmers or vendors were quite informed about their products, so I did get answers about how the food was grown. And although I'm a label lover, I learned that food can still be healthfully grown without that stamp of approval. At the end of the day, I had to shove Little Ms. Organic over and accept that no label, but pesticide and herbicide free are ok too. (not sure Little Ms. Organic is buying it, but we're trying).
-Limited selection. This was the hardest part for me. I like what I like and have certain food staples in my life such as flour and peanut butter and avocados--all of which are not exactly grown in AZ. The lack of selection was definitely the hardest aspect of this whole ordeal. I looked into buying mesquite flour, but could not justify spending $20+ per pound. Instead, we just ate a lot of bread and rice to deal with my intense carb cravings. Maybe after reading this some farmer will delve into these other foods and get some locally grown, but for now, I'm going to cave on a few items for my health and sanity.
-Hello, morning! My family is not one of early risers. Let's revise that. My family does not have parents who enjoy rising early. The kids would like to think otherwise, but we parents could always use a few more hours of sleep. Due to this, getting up and out the door early to head to the market was a daunting task. We're getting used to it, but we have been completely spoiled on stores that are open nearly 24/7. Not quite the case with farmer's markets. Adaptation is key on this one, but I'm more than open to the possibility of a late night farmer's market...you know, so I can go when kids are sleeping and enjoy the market experience. Just a thought.
Conclusion:
I think it's fair to say I've changed this month. Shopping and eating locally was a bit of a chore, but 100% worth it. I love the experience of attending the markets. I love the quality of the food. I'm learning to accept the price. It's a shift, but one that I wholeheartedly intend to keep in our lives.
Will I "cheat"? Absolutely. As stated above and in previous posts, I just can't get everything our family needs from local sources. It's damn near impossible. When it is possible, it's completely impossible to stick to our food budget. It's all about moderation. We will continue to get what we can at the farmer's market. We'll still utilize WIC. And we will also allow ourselves to indulge in a few old favorites (because seriously, I'm a peanut butter addict). It's fair. It's moderate. Frankly, it just feels right.
Now to the part you're all really wondering about: the cheating for September. In previous posts, I mentioned that we used WIC checks. I also mentioned that we got some free food from coupons. What I failed to mention was that family members helped us out for the boys' sake. Grandmas donated peanut butter and had us over for dinner. Pantry shopping was done at my parents' house a time or two. Gorging on junk at relatives' abodes was inevitable. At the end of the month, though, we didn't spend a single penny of our own on non-local food. I'd have to say that would render this experiment successful even if we did get some freebies along the way.
 |
| Ghetto container gardens. Just add soil, seeds, water, & bling |
Finally, do you recall the last part of the challenge? Starting our garden? I have some pictures of the minute accomplishments in that department. I truly would have loved to plant food, but with the temperature still well over 100, I retreated to our air conditioned quarters and vowed to complete this aspect as soon as the weather decides to cooperate. I'll keep you all updated on how that goes, or rather how it possibly dies as I'm a well known accidental plant killer.
That's it for September. Stay tuned for tomorrow's post as I announce October's Challenge du Mois. Trust me, you're going to want to stick around for it. A good laugh will ensue, surely, for those that know me well. Enjoy today, and if you just can't get enough, look below for more ways to connect.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Let's connect! I've added the e-mail subscription on the top right of the page, an option to add via Friend Connect, and there's always Google+ (Minimalist Mommi) and FaceBook. Oh yeah, and I became a bird enthusiast and joined Twitter. Hope to see you around :)
0 comments:
Post a Comment