Finding Value and Values in our Food

This post is in response to Katy Wolk-Stanley’s blog post on The NonConsumer Advocate, “Why I Love New Seasons, but Why I’ll Keep Shopping at Safeway.”  Please stop reading my blog for a second and go read this post so the rest of this makes sense!

I love her blog, and read all of her posts.  Today, there was one post that really struck a chord with me.  It did so, because this post was totally me after my daughter was first born.  It makes me see how all of the teeny tiny changes along the way, have completely transformed the way I eat.  There was no way I would have believed that I could afford the good food that I have on my table now.

Katy,

Wow, it seems like this has sparked a lot of debate and strong feelings!  I am totally with you on wanting to save money, and I was right there with you using coupons and buying food from Save-a-lot and other groceries using my double coupons.

Ten years ago, my family was eating cheap food, and not necessarily what was healthiest for us.  I remember watching a Dr. Phil where he blasted a family for not buying fruits and veggies, that they were cheap.  He was wrong.  Veggies and fruit can be expensive, and not everyone has access to healthy foods.  There is a lot of inequality in our food system.

Here is what has changed for me over the last few years, and I hope this doesn’t make me sound like a food snob.

I started by raising my own chickens.  Most eggs from the grocery are from chickens that live in dark, smelly barns, in cramped cages.  Even most of the cage free chickens rarely if ever see the light of day.  When I sold my first flock of chickens, I bought my eggs from local farmers.  They were more expensive, but I ate less because I just couldn’t justify eating eggs from factory farms anymore.

I stopped using coupons to save money.  I know that sounds ridiculous, but I took the advice that a lot of weight loss experts give, just shop the outer perimeter of the store.  We buy cereal and the occassional frozen pizza.  Other than that, everything comes from the produce and dairy section.  In fact, I only do heavy duty grocery shopping about every six weeks.  Buy not using coupons, I wasn’t tempted to buy food I didn’t need, especially the prepackaged stuff that’s full of high fructose corn syrup, all kinds of preservatives, and GMOs.

I stopped buying meat at the grocery.  We buy lamb from a farmer, have it butchered and frozen.  For about $400 we have about 6-8 months of burger, roasts, and chops.

We raise a lot of our own food in raised beds out back.  I blanch the veggies and throw them in the freezer as they ripen.  We made a ton of salsa this summer that we canned.

Before we had raised beds, we bought just what we needed for the week from the farmer’s market.  By buying in season, we got organic produce at a reasonable price.  I buy seasoning, spices, flour, baking soda, etc. in bulk.  It costs WAY less this way.  I never buy those little taco and chili seasoning packets.  There is a lot of MSG, and other nasties in there.  Plus, by mixing my own as I go, it costs about 15 cents per meal vs. 75 cents to a dollar.  I have found a couple of family owned stores that sell in bulk.  I can even get organic whole wheat flour, and organic spelt flour for a very reasonable price, and avoid GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) junk-most of the corn and soy we eat is GMO unless it is organically grown.

My family of six averages about $350 for our food purchases for the month, including the meat. That is about what I spent when I had a family of three and was a coupon shopper.

I want to give you encouragement because I know how hard it is to balance finding good prices, feeding your family healthy foods, and doing what is ethical and a part of your value system.

For myself, I can no longer buy meat from CAFO’s.  I can’t buy eggs anymore that aren’t from chickens that don’t eat bugs and see the sun.  I avoid products made with GMO corn, canola, and soy.  I don’t buy products with High Fructose Corn Syrup if I remember to check the label.  All of the things that I avoid are for reasons relating to my value system as much as they are related to my family’s health.

The reason these stores are populated with “yoga moms” and “beautiful people” is two-fold.  One, they are educated consumers.  They understand parts of our food system that make them want to buy within their set of values.  These stores are usually more expensive though.  Here is the secret, those of us with average income and average to below average looks, find other sources for healthy foods like co-ops, dented can and overrun stores, farmer’s markets, CSA’s, home gardens, buying clubs, bartering, and buying direct from the farmer.

One last note.  Food in the United States is cheap for a reason.  But we all pay sooner or later.  The farmer pays by only getting pennies on our food dollar, the tax payers pay to subsidize corn, we pay with our health when we buy products that cause cancer and lead to obesity.  My journey started out with saving money, but it has become a journey of finding value and values in my food.

Somedays, I wish I was still in the dark about the realities of our food system.  But I’m not so this is how I’m living.  Katy (and the rest of y’all), please be encouraged, and if you need some advice on where to start, let me know.

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