One of the slams against sustainable foods--local and organic or some combination of the two--is that they're the preserve of the wealthy, the upper middle class. Rebecca Blood is giving herself a challenge to see if that's the case. She's committing to live within the USDA's "thrifty food plan" (which sets a baseline for food poverty, and is used to alot food stamps) for one month, but keep her food as local and organic as possible. For a two-person household, this gives her $74 per week. What's more, she's doing it publicly, so you can see how she does.
Comments (2)
Hooray for Rebecca! It is too bad organic food is higher than chemical-laden food. Part of the reason is that organic foods serve a niche market, and can be priced higher. Part of the reason for small local organic farmers is that they do much more by hand, and much less by machine.
At our most thrifty, my husband and I ate on $80 a month for the two of us, although it was mostly not local, nor organic. Farmers markets do not take food stamps, unfortunately. For those of us who purchase our food with food stamps, we are forced to buy from supermarkets, that rarely have fresh local organic food available (Food Fantasies being an exception). To me, local organic food is worth paying out of pocket for, although for some in poverty, this is not an option.
I am looking forward to my large organic garden to produce our food for the summer, and to supplement with farmers market produce. We also hope to get some canning/drying in as well. Does anyone have suggestions on local and/or organic wheat/flour?
If you ever have the opportunity to get some local organic eggs from chickens that are free to roam, do! They are so good!
carey
Posted by carey | May 19, 2007 2:07 PM
Posted on May 19, 2007 14:07
Farmers markets do not take food stamps, unfortunately.
Huh. I've never understood what they were, but I've seen signs for "farmers market tickets," or something like that. Do you know what those are? Could those be a way to get from food stamps to the farmers market?
Regarding local flour, I think the closest I've come (and this is from looking around about a year ago; I haven't followed up since) is the Moore Family Farm, which provides wheat to a regional food cooperative in Champaign.
Posted by Greg C | May 20, 2007 12:22 PM
Posted on May 20, 2007 12:22