I’ve done the couponing thing. I’ve done the only-shop-at-Costco thing. I’ve done the no spend thing. I’ve done the live-off-an-emergency-food-supply thing. I’ve done {and am still striving for} the $100 a month thing. So what’s my next challenge? {If you’ve been a follower for any length of time, you know they’ll be a new challenge!} 😉
30 Days of Nothing But Local!
I think I’m more excited about this challenge than any other one I’ve done. I love eating local, I love healthy foods and I love fresh produce so much anyway, so I’m way excited about this. The plan is to eat local only and try to do all my grocery shopping at the local farmer’s market, co-op or roadside stands for the next 30 days. I’ve never done this before, I have no idea how much it will cost or if I can pull it off, but I think it will be fun to try.
Now before you start to worry that the HH and Monkey Boy will not survive on kale and fresh broccoli alone, remember that before I left town I fully stocked their pantry with all of their favorite foods. They will have plenty to live off of until I get home, so this challenge is boy-free! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Each week I’ll head out to the farmer’s market, load up on delicious local food, and then work on coming up with some new recipes that incorporate all that fresh local yumminess. That might be a bit of a challenge at first because it’s such a different way to shop and eat. I’ll have to adjust my weekly menus.
Of course I already have the basics in my east coast pantry – rice, beans, pasta, flour, sugar, spices, etc, {as well as a ham and some bacon that I brought along in the cooler} but aside from that, if I can’t find it at the farmer’s market, co-op or a roadside stand, it’s not getting purchased.
Often buying local is more expensive, so I might find myself a little {or a lot} over budget for the month. Or I might find that I can get a majority of my groceries at a reduced rate at a farmer’s market. I’ve seen it go both ways, but I’m prepared to bust my budget just for this month to give this challenge a try. I’ll not only feel great knowing I’m supporting local people and businesses, but I think I’ll also feel great buying and preparing such healthy food all month. I think my body is going to thank me for this challenge!
Like always, I’ll track all of my spending and all of my meals, and report back in my weekly grocery shopping update.
What do you think? Great idea? Do you think I’ll end up spending more and going over my usual budget? Do you have any great recipes to share to kickstart my 30 Days of Eating Local month? Do you see another no spend month on the horizon to even my grocery budget out of the year? 😉
~Mavis
Total Spent Buying Local This Week $30.24 {Wowza!}
Onions $5, Spinach $3, Sweet potatoes $5, Beets $7 – all from the farmer’s market
Homemade Bread $3.85 – from a local scratch bakery
Milk $3.39 – from the Co-op
Free Range Eggs $6.00- from a girl down the road {$3 per dozen}
Rhubarb Free – from a neighbor
Tera says
Fun!!! I’m looking forward to following this challenge of yours. I think you’ll spend more, but the benefits to your health and local farms will be worth it!!!
vicki says
Love this challenge. I am so excited to see the kinds of meals you come up with!
Beth says
This sounds like a fun challenge and healthy (unless your farmer’s market is like one we had by our house that had locally made ice cream and locally made pies and hand pies- that ice cream was unbelievable….and with the homemade pie…freakin’ fabulous…no joke…
Alice says
$3.00 for two dozen? or one?
Mavis Butterfield says
$3 per dozen. Thanks for catching that Alice. 🙂 Back home I’ve seen them go as high as $7 per dozen.
Jennifer says
A vendor at our farmers market sells them for eight dollars a dozen! I raise my own chickens and give them organic feed, and it’s still only cost two or three dollars per dozen to raise them. Such a rip off at eight dollars a dozen! And they don’t taste as good.
Katharine says
What a fun challenge! I don’t eat any meat, and try to source all my eggs and dairy locally because I think it’s better for the animals and better for me in the long run! It costs more, but cheese made on a local dairy from happy cows tastes better so I’m willing to pay for it. Have you read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver? She moves her family to a farm in Appalachia and they eat local for a year!
Mavis Butterfield says
Yes! I’ve read that book several times. 🙂
Alison says
I think it’s an awesome challenge and I’m glad you aren’t going to stress about the budget. You will have some yummy food for sure!!!
Sue says
Yes, excellent idea! More important (and fun) than the budget, especially since this is just a one-month trial. It’s a little early in the season, though, so you’ll have limited things to choose from at the farmer’s markets — but still, I think you’ll find plenty and do fine. Great idea!
Lisa Millar says
Great idea for a challenge – not least because buying local helps the little people rather than the corporations!
Usually here, fresh fruit & veg are way cheaper at a market.
A bonus is getting to meet a whole lot of new people too. Shopping at markets is so social!
Have fun!
Earlene says
I would join in, but our season is about 3 weeks behind because I live in the “frozen north” ( my dad used to call it that). Northern Wisconsin growing season hasn’t started enough to have a farmers market set up till Memorial Day weekend.
Peggy says
Great idea but maybe a little early for the east? I’m in southwest PA and we really only have greens growing this time of year. Things pick up nicely in July though. Some farmers, especially the farmers market farmers will plant early crops of corn so that can be ready before July.
Peggy says
Also, look for an ag. auction or Amish farms. Deals to be found!
Mavis Butterfield says
That is a great tip!! Thanks Peggy.
Jennifer says
To answer your question, your budget is going to break! Farmers markets are so expensive. We shop at our farmers market each week for fresh fruits and vegetables, and for the occasional splurge on locals meats. We only go organic for the health of the farmworkers, and for our own health. But the non-organic produce isn’t much cheaper. Still, I feel 10x better buying from the farmers than buying from Safeway. More of the $$ goes to the farmer and you feel like you *know* what you’re eating and where it came from.
Jana says
It truly depends on your market. I run a produce farm. We actually sell to locally owned grocery stores- Cutting out middle man I can help them stay cheaper than the box stores. Anyway, we have looked at Farmer Markets as another source of sells and there are some where the produce is basically wholesale, then you go to the nicer neighborhoods and I could get better than store retail. So we actually sell at our farm Wholesale, but only in bulk!!! So we actually have a grade of Sweet potatoes we sell for 0.30 fresh ( not the 16 month old ones the box stores sell in November for 0.25).
#2’s are a great way to save at farmers markets- You may have to get to know your farmers, but the #2 are the ones you would cut the spot off and eat out of the garden without thinking but dont necessarily want to pay full price for!
Lea says
I totally agree with Jana that it totally depends on your market.
Our farmer’s market is a real bargain for most vegetables – at the height of produce season here, pennies on the dollar compared to the grocery stores. Prices for meat, dairy and eggs are in line with the “organic” section of the grocery stores but we don’t eat that much meat so it’s perfectly fine for us, and we’d rather have fresh eggs than not. Here, we’ve always used the farmer’s market to pad out our tight grocery budget.
Another place we lived had absolutely ridiculous prices at the farmer’s market ($8 for a pint or raspberries for instance) so we never shopped there. It totally depends on where you’re at!
Lea
Sarah L. says
I might need to give this challenge a go in the summer!
Practical Parsimony says
I could kill for that rhubarb! I live too far south to grow it. It is so easy to grow. It needs no care and will grow anywhere the weather is cool enough.
Lisa L says
This challenge sounds great! I love following your food adventures. Have fun!
And enjoy it over here on the east coast 🙂
Kristina says
Best thing may be all the people you’ll meet in your new town. Have fun!
Carrie says
I’ve found that CSA boxes are well worth the money in my area (NC Piedmont)! The farm I buy from let’s us “shop” for our share at the market on Saturday. I get the small box of 6 items (for 1-2 people) for $12 a week. Last week I got a pound of sausage, pint of strawberries, huge bag of spinach, bag of mixed lettuce, spaghetti squash and 2 pounds of mixed yellow and white onions. The farm isn’t certified USDA Organic but they claim to use organic practices – and I believe them. They are such good people and the farmer will sometimes through in a treat for free (he gave me chocolate covered peanuts at Valentine’s Day and dried apple crisps just because!). i don’t buy the CSA box during summer since I have my own garden but it is such a treat to get fresh produce all winter and spring.
I also read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and it compelled me to try and buy local as much as possible.
Jo says
Wow that’s cheap. I’m in the Triangle and the CSAs that I’ve looked into are much more expensive. You are lucky!
Lea says
Oh too funny! I looked at that and thought “wow! That’s expensive!”
My CSA runs $7/week here but she’s a person who just REALLY enjoys gardening and uses the CSA to “pay for her habit” and put to good use the veggies and fruit her family can’t eat. So, she’s not trying to make a profit – just break even. I also live in MN so that probably makes it cheaper than other parts of the country too!
I’m definitely spoiled! 🙂
Lea
Stacey says
I have wanted to do this so many times but I worry about my family. Well, I worry about my boys, who at times can be selective eaters, and staying on budget. But I’m excited to follow you on this challenge. We are about a month behind the east coast so maybe the end of your monthly challenge can be the beginning of mine! Good Luck!!
Taryn says
That sounds like a super fun challenge! My two curlies and I do “eat local Fridays” during the spring and summer. All of our food on Fridays come from local sources. So fun and the girls love it.
Michelle says
I have eaten this way for years. It is not difficult once you know what is available in your area and know how to work with it. I had a farmers’ market stand for 12 years and I traded for all of my food. There were months I had no grocery spending and put away a heck of a lot. I also had a kitchen garden and was a drop off point where I received a free CSA box. Where I live one now could live on that 100 mile diet and eat really well.