Switching to organic food reduces the amount of conventional pesticides, antibiotics and hormones used to grow your food. Switching to local food reduces the travel distance and greenhouse gases emitted when your food travels from far away to your plate. However, how can you go organic and local without breaking your budget?
Create Connections with Local Farmers
Whether it is a local farmer’s market, a community kitchen, or a community supported agriculture farm, local food is becoming more popular. Visit a farmer’s market to connect with local farmers and peruse the wares. A share in a community farm is an excellent way to get local, seasonal vegetables at a budget price. You can often visit and help out on the farm as well, so you and your family develop a real connection to the land that feeds you.
Buy in Bulk
When you make connections with local farmers, ask them if they ever sell in bulk. It's almost always better for your budget to buy more of a food item at one time. Berries are particularly good to buy in bulk. They are expensive during the winter and come pre-packaged, but if you pre-order berries in the summer you will have them all winter at a very reasonable cost. By investing in a small freezer or learning how to can or dehydrate fruit, vegetables, and meat, you will be able to be frugal and preserve your produce for the winter.
Start a Buying Club
You don’t always need to be a store to get wholesale prices. Check with your local natural foods and organic distributors. Start an organic buying club to get budget prices on household staples that will last for a long time. If you get together with enough people, you can easily meet a minimum order requirement if there is one. Share carpooling to a pick up spot to make it easier to collect your order.
Make Whole Grains the Star
Reduce your focus on meat and dairy. Not only are these expensive when they are organic, they also require more resources to produce. If you choose to eat meat, use it frugally, as a part of a recipe instead of as the focus. Many, many countries do not place meat as a focus in a meal, simply because it is not affordable enough to be the feature of the meal. Treat meat and dairy as luxuries to appreciate instead of staples.
Instead, make whole grains the star of your meal. Many combine to make a complete protein. Nuts, seeds, and grains are excellent sources of fiber and carbohydrates, too. Vary your diet to experiment with different sorts of grains. For example, quinoa is full of protein and iron and has a lovely nutty flavor. Changing your diet is good for your budget and leads to a more adventurous palate, too!
Grow Your Own Food
Even if you only have a window box, it is possible to grow some of your own food. Just keep your budget in mind. If you are really financially-strapped, choose crops that are easy to grow and less expensive to order, like beans. If you have an indoor space, a herb garden, window box tomato plant, or a mushroom log might be what suits your space. If you have a small parcel of land, there are huge possibilities. Layer your crops to make good use of your space. Beans can grow up tomatoes, and early greens can precede late summer harvests. If you have no land, look into acquiring a space in a community garden. Some communities also have a yard share program, where one person with unused land allows another community member to garden there. Finally, see if anyone in your community has a tree with unused fruit that you can pick. This is a good way to reduce your food budget, connect with a neighbor, prevent waste, and find some low budget local food.
It takes some creativity to eat organic, local and seasonal food on a budget. The taste and the feeling of community connection is worth it, though. So is the fact that you know that the money you are spending is helping to create a better agriculture for the future.
Sources:
- Wikipedia, Community Supported Agriculture
- The 100 Mile Diet
 |
