My hubby forwarded a GREAT article to me that was published on Salon.com called, "Can we afford to eat ethically," the story of one couple's month-long adventure to determine if they could a healthy, ethical diet on the "government-defined" food stamp minimum.
Check it out!
7 comments:
I know several people who are doing this as a challenge right now and some say it's easy, some say it's hard. Matt and I talked about it tonight during dinner and I'd say that if we were to average all food bills for the whole year we'd make it for our government allotted amount. However, if you look at my bills through the summer you'd never believe it since I'm prepping for the winter.
That is a great link -- thanks! I know I could do it, and my husband could if he was willing, but I'm afraid my preschooler would waste away to a shadow. We're still trying to get him to eat any vegetable other than ketchup!
Thanks for the link.
I've been focusing on staying within a food stamp budget while eating ethically and vegan (for me) and the occasional non-vegatarian (for my husband). It involves planning but isn't too bad over all. I had read this article a few months back that had done this same experiment in Oklahoma City a while back.
fearlesschef - I guess the challenge would be easier for me to do than Dave and I together since he eats out everyday at lunch. We've talked about giving that up if our finances got tight.
I totally understand what you mean by averaging out the year. I buy so much more fruit during the winter (which is more expensive anyway) so that I can preserve it for winter months.
Donna - Ketchup totally counts, right? :)
Have you tried him to the farmers' market? I'm always amazed at how excited kids get about the food there. You see them nibbling on carrots and tomatoes as they walk around with their parents. I don't know if these kids are just special or if they are more interested in their food because they were involved in getting it...
Beany - what a great link! Thanks! I get asked this question a lot when I talk because people think the local/ethical lifestyle is more expensive. In some ways it is, but it doesn't necessarily have to be.
Crunchy just wrapped up such a challenge.
That was a really interesting article... I really shouldn't have been reading it as I'm at work right now, but I couldn't resist!!!
- Sera
lauren - I read that. I think she mentioned that she didn't do well because she did so much eating out. That would be our problem as well, I think.
I actually ended up tracking my food take (just me) for the month of April. I did ok - $77. That didn't include meals out (2 per week for me), but it did include $17 for a pretty expensive bottle of olive oil (my favorite from our market)
I guess in the end, the point is that Yes, it is possible, but it means rethinking the way we eat.
Sera - I won't tell :)
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