I am, of course, completely joking. My parents are completely proud of me considering all I have managed to accomplish so far is an English degree and a highly lucrative serving career. Oh! and snagging a fabulous Husband. Aren't [good] parents great? They see the potential. One day, I'll live up to it.
Last week, I was asked by a journalist how much I spend each week at the farmer's market - with the assumption, I think, that it was more expensive than the grocery store. I don't really shop very frequently at regular grocery stores, and almost never at "big box" groceries, such as Giant Eagle or Meijer. I prefer to give my business to independents - Weiland's, Carfagna's, etc. (and then of course there's Target. and Starbucks. I'm sorry - their coffee makes me absurdly happy. I'm a hypocrite. A self-aware hypocrite, but a hypocrite nonetheless. That being said, I try to give equal money to MoJoe. We are coffee people). At any rate, all of this to say: I don't know how it compares, and, I'm ashamed to say, when asked "what is your monthly food budget," I was stumped (sorry Mom, none of it sunk it).
I want to touch on why I haven't taken part in any of the "try to eat on the food stamp budget" business that is going on in the country right now. I lived that way in college. For a few months after losing a job in a restaurant, I literally could hardly afford to eat. I lived on plain boiled pasta, ramen noodles, and occasionally cereal and eggs. Sometimes I would go to the grocery store to buy tiny amounts of cut vegetables from the salad bar (like an ounce or two) so I could indulge in an omelet. I remember one day when I had to break out my collection of $2 bills and other saved bills (a $20 from 1963 was, for some reason, my favorite - I almost cried when I handed it over to the clerk - I keep telling you I'm a total nerd) to buy groceries. The upside to this is I remained thin. It was the only benefit. The constant stress and worrying made me crazy. Friends were always bugging me to go out but I couldn't. This might be why when I got out of college, I worked 3 jobs and spent hundreds of dollars a week going out to dinner and guzzling Veueve Clicqot. All of this might have sent me down a particular path in life; maybe I always work in restaurants so I'll always be sure I have enough food (anyone who has seen me knows there's no shortage of food in my life now). I just can't go back to that. This might be a sign of weakness on my part. So be it. I think it's good lawmakers are doing it (that's as close to political as you'll hear me get. Unless you're unfortunate enough to be near me after a nip of the old Basil Hayden, when I suddenly turn into a raving - sorry dad - bleeding heart).
I do what works for me. I don't expect everyone to espouse my theories of eating, although it would be nice. I have the luxury of having a good job and being able to make the choice to support (mostly) local farmers and purveyors. I also have the luxury of having enough time to think about what I'm going to make, and time to make it. Sometimes I don't have the energy to put into it. Sometimes I eat tuna out of the the can. Sometimes I eat instant noodles. I realize there are lots of other people in better or worse situations than me, but at this point in my life, I can only do what is the best for Husband and I.
All of that buildup to say: here's what I spent at the market yesterday, for meat, fruit and veggies, all grown locally and sold to me by the person who grew it:
- CSA subscription breaks down to $14 a week for 1 pound of asparagus, 1/2 dozen eggs, 1 bunch radishes, 1 large bag greens, 1 bunch ramps
- $6 for 8 ounces shitake mushrooms
- $4 for one quart container strawberries
- $4.50 for one large bag of arugula
- $2 for 2 bunches scallions
- $6 for about 5 pounds rhubarb
- $1.50 for 1 pound of ruby red popcorn
- $17 for 3 pounds of short ribs and 3 large beef shanks
- $20 for 2 huge boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 1 pound of thick bacon, 2 large butterflied pork chops, and 2 pounds of hot Italian sausage
- $1.50 for a large bag of "wild things"
- $6 for 8 ounces of Oakvale cheese aged gouda
- $9 for nearly 3 pounds of asparagus
Total: $91.50, included my CSA, which I paid for in February. So I spent $77. I don't always buy so much meat (most of this went into the freezer); my typical marketing day is about $40 - it gets a little higher later in the year when I am buying pounds of tomatoes and peppers and sweet corn. I purchased enough meat for about 8 meals for 2* and enough produce for 2 breakfasts, 4 desserts, a few snacks of cheese and popcorn, 5-6 servings of salad, and 6-8 servings of vegetable side dishes, depending on what I decide to make.
Combined with things from my pantry, I will probably make about 6 pasta dishes, 3 meat-based dishes, 2-3 egg-based dishes, a few salads and meat-free dishes, a few snacks and light meals, a cake, a rhubarb crisp, and some bowls of chopped strawberries. That equals about $6 per meal for 2 ($3 a person), not counting snacks or desserts. $6 for fresh, healthy, locally-produced food. About the same as one fast food "value" meal.
*well, 2 of us, 3 of other people; Husband eats in what he likes to call a camel-like manner, meaning he eats as much as possible whenever he can, because after years in the restaurant business, you never know when your next opportunity for eating might be. He has a rather astonishing ability to consume - just ask the people who have been in corndog or canolli-eating contests with him,
