Announcing the Penny-Wise Eat Local Challenge

Is eating locally possible within an average American family food budget?

by Jennifer Maiser

"I'd love to eat local, but it's just so expensive to do."

Those of us in the Eat Local community probably hear this statement more than any other.  As the editor of this site, I often cringe to hear it because I don't really have a good answer for it.  Eating locally seems to be more expensive than other ways to buy food.  Since this hasn't been tested, what better experiment than to challenge ourselves by eating local within the budget of an average American.

During one week in April, a nationwide group of authors from this site and some Locavores will commit to the Penny-Wise Eat Local Challenge focusing on eating local within the budget of an average American. 

This challenge is not going to be about winning.  It won't be about who can starve themselves and spend the least amount of money.  It's about a very real cataloging of the expense of eating local so that we can begin to have a conversation about whether eating locally really requires a re-prioritization of family budgets. 

Generally, those of us who agree to take the Penny-Wise Eat Local Challenge are going to try, from April 23 to April 29 to stick to the budget of an average American.  What's the budget, you ask? 

The Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics puts out some very detailed statistics about how much Americans spend on different parts of their budget.  Part of that, obviously, focuses on food.  The most recent data that they have published is from 2005, so we are going to use those dollar amounts for our challenge.

1 person in the family, one wage earner: $68 a week
2+ persons in the family, one wage earner: $121 a week
2+ persons in the family, 2 wage earners: $144 a week
2+ persons in the family, 3+ wage earners: $184 a week

In the spirit of other challenges put forth by this site, the challenge is customizable to the location and situation of the participant.  If you're interested in participating, please go to the Penny-Wise Nuts and Bolts section.  If you're interested in reading along with this real-life experiment, watch this site or sign up for updates on the right-hand column of this site to get posts delivered to your email inbox.

Jennifer Maiser is the editor of the Eat Local Challenge blog and the author of Life Begins at 30.

Comments

[ExPat Chef]

I think it depends on how you shop for food in the first place. First, you are going to be eating at home for nearly all meals, so you save money. Second, if you shop at stores like a Wild Oats or Whole Foods, you will find significant savings at the farmers' market. I am talking $3.00/pound less for heirloom tomatoes. Often paying the farmer direct gives you and the farmer the most benefit. Third, the initial investment may be high for some products, but over time, there is substantial savings. One example, to buy a side or half side of beef at a time is a large amount of money. However, you are getting all that meat including steaks for $3.50 a pound. Natural ground meat (the cheap cuts) start at $6.00/pound at the retail stores. It can actually save money over the long haul. Further, because the meat is grass fed and leaner, you have less shrinkage/loss in cooking.

[Emily]

Wow, April is a tough month to do this, especially in the north! But I suppose if we can do it in April, we can do it any time, right?

May I suggest as a resource http://foodorigins.wikispaces.com/? It's a wiki designed to let people list local food sources or to share research on where "brand name" foods are grown and processed. At the moment, it focuses mostly a few national brands and southern Michigan, but anyone can add information for their area.

It could be especially useful for this challenge to find and post the origins of name-brand products, which are often sold at lower cost at traditional grocery stores.

[Sarah in Maryland]

I think that this is a fantastic idea. I've had people tell me that they wish they had all the money I do to shop at our local co-op. It isn't that we are necessarily wealthy, but we spend a larger percentage of our budget on food than the average family. I think that because food has become unnaturally cheap in recent years it has skewed our view of how much we ought to be spending. I don't have the stats in front of me, but I remember reading somewhere that today's food budget percentage is half what it was in the 1950s.

[Dolores Ferrero]

Sixty eight dollars a week? (As a one-person family)? I realize I'm in California where I've got local access to just about everything, but I believe I can do it for significantly less than that. It's about finding what's *really* in season (and therefore plentiful and priced accordingly), not buying more than I need, and putting effort in to preparing raw, natural ingredients rather than turning to the culinary equivalent of ready-to-wear.

At any rate, count me in!

[Melissa]

I ate local this summer as a single college student for around $40 a week, but then again I was living in a rural area during prime growing season. I suppose ideally I should budget the 68-(whatever I pay during cheaper times)for winter or when I'm living in the city.

[AnnMarie Johnson]

The problem with the USDA info is that while it's an average amount spent, an awful lot of us don't spend that much. The three in my family eat on less than $300/month, primarily vegetarian diet. It's VERY difficult for us to eat local if meat is included. If it isn't, not much problem. But impossible in April. That would mean no fresh fruit or vegetables. No bread either, unless I want to pay for the one local place that sell homegrown bread flour to the public (only available at one farmer's market, which I don't think is active in the winter/spring).

Essentially, while I could live on local foods with your very generous budget, it simply isn't possible in WI in April, unless I only want to eat meat (and at $5+/pound for local, I'm not going to be able to eat only that even if I wanted to) and what's in my freezer (nearly empty since the growing season is almost upon us).

I hope you'll issue this challenge again in the summer!

[Sara Zoe]

unrelated to this challenge, my husband and I went on a food budget for Lent - $80 a week for the two of us. While many have rightly said it can be done for cheaper, we hadn't ever kept track of expenses and were overly dependent on a quick meal out too often (ie twice a week or so - ), which really knocks any food budget flat. So in the positive, we are cooking more and planning more. I believe it was during the debate of the Whole Foods guy and Michael Pollan that the Whole Foods guy said (something like), "If you cook, you can (eat morally for not so much money)"

I've had a very interesting emotional reaction to our Lenten experiment, because it is forcing me into grocery stores and having me make less than ideal choices. Normally I shop at all sorts of little places and if it's not local, it's at least organic or produced by a small company - we're making a lot more compromises.

Since this has been such a learning curve for us, we are going to continue to track our food expenses after Lent and try to get a normal baseline. And like many others, we New Englanders will try the $144 in July or August.

[feralkevin]

I'm going to try it! As I try to eat as locally as possible on a daily basis, I think the real challenge for me will be to budget my food, something that I struggle to do typically. It also makes me realize how fortunate I am to live in the Bay Area California, and that I have access to wild foods, and a substantial garden. As I blog about my experience, I will try to incorporate my thoughts about sustainability, permaculture, edible wild foods, and primitive skills.

[edenz]

As a northeasterner I'm going to agree with holding another session of the challenge sometime between June and October. April is just about the worst time to try to eat local here - our CSA has stopped their winter share to plant stuff for the upcoming season and the farmer's markets aren't open yet.

That being said, my husband and I shop at Whole Foods (yes some of their stuff is more expensive, but it evens out b/c we'd still have to shop there for anything even slighty 'exotic' and produce - the produce in regulare supermarkets here is disgusting). We spend $400 per month (in the winter) and we're not particularly frugal - so I think that it is probably quite easy to eat local within the budget numbers given. The difficult part is eating seasonally in the winter, and getting staples like wheat in areas where they are not grown commercially.

[leslie]

I'm not sure if I'm posting this in the right place or not, but several of us over at Sustainable Table will be taking the challenge next week. Although we all strive to eat as locally and sustainably as possible, we are all new to the ELC, so I think we're going to go with somewhat lax rules compared to the rest of you...

We're thinking a 250 mile radius, and we anticipate that at least two of us will cheat with coffee (but will be sure to budget it in).

Here is a list of those of us who'll be participating:

Diane Hatz (Executive Director of Sustainable Table, Executive Producer of The Meatrix) *Diane may have to start a few days late as she'll be traveling back from Greenfestival in Chicago.

Megan Saynisch (Program Manager, Sustainable Table)

Destin Joy Layne (Program Manager, Eat Well Guide)

Leslie Hatfield (Communications Coordinator, Sustainable Table)

Of course, we'll be blogging about the experience over at The Daily Table, and we anticipate that we'll be using the Eat Well Guide (www.eatwellguide.org)--a lot.

[Phil]

All of us at www.greenleafmarket.com will be taking place in the challenge next week. If youo want to see the shopping we have done in preparation today

http://greenleafmarket.com/discussion/blogs/techgreen/archive/2007/04/21/132.aspx

We will be as strict as possible with our diet with little or hopefully no exceptions to the local rules.

Thanks,

Phil & Heather

[Willa]

Is there a list somewhere of who is participating in the Challenge? I'd like to see what others are doing.

Willa

[Anita]

We're participating, although I haven't posted much since the first day (we started early, as we're going out of town...) I, too, would love to see what folks are doing, other than the blogs I already read.

[PattyP]

Darn, I just learned about this blog and it's too late for me to join the "official" challenge this year. Hopefully next time. I'm very interested in trying to live more sustainably. I've just started growing a few veggies and have been thinking about these local-eating "diets." In fact, I just learned today that the milk I buy - from a local, family-owned dairy - is made 86 miles from my house, so it certainly fits the requirements! I hope to do a week- or month-long local diet of my own soon, on the way to making it permanent. Thanks for this site and all the great info. :-)

[jenny]

im the luckiest dog ever, i live in seattle and have the pike street market to shop at every day of the year (creamery to boot!). too bad i missed the start of this challenge, id like to participate. im using up all my boxed goods as we speak "eating the cupboards" as it were and ill begin eating more locally starting NOW. i think it will be cheaper for me to do, considering all the packaging and marketing i pay for with the packaged foods.

[Anna]

I have converted our front lawn into an "edible garden." We live in San Diego and we are blessed with beautiful weather year round. So far I have gone overboard with my collection of heirloom tomato seeds. I thought I'd try to get some seeds started and didn't expect all of them to make it. Now I have 53 tomato bushes (still counting) happily growing in their organic beds, not to mention the various lettuce, broccoli, chili peppers, spinach, cukes, tomatillos, beans, squashes, etc. which were all grown from organic seeds.

I am vegan and only eat a plant-based diet. So our total household food budget of $60 per week for 2 people is more than plenty. My husband is a part-time veggie but only eats whatever I cook at home. He never asked for me to cook him any meat at all. He "cheats" and gets his meat fix during lunch at work.

I have a composter as well as an earthworm bin so trash is very minimal in our household.

We also only buy local products from the farmers' market to supplement items I don't grow, as well as buying items at a coop market where I belong.

Eating locally isn't hard at all if you put your mind to it. It's fun. And most of all, it's good for the environment.