my personal penny-wise thoughts

by Jen Maiser

Can a single woman in San Francisco eat local foods on a budget of $68 a week?

Yes and no.  Yes, if she's willing to eat every meal at home and forgo a social life that revolves around eating out.

During my Penny-Wise Eat Local Challenge week, I spent $153.10.  That included a couple of splurge meals -- most notably $42 at Hog Island Oyster Company one night.  Given my target budget, to say that I was way over is an understatement.

While I was committed to the idea of the challenge and kept scrupulous notes during the week on the amount I spent, when a close friend who I hadn't seen for months was in town for about an hour one night, I had a bit of a dilemma: do I opt not to see her?  Go somewhere less expensive that kept me in my budget but threw ethical eating out the window?  Or go to a restaurant that, if pricey, made me feel good about where my money was going, and was a nice place to take an out-of-towner to boot?

I opted for the latter.  Even if I would have some explaining to do if I did so.

Removing the line item for that meal, a fantabulous lunch at Pizzetta 211 on Sunday, and some random coffee runs (to the tune of $12.75), I spent $78.35 at home for food for the rest of my meals.  So if I could have also eaten those two meals at home, I would assume that I could have eaten at home during the week for approximately $80 - $84.  Definitely over my $68 budget, but still much more in the range than what I actually spent.

The good news about eating locally on a budget is that it is doable.  I have yet to publish the results of the survey of all Penny-Wise participants, but a majority of the survey participants think that it's feasible to eat a local diet within the budget of an average American household.

My experience during the Penny-Wise Eat Local Challenge is that it takes more planning and more time in the kitchen than I typically take during the week.  And that's an important caveat.  Eating locally within a budget, where it's not acceptable to jaunt off to local-food provider Hog Island Oyster Company, is possible, but requires a re-prioritization of time in our already jam-packed lives.

I work at home, and much of my kitchen time can be broken out over different periods of the day.  It's easy for me to let things simmer and stew while I work.  But many don't have this luxury, and without a complete shift of timing priorities, it would be impossible for them to spend more time in the kitchen.  There was a point during the week when I felt like throwing up my hands in frustration -- I had just finished cooking my dinner and cleaning the kitchen and it was about 11:00 pm. I was exhausted.  But I realized that I didn't have any food left for my lunch at an office the next day and started cooking again -- finally leaving the kitchen at about midnight.  And in my household it's only me -- I don't have a family to think about cooking for.

I think that if eating locally on a Penny-Wise type budget were a reality instead of a one-week test, however, I would settle into habits like preparing foods for the week all at once, eating more leftovers than I do, and generally planning ahead that would make the overall time commitment less taxing as time went on.

This whole discussion can't occur without an acknowledgment that we should be spending a higher percentage of our budget on our food.  By percentage of our income, Americans spend less on our food than most other countries.  But I'm not one to tell people what to do -- I'd rather live through example, and that's what my part in this effort is all about.  I, personally, have chosen to spend more money and more time on my food.  And I pay for it in other ways.  I don't own a car, I don't spend much on clothing, and I generally scrimp and save where I can.  But that's such an individual and personal decision.

What I do know is this:  Many people try and write off eating anything locally with the excuse that it's too expensive.  Say that you don't want to do it, or that you don't believe in it, or you don't have the energy to dedicate to it, or anything else.  But when it comes down to buying fresh, local, in-season fruits and vegetables, the problem will not be price.  You will find at least some fruits and vegetables that are less expensive than, or on par with, your supermarket.

The overall idea of eating locally poses some interesting dilemmas, as it often asks us to re-prioritize our time and our budgets.  But the good news is that it's not an all or nothing thing.  While those of us who chose to participate in the Penny-Wise Eat Local Challenge tried to eat as much as possible during the challenge from our local area, anytime you choose to buy local honey, or local in-season tomatoes, or local cherries you are making a choice --  for that one moment -- to support a local farmer or vendor.  And you will be doing a world of good.

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

Comments

[John]

I agree with this completely, thanks for the post.

[Christina]

Thank you for the post. I am an extern for Sustainable Table this summer, a free online directory to search for small local farms via zipcode. It's a great resource for anyone interested in eating sustainably.
www.eatwellguide.org

[Krystle]

What about the option of inviting your friend over and making dinner for or, perhaps, with her? I guess your statement about your social life revolving around eating out rules out that possibility. It's unfortunate that most people don't appreciate the value of a home-cooked meal! If I was coming into town and seeing an old friend, I'd be thrilled if they invited me over and prepared a fresh meal out of local ingredients.

[jen maiser]

Thanks for your notes you all - love to hear comments. Krystle - you're totally right about inviting people over, and I do that often. But my friend gave me about 30 minutes notice and was flying out a couple hours later, so there was no possibility of her getting to my house, enjoying dinner and getting to the airport in time.

[Isle Dance]

I think the solution is to count "eating out" as entertainment!

[ExPat Chef]

We eat at home every meal (or pack lunch) almost. We're in a CSA and I go to the market each week. To make it more complex, I work outside the house and have a young child -- too young to help much. So, I cook for the whole week in two nap sessions on the weekend. Under 3 hours to prepare 6-8 veggie dishes and two meats (my husband does the meats often) for the coming week. Mix in one easy dinner night (grilled cheese or pasta with veggies), and it keeps us eating home cooked meals that are mostly local. You get used to it, and it gets easier. We, too, spend too much on food. It's a choice. My wardrobe is old. We don't go out. I could still feed us well and local on about half what we spend. It can be done!

I think the path has rewards. Life should slow down a bit. Good food should be shared and important. It's worth it.

[Hans-Peter]

When I was growing up, my mother would freeze/pickle/jam everything she had in her garden (and from her friends' gardens as well) so we could eat it during the colder days that lied ahead. She did this to save money, not because she wanted to eat locally; we were living on a very tight budget. For most of the summer, we pretty much ate locally except for those runs to the grocery store in order to pick up meats (we bought Smithfield ham, though, because we lived in Virginia), drinks, and a few other things (dairy, etc.). If she were concerned about eating locally, though, we could have done it easily because the surrounding resources in Virginia were more than plentiful (and because she had three deep freezers!).

I pretty much have that same mentality now. But I'm also very limited because I live in an inhospitable part of the country (the desert). So I often wonder just how possible it is to eat locally when you live in a climate that receives 8.5 inches of rain per year and where the local populace doesn't understand the benefits of healthy eating and the state of the world's food system. We also have the trouble of encroaching developers and severe water issues that threaten to strip farmers' water rights. To me, this scenario doesn't bode well.

I don't mean to sound negative, just somewhat humbled by what's going on here since this is quite different from what I experienced as a boy.

[ulle trautvag]

$68 or under can be done by a single person. I have done it for $25. Buy on sale, forego expensive cuts of meat, buy one whole chicken, use it for roast, stew/ragout and soup. Buy brown rice, pasta on sale, vegetables on sale. Cook your own food -- it's healthier and less expensive.