A recent series of stories on NPR covered how Americans are cutting back, because of the cost of gas, food, and as the effect of the mortgage loan crisis spreads. Those hit hardest, of course, are people with low or fixed incomes.
But a woman many of us would envy - owner of two houses, both paid for - told the reporter that her 'ah ha!' moment came when shopping at Whole Foods. It was a place she shopped frequently, but a quick trip to buy just a few things had cost more than $130, and reality set in when she realized she hadn't come away with even three meals. She told a reporter that she decided to make some sacrifices, starting with one of the things she loved most: organic food. "I won't buy it right now; it's too expensive," she says.
Will you cut back on buying organic food, as a way to save money? What other changes are you making? (I have cut back on getting coffee at Tullys or Starbucks, and on bottled water. I'm also watching how many restaurant meals I have each week, and I'm keeping a journal to see exactly what I spend in all areas of my life.)
A journey into the world of "real food" with Seattle-based journalist Rebecca Morris
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7 comments:
I won't cut back on organic food - but I very well may cut back on organic food from Whole Foods! (Farmer's Markets and other venues are much more cost effective. As well as the bit I grow myself).
There is no comparison taste-wise, and the health benefits to me personally, as someone who is sensitive to chemicals, is worth the added expense.
If I am going to cut back on a food expense, it will be on 'junk' foods and animal products (meat and dairy).
I won't be cutting back on organic food, especially meat. Instead, in these trying times, I'm going to work harder to make my organic groceries stretch further by adding as much value (effort!) to the food myself. Raw, basic, materials go a lot further than anything ready made! I make a killer Egyptian lentil soup within 5 minutes out of lentils, garlic and cumin that I can be eaten within a half hour.
I won't cut back on organics. There are ways to cut back on the groceries, such as limiting expensive items to once-in-a-while treats and utilizing inexpensive items such as beans, rice, and veggies for the majority of meals.
A few years ago, I read a book called "Smart Women Finish Rich". by David Bach, a must-read for women. One of the principles for saving money, in rich or poor times, is to think of doing so "one latte at a time". He calculates how much money you would save this way, and I'll leave it to your imagination what you could buy at the end of the year...
So far, we're not cutting out organic, but I did notice that our bill is higher. Combine two people who are training for a dance troupe and a marathon, and you have the equivalent of teenagers with an evaporating pantry (see www.wirelessyogini.blogspot.com for my entry by the same title). So we're cutting out other things to save money, bartering more for services, and eating out less.
Yeah Whole Foods is incredibly expensive - there are so many other places to get organic food for less. Most any major supermarket chain will have an organics section. PCC is all organic and has very reasonable prices. And there are tons of farmers markets in the area.
My biggest change is to be hyper-aware of how much I drive. I try to pack in multiple stops more than I used to.
I don't buy organic as much as I'd like to anyway - it's so expensive in the grocery stores. I will be hitting the farmers markets and growing my own though.
I will not give up organic anymore than I would 'give up' clean air or water. I buy more in bulk, few, if any prepared foods, eat less meat, go to farmer's markets, go to u-picks, grow more at home. Americans buy way more food than they eat anyway. Figure out how to use leftovers and cut back on how much you make. That has been hard for my husband and I since our kids left home. The tendency is to make the old huge amounts to accomodate teen appetites and get stuck eating the same thing for days on end. :{
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