A Month at the Farmers Market(s)

Farmers markets have been around for a long time, but are greatly increasing in number and popularity in the last decade as Americans become more informed about food and look to purchase healthier food while supporting local farmers and businesses.  As of mid-2011 there were 7,175 farmers markets operating in the United States, a 17 per cent increase from 2010 per the USDA.  Since 2002 the number of farmers markets has increased by 128%.

In San Diego we are fortunate to have a great climate for growing many items both seasonally and year-round.  There are also many farmers markets available to residents.  My favorite market in San Diego is the Little Italy Mercato and we have started many a weekend with a Saturday morning visit.  Another market we often visit is the Horton Plaza Farmers Market, which takes place on Thursday afternoons in downtown San Diego.  It's convenient for us because it's close to home and a nice place to meet for a family lunch during the week.

I like to purchase food at farmers markets for a few main reasons:

• Fresh, healthy produce with a lot of variety
• Supporting local farmers and the local economy
• Many options that are certified organic and/or pesticide free

I often hear criticisms of farmers markets, primarily that they are too expensive.  It's true that there are many items at farmers markets that cost more than at a grocery store, but there are deals to be found and farmers markets can also provide great quality food at a very good prices.

For four weeks this August (8/4 - 9/1) our family will be solely shopping at and eating food from the two farmers markets noted above.  The one exception to this is for milk, which our doctor recommends for Eva, and is not currently available at the markets.  Our budget will be the average amount spent by Americans on food each month.  Per the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for a household of two persons the average monthly food expenditure is $496.50 and for a household of three persons the amount is $608.08.  These amounts are from the BLS 2010 Consumer Expenditure Survey, the most recent report available.  For additional information see the BLS website.

We have three people in our household, but since Eva is a baby I decided to use an amount between the figures for 2 and 3 person households.  Our budget for the 4 week period will be $550, $137.50 per week.

I'll be recording our purchases and the per unit cost, as well as other data on this online spreadsheet.  Hopefully this data will be handy if you're interested in comparing the costs at the markets to those in your local grocery store.

If you have a farmers market in your area check it out this weekend.  You might be happily surprised by the prices you'll find there, and it's a great opportunity to support your neighbors and local economy.  

Thanks to the Little Italy Mercato and Horton Plaza Farmers Markets and if you live in San Diego I highly recommend both of these markets as resources for fresh, healthy food and friendly, informative producers.

Yum!

Food Choices & Purchases

As I learn more about the environment and related issues the more I realize how connected the many parts of our lives are.  One area I have been reading on and learning more about lately is food and agriculture.  In my efforts to live in a more Earth-friendly way I have been trying to reduce packaged and processed foods from our diet.  This began because I simply wanted to reduce the amount of packaging we were recycling or throwing away.  I've tried to replace these items with unpackaged produce and bulk bin purchases for which I can use my own bags and avoid packaging waste.

An added benefit of purchasing unprocessed, packaged foods and produce has been that I've learned a lot about cooking and how to use these items in various dishes, and about the effects that different foods have on our bodies.  There are many, many foods in the world and I'm just beginning to learn about them but even in a short amount of time I feel that my worldview of food and food production has been greatly changed.  In addition to the culinary uses and health effects of food, I've also learned a bit about the impact that different farming methods and products have on the environment, and directly or indirectly our health as well.

Some things that are of import to Americans I wanted to share, since it seems that we often think that eating more healthy or more organic is prohibitively expensive.  I certainly thought this way but have found that eating more healthy has been a minimal increase in cost, if any increase at all.

1. We spend a far smaller amount of our income on food today than in the past
1. In total, Americans today spend 15.3% of our income on food, compared to 40% that we spent in 1949.  In other words, if we paid about 3 times the price we currently pay for food we would be paying a comparable amount to what our grandparents paid for food.
2. Compared to other countries we spend very little of our budget on food purchases
1. For the average American household, food accounts for about 6% of all our purchases during the year.  (This differs from the 15.3% above because that figured is in total and the 6% is calculating food expenditures on an average household basis.) The US has the 12th highest GDP per capita in the world, $48,100 per year.  
2. Compare this percentage of income to a much poorer country like South Africa, which has the 105th highest GDP per capita, $11,000 per year, but where food accounts for 20% of purchases.  Or India, where food accounts for 35% of expenses and the GDP per capita is $3,700 a year - 163rd globally.
3. In fact, the US spends the smallest percentage of income on food of any country in the world, while being one of the most wealthy countries.  Although it makes sense that food is a somewhat fixed costs in terms of quantity (a person can only eat a limited amount of food) it is telling that our food costs are about half of an average European country which have similarly high income per capita.  For example, Norway has a higher GDP per capita, $53,300 (8th highest globally), but spends 11% of their budget on food.
3. The percentage of our population that is obese continues to increase
   As of 2009-2010, over one third (35.7%) of American adults are obese.
   

Although these figures vary somewhat between different studies and sources the overall picture is clear. We spend very little of our income on food purchases, and our health continues to be severely damaged by preventable diseases related to obesity (heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer).

In the future I plan to write more about food and how we are trying to improve our eating habits. Food and health are complex issues with many variables to consider, but eating more unprocessed foods is a simple first step to better health that has been enjoyable for us so far.

 to Honeycrisp

Switching from Golden Crisp . . .

Reusable Containers at the Seafood / Meat Counter

Last week I finally got rid of my last use of plastic bags at the grocery store - for purchasing seafood.  In previous posts I noted how we eliminated trash bags, plastic shopping bags, and plastic produce bags.  Big thanks to Sprouts Market for the help in cutting the cord on ending this disposable habit.  If you have a Sprouts in your area I highly recommend them for their great selection of produce, bulk items, and organic products.

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Commentary:

A couple of years ago Amelia purchased a set of glass containers to use for packing lunches for work.  I had an old set that were plastic, but we were in the process of reducing the use of plastic in our home (especially in the kitchen) and wanted something that worked better.  The plastic set had become discolored over time and had picked up some smells from past uses.  We've had the glass set for over two years and they have been awesome.  Easy to clean, haven't retained any odor or colors, and have a snap-lock lid that seals really well.  Other than washing in the sink as with other dishes, the only extra cleaning step has been to boil the lids every 6 months or so since they are a bit harder to clean in the lid grooves.

Makin it happen - one fish at a time

I'd been encouraged by how easy it was to stop our use of disposable grocery and produce bags while shopping but had been stuck on how to end our use of the paper and plastic wrappings for our seafood purchases.  Then a few months ago I read about using containers at the meat counter and was excited to give it a try.  I took in our largest size glass container (about a half-gallon size) and asked the gentleman behind the counter if I could use it to make a purchase of 1 pound of haddock.  He responded that was no problem and put the container on the scale to measure the empty weight, then added my fish and totaled the cost.  He even cut the 1 pound into four smaller portions so it was ready for cooking without additional prep.  I asked if a lot of people brought in their own containers and he said I was the first in over a year he'd worked there.  So I suppose that's not very encouraging but maybe I can start a trend.  (Hint, hint . . .)

It was really easy and quick to use my container, and my car (and trash can) didn't pick up the smell from the fish and wrappings.  I take Eva to the San Diego Zoo on the way home from the weekly grocery trip since it's on the way home, so this could sometimes be an issue depending on how warm the day was and my particular selection.

As always, I'm excited to make our lives a little less disposable and do our little part to help make the planet a little greener.

Suggested action steps:

1)  Purchase a set of glass containers with tight, snap-lock lids

2)  Put one or two with your reusable grocery and produce bags in bicycle basket or vehicle trunk

3)  At grocery store, ask seafood / meat counter attendant to place your order in your container

4)  Enjoy the lack of odor in refrigerator, ease of cleaning, and reduced impact on the environment

In related news: 

Solana Beach became the first city in San Diego County to pass a plastic bag ban with a unanimous City Council vote on April 25, 2012. Cheers on helping to reduce the 100 billion plastic bags (Wall Street Journal estimate) Americans produce every year, many of which end up in the oceans.  Please consider supporting similar measures in your community to make our country and planet a more healthy place to live.

After all, if Rwanda has had a national plastic bag ban for years already can't we make a similar effort with our ample resources?