First Month Report

A month of local eating has gone by.  Except for weekends, our eating routine has not changed much.  I'm still making meals similar to before we starting eating local, I'm just finding ways to encorporate local food into those recipes.  On weekends we have spent more time preparing food, like making pasta, crackers, bread and cheese.  However, it's very rewarding to make those foods and to know exactly what's in them, and that there are no chemicals or preservatives.  The amount that we spent on food was only a few dollars higher than it would be if we were trying to live on food stamps.  We spent $89 a week, and $5.98 per person per day (for food stamps it's $80.6 per week or $5.75 per person per day).  However, some of this cost will contribute to food that is now frozen and that we will eat come winter, so over a year that cost should go down.  I am concerned that we are not putting enough food away for the winter, especially fruits.  Hopefully in the near future we will start freezing and canning berries, cherries, peaches, and applesauce.