How far does $100 go?

So, what are we eating from our envelope of cash? So far, we're attempting to make $100/week feed a family of four on real food, and it looks like the split is about $50/wk on meat and dairy products and about $50/wk on fresh produce.  Both of those numbers shift around a little to make room for toilet paper, grains and sugar, but the extras aren't weekly purchases. By real food, I mean foods that are minimally processed, and generally local, and as organic as possible. For instance, we get raw whole cow's milk directly from a farmer, pastured eggs, poultry, pork and some beef, as well as apple juice directly from Polyface, whole milk yogurt with no sugar added from Nice Farms Creamery, pastured eggs from Triple J and eggs, beef and turkey from Cedar Run. We get most of our fresh veggies from a retired engineer a couple of miles down the road who grows enough for his family and a roadside stand. We get a lot of fruits from him and the local farmers markets, but as we get into fall, I'm regretting not having found a way to preserve fruits throughout the summer. We're able to make butter, cheese and lard at home from the milk and meat we buy directly from farms. I still get grains and sugar from the store--various flours, corn meal, rice, and pasta. But, I try to cook with whole grains and minimize my use of white flour and refined sugar. What we're not able to fit in with all this wholesome food for only $100 is eating out or eating any prepared foods. We've done almost none of that since we started, but with all the family dinners, I almost don't miss eating out. Almost :)

One bummer is that our deep freeze quit on us about a month ago, so our ability to store up for later has been altered. I've since secured a dehydrator from the thrift store, and a canner from my mom, and we've put up some veggies and broth. I'm looking forward to making some fruit leather this week.

I have definitely been taking baby steps in switching to local foods, and I didn't start out trying to do that, but I've just realized in the last few weeks that we hardly ever go to a grocery store anymore. And that has me thinking about the things we do go to the store for, and whether they are necessary or beneficial. For instance, we spent some of our entertainment budget on some chocolate covered raisins from the drug store. I'm not talking about anything fair trade or organic. I'm talking about cheap generic chocolate covered raisins full of preservatives. They were yummy. And I'm not sure what I think about my chocolate fix--it's not like there's anyone in the MidAtlantic region growing cacao! My point is simply that I'm doing what I can to support sustainable farming practices and reduce the footprint of my food, but I'm not feeling legalistic or guilty about it. I'm just making changes where I can find them, and the more I find, the more I find.