I have to admit, I look at this challenge and go "There's no way I could do that." But then, when I really think about it, could I do it? We have a really good farmer's market that is downtown, somewhat close to where I work but not at all close to where I live. I could get all my veggies and fruits there. I think I could even get butter. I know there's a butcher there as well, which I would assume is all local meat but would have to check it out to know for sure.
The most recent Change the World Wednesday revolved around eating locally. I updated it not too long ago talking about how I've switched to buying the milk I drink from a company that is somewhat local, Oberweis Dairy. They are as local as I think I would get. I also mentioned a grocery store called Local Harvest that sells items grown/produced locally. While that would still be a grocery store, the items would be local so I think that would have to count right? I suppose I could get meat only at Whole Foods, where you can look on their website and see where your meat is coming from (I know the beef they sell in the store I shop at does come from Missouri).
It looks like I have the means to buy most stuff locally, without stepping foot in a traditional grocery store. One thing I know would be a problem would be all the nuts that I eat. I eat trail mix at least 5 days of the week. Where in the world would I get nuts? If I'm not buying it from a local store I would be ordering it online, which defeats the purpose in my opinion.
Hmm..It seems like I need to seriously look into this. It seems like I would need to change some of my shopping habits, going out on my lunch break to shop at the farmer's market for fresh fruit and produce would be one.
What about you? Give this some thought, then let me know, do you think you could do this? If you don't think you could get away from the grocery store 100%, do you think there's a way you could make some changes to not visit as often?
i must say, the more i garden and then can/freeze my stuff, the less i need to go to the grocery store. however i buy foods in the bulk aisle so not quite sure how to get away from a grocery store for dry goods like rice and flour and spices. but staying away from processed stuff? nice :)
ReplyDeleteExactly EcoGirl, I think getting away from the dry goods would be hard. I'm planning to at least attempt growing tomatoes this summer though, we tend to use a lot of tomato sauce and I have to feel that I could make my own with home grown tomatoes.
ReplyDeleteWe have a great farmer's market and, for the most part, we can pick up a lot of what we eat there. Some items however, like flour which isn't produced here, means a trip to the store. We make all of our own bread so it's not an ingredient I want to give up. I don't think I could completely give up the grocery store but I'll certainly be looking for alternate opportunities.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Thanks!
Small Footprints - I attempted to make our own bread, but Husband prefers store bought bread. I don't get that one. So I buy sandwich bread. I tend not to eat a lot of sandwich bread myself. We do eat rolls with dinner every night, but I do make this from scratch.
ReplyDelete