Day 1 - Grocery Shopping
$67.35 spent - 7 meals, 7 lunches, countless snacks
The cost difference between items I bought at Wal-Mart and the same items I bought at the local grocery store:
0.29 more for a can of baked beans
1.95 more for cat food (and is only available in the smaller, less economic size)
0.36 more for hot dogs (unable to find local, though there was local sausage and ring bologna)
0.03 more for gound beef (actually found local - very happy!)
0.01 more for baby carrots
0.14 more per pound for apples
0.19 less per pound for pears
0.13 more for milk
0.16 more for canned soup
0.01 less for Mandarin oranges
0.02 less for ham
0.21 less per pound for bananas
0.14 more for eggs
Overall, an extra $2.78 (at one pound each for fruit) investment in local purchasing. Not too shabby. I'm also happy that I found "local" flour and beef. I couldn't find local dairy products, though, and would love to.
And, finally, just a quick note on why I'm doing this:
1. I believe buying from local businesses is better for the local economy.
2. I believe that buying food that is produced locally (to the extent I can easily, anyway) is better for the environment.
3. I know that Wal-Mart and McDonald's are our biggest budget and diet busters. Even if they are cheaper, they both tempt us into excess spending/eating, and that's not a direction I need to go! And, even at the higher prices, this has been my cheapest shopping trip in awhile, mostly because there aren't things like clothes or earrings or whatever added in.
Friday, November 2, 2007
NoLoBuMo
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6 comments:
What grocery store are you going to? Because most grocery stores aren't really local, just not MEGA corporations like W*Mart.
I don't think I could shop locally if I wanted to- my only options are other chains.
This is literally, actually, a grocery store owned by (and named after) a real-live family in town. It's a huge store, it's a supermarket, for sure, but it is local.
I would have 1 grocery store to shop at that is owned by a local family that owns 3 stores total in this county. They are pretty over priced though. My other choices would be a regional grocery store but that is still a pretty big chain OR I could shop a a little store woned by a local dairy farm that was meant just to sell their milk and ice cream but has turned into a small grocery store. I would have to drive 25 minutes to get there though. I think you did a great job at shopping for the week. You had a fairly low total bill for shopping local. Way to go!! I would love to see your menu on that budget! Maybe you could help others! Thanks for sharing! Carol
I get frustrated because even the produce stands sell food from afar (Pineapples and avocados do not grow in South Carolina!)
Luckily, our state started a new campaign for 'Buy SC' and stores have started putting stickers on locally grown produce.
Thank you for taking the time for doing that illustration. I dislike having to shop at Wal-mart and plan on doing the same thing to see just how much more I would spend locally.
Hey -- I get some of our food (not all) at a local food co-op and I know you can search for co-ops in the U.S. online at http://www.coopdirectory.org/. Also, I get our meat from a local farmer -- beef and chicken. Not organic, but free of preservatives and other additives. And, it's less expensive than the supermarket. You can search online for farms near you at the Local Harvest website -- http://www.localharvest.org/.
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