Eat Local Update

So how are we doing? Has being involved in the Greener, Faster Challenge changed our behavior?

Our first month goal was to buy more local and organic
We spent $739 on food of which $521 was local or organic.

We got much of our food from our CSA farm ( community supported agriculture) and the farmer's market. Our goal was 90%..which we didn't make but we did increase our local/organic purchasing.

Ben was reading our cereal box at the table the other day listing all the organic ingredients. When Ben and Nate went shopping on their own..they came back with local and organic ( with no prompts from parents)

When we are in town, our new Saturday lunch tradition is Thyme bread from Stella's, goat cheese from Dream Farm, and apples from the gentle apple man. All from the west side farmers market. ( the gentle apple man is our family name for the man we buy apples from..because he carefully and gently picks out each apple for you. You can't be in a rush when you buy from him..but boy you get the best apples.)

So have we changed our purchasing behavior....a big yes.
Pros
-we eat and shop more intentionally
-we are all much more aware of where our food comes from
-our food dollars are supporting our values
-we have discovered some fun local foods ( we had a great time discovering how many local food Brennans' carries...and if you like taste tests...Brennan's beats Whole Foods. You can eat a meal while shopping at Brennan's ..and it is a good meal)

Cons
- We spend more money on food
-We are spending more time shopping ( this may get better as we get better at knowing where to buy what)


Photo source: Vermont Valley Farm ( our CSA)