We live on a family income of less than $35,000 annually and manage to eat very locally and organically.

I have to hand it to Cyndi for a great response above. Although we scrimp and save anyway we can the last thing we would do is sacrifice our own health and the health of our children.

The kids eat everything we put on the table. We purchase our meats from 3 local producers (no middle man) and we grow a large portion of veggies (thanks to and almost year-round growing climate on our little island).

Before cutting back on ‘fuel for your engines’ I would recommend people start to look at other ways to reduce their monthly output of cash so you can increase your monthly intake of fresh, local and fabulous food.

WiseMóna

Also, in the past, we’ve made deals with farmers at farmers markets. We’ve taken whatever they don’t sell at the end of the day and helped preserve it. We give half of the preserved produce back to them and keep the other half for ourselves. It works for everyone (the farmers are often so busy, they don’t have tons of time to deal with left overs of certain bumper crops).

Eating seasonally is a great way to eat cheaply. I never buy fruit out of season because in season it is so cheap, plentiful, and good!

Root vegetables are dirt cheap (excuse the pun) and organic versions are often not that much more expensive. They are also satisfying raw or roasted or baked, depending on season.

Keeping an adequately stocked pantry is also important, as is planning. Dried beans are way cheaper than canned, but if you’re short on time, canned can be so much less stressful. Advance planning takes time, but makes things easier. If you want to buy meat or veggies in bulk and freeze them, you need to take them out of the freezer the night before so that they are adequately defrosted. Ditto soaking beans overnight, as well as some grains.

Cooking in bulk is another great way to bring down the per-person cost. Soup is a good example of this. A pound of meat can be stretched with grains and vegetables into 10 servings instead of 4.

Having a crock pot or slow cooker (I’ve heard the older the pot the better, as it can cook at lower temps than new health safety rules allow) can also really help, especially if you are short on time. Cheap cuts of pork or chicken can be turned into barbecue or soup and cheap cuts of beef can be turned into amazing french dip sandwiches or shredded taco beef.

I live in a teensy apartment right now but will be moving into a house next month that can hold a chest freezer, so I’m hoping to take Cyndi’s advice and buy my side of grass-fed beef and freeze it.

One more thing – there are websites in local areas where people who have excess fruit and veggies (think bumper crops on backyard fruit trees or planting way too many zucchini) and want to get rid of it. Sometimes they trade, sometimes it’s free! Urban foraging is another way to score fresh, local, free food.

Okay, here’s my favorite cheap, no-meat recipe:

Mexican Skillet Dish:

1 can Goya Organic black beans – $1.25
1 can Price Chopper brand chopped tomatoes – $0.79
1/2 bag 365 Organic frozen corn – $0.75
1 box Zatarain’s Spanish Rice – $1.99
1 tub Friendship sour cream – $1.99
1/2 block shredded cheddar cheese – $1.25

In a large skillet (14″) or stockpot, follow directions on back of rice box (I skip the olive oil/butter) and add all ingredients but sour cream. Cook until rice is tender and liquid is mostly evaporated, stirring occasionally. Serve topped with cheese and/or sour cream. Serves 6 people as a main dish.

Total cost:$8.02. Cost per person: $1.33. And that’s including both cheese AND sour cream. I usually just do sour cream. AND, that’s using the more expensive organic corn and beans. Although they’re really not that much more expensive.

Anyway, good luck in your endeavors!

We can’t keep buying into their reasoning. Food should be affordable. That is not the same as cheap.

The link you provided says the average amount spent on food in the US per family is $6122. Assuming a family of 4 and 3 meals a day, that’s $1.40/per person per meal, not the $1.25 you cite. If you just look at Boston, it would be $6700/year and $1.53/per person per meal. But if you assume a family has an annual income of $44,100 and they spend the national average of 12.4% on food, that’s $5468/year and you get your $1.25/per person per meal.

This isn’t enough. Unless you are supplementing your food somewhere, you need to spend more. Supplementation isn’t hard. School lunches are cheap or sometimes free and give more to spend on meals at home (if you can find not dreadful ones). A lot of people have gardens, or friends with gardens, and can cut out paying for some of the pricier items that make wonderful meals, like herbs and very fresh veggies. There’s also no reason to pay retail for everything. If you eat meat and have a freezer, get half a cow once a year, produced locally and on grass. Go to farmer’s markets and get seconds (be prepared to process that day or the next)…I often get about-to-go-off fruit or overripe tomatoes, which I turn into sauces and ice cream and a whole lot of stuff that costs a lot to buy.

But the main thing is to prioritize. Spend more money on food. Spend less on other things. Obviously some people do not have this option no matter how much they tweek their budget. But 12.4% of your income on food is tiny and unreasonable. If you don’t spend it on food, you will spend it later on healthcare.