So February is going to be the month of considering the subject of food. What are necessities, how far do I go and how can I save on food? Where do I start? There is so much advice out there - in books, newspapers, t.v. documentaries etc.
One style of living that has caught my attention lately is that of the "freegans". These are people who live for free or as close as possible to that. This can mean free accommodation, not using electricity or any kind of power that needs to be paid for, and free food. From what I have discovered so far, this is a movement of people rebelling against the materialistic lifestyle in the West today and make their views known by living without spending money as much as possible.
But the main part of freeganism seems to relate to obtaining food for free. From what I understand, Freegans could buy food if they wish - these people are not homeless, but feel strongly that so much food is wasted and that one way to prove this is to live solely off food that is thrown out - especially from restaurants and supermarkets. So perhaps I should become a freegan for a year! I don't think I am quite ready to go that far, but I would like to be as self-sufficient as possible. I do admire the Freegans but I can't see how it fits in with working regular hours and looking after 3 children. I am busy enough as it is - when would I have time to scour the bins! I imagine, this is work to be done late at night or early morning when restaurants and shops are clearing food that is out of date or simply unwanted but actually perfectly good to eat!
At the other end of the spectrum are people that get carried away with supermarket shopping and could quite easily make savings without much effort (in my opinion!) I saw a documentary series the other week called "super scrimpers" - very apt for the times. One family featured on the episode I saw spent £200 a week for a family of five. We are a family of five too and spend about half of that and I think we could save more on food. This family were set a challenge of making a whole week of main meals from £50 - they did manage it but I got the feeling, although they may continue to save on their originally spending figures, they found it hard and would be spending at least a little bit more the next week!
We have a box of organic fruit and veg every week and change the type of box depending on our needs that week. This comes from local farms as far as possible and where that is not possible, produce is shipped from abroad - rather than flown which cuts down on the energy used to bring the food to our door. The rest of our food mainly comes from a supermarket delivery once every two weeks and is then supplemented as we go along when needed, eg. for milk etc. We don't eat meat and we do care about where our food comes from, and so as far as possible get food in season, and buy organic and free range produce. So I will spend the next few weeks experimenting on how we can reduce our spending on food within those parameters. This week, I will not buy any snacks and will prepare all my meals at home - so packed lunch for tomorrow. After a special post on Valentines Day coming soon, I will have a week of making a week of main meals on £50 and keep you posted of my efforts.
Bye for now.
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