A Farmer's Guide to Grocery Shopping

My recent haul from my neighbours farm: 70 lbs of storage onions & 75 lbs of wine grapes - all organic and all for only a hundred bucks.

I am on a mission. A mission to do the bulk of my "grocery" shopping before frost sets in . . . Not my grocery shopping for the week or the month, but for the winter, and eventually, the year.

Our customers always comment that we must never have to buy groceries - we might get there one day, but with two wee babes and a steep learning curve, we're not there yet!  So, in attempt to eat as close to home and as cleanly as possible, I've embarked on this quest to see what I can learn, who I can meet and what lovely things I can find to feed my family through the dark days of winter.

Here's how I'm doing it.

Take Stock

Take a realistic look at your diet. Can you simplify it? What do you really love to eat and cook? What are you likely to ACTUALLY eat and cook?

What do you have room for? Do you have a garage that could work as cold storage? Could you share bulk purchases with family and friends? Do you know how to can and preserve? How much room do you have in your freezer? Your space and storing ability will determine how long a period you can purchase for. Be creative. Even in an apartment with a balcony you can store a lot of food. (Better yet, barter with friends for freezer space!)

Figure out what you need. How many pounds of onions do you eat a week? Potatoes? Flour? 

Next, the fun part.

A Treasure Hunt of Sorts

“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.”                            -Roald Dahl

If you really want to eat well, inexpensively and locally, you have to be prepared to search in some pretty strange and unexpected places. 

Craigslist, of all things, is my go-to source for groceries. Yes, Craigslist. I know, it's weird. It's also wonderful. Check out the Farm & Garden section of the Abbotsford / Fraser Valley CL. Be amazed.

Go out into the world with a spirit of adventure - don't wait for good food to find you - ask! I've even posted want ads for specific foods and received a plethora of replies.

Look Under Your Nose

Last week I called every small local farm I could think of looking to buy about 100 pounds of storage onions. No one called me back. (What's with that!?)

A few days later a neighbour from up the road sauntered up the driveway - her organic wine grapes were ready for me to come pick - only 50 cents a pound! While I was there, she deftly up-sold me on her other goodies and guess what - she had storage onions, organic and a third of the price of any others I'd found. Done.

Ask around. Get to know your neighbours. I was always amazed to walk the alleys of East Van and see  just HOW MUCH food was growing in those backyards, hidden from view. Don't be afraid to barter and trade, it builds community and is ridiculously satisfying!

Learn to Preserve the Harvest

Apparently canning's the thing to do amongst the hipster crowd these days.  You don't need a beard and big glasses (oh wait, that's Jeff! But I'm pretty sure he doesn't know what a hipster is . . .) to preserve your own food. It's easy and cheap and requires little in the way of supplies.

Other than canning, there are lots of ways to put food by that are simple and effective. I rip the leaves off my beets, boil them in the biggest pot I have and bung them serving-sized freezer bags. When I want beets I don't have to boil them an hour, I just defrost them, rinse off the skins and hey-presto, supper.

There are lots of amazing blogs out there featuring traditional food preservation; drying, fermentation, cold-storage - and more and more are geared towards folks who don't have a barn with a million freezers.

Share

Let's face it, most of us wouldn't know what to do with an entire side of beef. But get together a couple of other families and suddenly you've broken down both the bill and the required freezer space, and scored organic pastured steaks for less than the price of feedlot burgers.

The biggest lesson I've learned since moving to the farm from the city is if we want to live this lifestyle and eat this way, we need a thriving community. We have to know our neighbours, eat with them, share, work together, barter and trade, watch each other's kids, pitch-in in each other's kitchens and gardens and let go of some of our notions of separateness, hyper-individuality and isolation. 

Neighbourhood farm kids at our rare-breed pork tasting to pick our hog breeds for the following year.

My Grocery Connections

Here's who I've bought groceries from so far this year:

• Veer Brothers Farms Uncertified organic wine grapes, storage onions, potatoes, garlic and more. Lovely family just around the corner from us. Wine grapes 50 cents a pound you-pick, $1 a pound harvested.  Phone : 604-625-0736
  
• Pastured Highland Beef Gorgeous grass-finished beef from just across the town line in the Bradner neighbourhood of Abbotsford. Small family farm. Last I heard they still have some cut and wrapped available. Calvin at Northridge Nurseries : 604-856-2928
• Hanfeld's Honey Unpasteurized, organic wildflower honey. The nicest old guy named Fred who reminded me so much of my late grandfather (also Fred), it hurt my heart. My son is very picky about his honey, and Fred's cut the mustard. Available in 30 pound buckets. Best price I've found for bulk in the neighbourhood. Phone : 604-856-8937
• Garside's Farm Organic orchard. So far we've tried their King and Boskoop apples and have another 100 pounds of Northern Spy on order. Located in Bradner as well. Phone: 604-556-4273 Website http://www.garsidesfarm.com/

Enjoy and happy shopping!