What is Affordable?

Winter is fast approaching and farmer's markets in the north are beginning to dwindle.  Gardens are beginning to freeze and will soon be swept under blankets of snow.  Community garden centers, who offer seasonal produce, will soon only have kale and potatoes on their roster.  If you live in the south your available produce may be greater in numbers and longer in season, but winter crops are volatile and greatly supported by the global, or at least, continental market.  Supply and demand, subsidies and season all effect the price of food (another post completely), and, for some, seeking out farmer's markets to shop for daily goods is an expense that cannot be made.

The alternative to fresh food is processed impostors.  Let's take Mac n Cheese, a classic American favorite, to the table.  Where authentic whole grain pasta can run between $3 and $4 a pound, Prince pasta (enriched) runs between a buck and a buck and a half.  Where real cheddar cheese can run between $4 and $6 dollars a pound, Velveeta is half that and has coupons to boot.  So if you want Mac n' Cheese for dinner you might spend between $12 and $16 dollars on great, wholesome ingredients or you might spend $9 or $10 on more processed alternatives, or you might just buy 3 boxes of Kraft and spend $4.  Food companies make it very easy for us to afford a greater amount in processed alternatives, but the cost is much greater than that.

Let's go back to the beginning of my investigation for a moment:  You are what you eat; Let food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food.  If food is the foundation of health and if you choose the food you eat, then it is a reasonable idea that you choose your health.  Your body can only make the things your body can make, but without the right food, the right nutrients, the right fats, the right minerals, the right fuel, your body will fail at even it's basic functions.

If you choose whole wheat pasta and aged cheese made from good quality milk taken from a grass fed cow, when you make your mac n' cheese you're adding wholesome calcium, complex carbohydrates, good protein, lasting fuel and needed calories to your body.  Pairing it with a steamed organic vegetable or crisp salad can fortify the meal with plentiful vitamins, photochemical and antioxidants.  If you choose the box you get chemically made cheese, enriched, processed pasta, chemical or synthetic vitamins, very little fuel, simple carbohydrates, a few more dollars in your wallet, and hunger soon to follow.

Does this answer the question?  Where can Affordable food be found?  No.  Maybe I need to take another approach.  Until I figure out how to illuminate affordability in five paragraphs or less I will just encourage you to eat real, naturally occurring food.  While you plan your meals against your budget, calm yourself with cool, clean water.  Remember to give your vitamins their vitamins, and, as always, remember to wash your hands.  Bear with me and my passion, dear reader, for affordability does not only apply to the grocery cart~

Anna~