Comments on: Food budgeting

By: Mrs Green

Mrs Green — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 06:54:24 +0000

@Lauren @ Hobo Mama: Home preservation is a great way to reduce both carbon footprint and expenses. I’ve just written an inspiring story about a family who set themselves a challenge to live on £10 for a week; it was amazing what they did, but yes, they ended up eating pretty much refined carbs - ethical and nutritious choices was not an option

By: Lauren @ Hobo Mama

Lauren @ Hobo Mama — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 06:17:35 +0000

I imagine you could spend less if you grew more of your own food and then canned or froze extra for use in the winter, and that would all be green. Of course, this is dependent on having land as well as the time and resources to grow and preserve food.

I know when we were at our poorest (well, so far!), we had to stop prioritizing food, and it was sad. We would buy the cheapest of everything we could find, and lived on one type of pasta (expired, bought for pennies at a discount shop) for about six months. Buying fresh fruits and veggies was out of our price range, to say nothing of organic produce.

Now that we have some more money, I’ve had to remind myself not to feel guilty spending money on good food. Because I agree with you that it’s so worth it.

By: Mrs Green

Mrs Green — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 06:42:34 +0000

@Ethnic Natural Skin Care: Hi Thanks for your comment. Yes, I too would find it impossible, but I guess anything’s possible if your budget is extremely limited… I guess writing about this challenge bought it home to me how lucky I am

By: Ethnic Natural Skin Care

Ethnic Natural Skin Care — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 22:38:44 +0000

$25 per person? I guess if I did that on a regular, I’d be thin as I need to be! That’s about $3 a day. I’d be eating Ramen Noodles

By: Mrs Green

Mrs Green — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 08:17:29 +0000

@Small Footprints: Good to hear! I’m never sure how much people get in different countries.
Thanks for your comment; like most things in life there is no one answer and it’s great that you challenged me to think about this - thank you so much!

By: Small Footprints

Small Footprints — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 18:11:54 +0000

Wow … I think that you got a lot of food for the money … and truthfully, I don’t know if I could beat it.

I do think that reducing one’s food budget can be a green choice if all green-living precepts are followed … and if health is also a factor. In other words, if we reduce our budget only to buy processed foods … then it isn’t green or healthy. But if we make smart choices and only buy local, organic, non-processed foods … and only buy what we need … then reducing may be green. Most people buy and consume way more than their bodies need so, in those cases, reducing can be both healthy & green. On the other hand, there are people who have already adjusted their food intake for maximum health (both personal and environmental) … and for those people, reducing food budgets isn’t necessary.

Wonderful post, Ms. Green … it got me thinking!