The month of August is coming to a close, the end of the Buy Local Challenge and I feel torn. Our refrigerator and pantry was bare by the end of this month, which was eye opening to me, and frustrating for the kids. In reality, why should we have so much food stock piled? Why not just eat fresh and local as much as possible? Yes, I would love to be able to do that daily, weekly monthly, yearly, but my realistic schedule does not allow for that completely. With working multiple jobs, and taking care of the home and kids, it is difficult to drive to many different markets to get the essentials. When I walk back into a grocery store though, I will pay more attention to what I buy. My goal for the next couple months is to continue to buy produce from the Farmers Markets, meat from either Greenbranch Farms or Farmers Market, and treat myself to baked goodies from Baked Dessert Cafe. Along with that, I will be challenging myself to stick to the outer circle of the grocery store, paying attention to the point of origin for products, as well as the ingredients.
This past week, preparing for the hurricane to strike, I baked peach bread, pumpkin muffins, home made ranch dressing and home made BBQ sauce. Why do I need to buy a bottle of something that my kids love to put on everything and not even being able to understand the ingredients, when I can make my own! Besides the home made versions were MUCH better tasting. So just because the month of August is over, I will be continuing to cover local businesses and products as much as possible, and supporting our local economy is going to be best for all of us in the end.