Do You Shop For Food or Groceries? Vol 1
Happy New Year!
Whew!!!! 2021 is off to a hell of a start!
Back in September 2020, I created a First Responders Meal Gifting program where anyone in the world could purchase meals from my website to feed first responders/essential workers in the greater Atlanta area. Meals could be purchased in quantities of 25, 50 or 100. So far, this program has delivered over 325 meals! Thank you to everyone that continues to sow into my business and make this meal gifting program possible. The recipients were beyond grateful!
In mid-December I was in a Twitter conversation with a stranger about my comment on hourly wage workers/lower income employees and their habits, specifically as it relates to food purchasing. I was chastised for believing folks who don’t have the best paying jobs could still afford to eat quality food at home. When I saw their response, I replied back with a few images from the First Responders Meal Gifting program and broke down the per person meal cost. Here I am thinking I’m sharing some amazing news but boy was I wrong! Listen, Twitter folks came after me and suggested I was being insensitive to those who are struggling and was too far removed from “common folks” to understand the plight of people living in food deserts.
Let’s touch on food deserts and food banks because they are running out of food to help those in need! When the pandemic hit in 2020 people lost their jobs causing them to have to make life altering decisions on eating or paying rent. Food banks distribute boxes of groceries to those in need. Now the demand for help has become so overwhelming that they cannot keep up with everyone in need. Grocery stores are supposed to be the place where people in the neighborhood can go shop for quality food. However, if you live in a food desert, the likelihood of you having a local grocery store is SLIM! And, guess what has become the primary food source in place of a grocery store? FAST FOOD!
I live in the largest county in the state of Georgia, in a rural area. In this area people live on acreage and in sub-divisions, most importantly - public transportation is not available. The closest grocery store or fast food restaurant to my house is four miles away. I’m providing this information because I want you to understand that, by definition, I LIVE IN A FOOD DESERT.
Now, let me share with you the blog series I’m creating by asking if you shop for food or for groceries? I define groceries as being anything that is uncooked in a grocery store and food as already prepared items from a grocery store, fast food restaurant or convenience store. On the second and fourth Sunday of each month, I will delve into this topic and share my take on how our society can overcome our food dependence and get back to buying groceries. I get it, groceries can be expensive, however, I’m here to show you that you can eat economically and feed a family of four, five to six complete meals, on a limited budget.
This week, I accomplished this task. I spent $27.38 and created five quality meals for a family of four: smothered pork shoulder steaks, baked chicken, chicken noodle soup, ground turkey spaghetti, rice, mashed potatoes, veggie medley, sautéed cabbage, and a breakfast casserole. So what did I do? I looked through weekly ads for grocery stores near my house and compared prices to determine the best location to shop. Just to be clear, I was shopping for items on sale that included poultry, pork, seafood, vegetables and fruits. I was determined to stay under the $30 budget I have allotted per shopping trip. The assumption is that you have the basics: flour, sugar, spices, butter and oil. If you do not have these items, I encourage you to visit your local Dollar Tree and spend $5 each week adding the basics to your pantry.
Future blogs will include recipes. I look forward to sharing the amazing meals I am able to create with a limited budget for groceries!
