Saturday, June 20, 2009

Supporting Local Businesses

I had a chance to drive out to Yoder without the kids this week. I had a great time all by myself going to the dairy, the bulk food store, and one of my favorite restaurants, Carriage Crossing. Due to the fact that I shopped at locally owned stores I was not able to use any coupons so my totals are a bit higher then usual, but I was able to get locally produced, homemade, and organic food for my family. Yes, if you were wondering those are a couple of bags of candy and some white pastry flour. I don't always buy these items, but I decided to get the kids a bit of a treat (hopefully to be used as some potty training tools as well.) I also picked up the pastry flour because I like to sometimes use a small amount in breads and tortillas for when I have to cook for extended family members who do not like whole grains.

If there is anyone who lives near me I am wanting to find a small group of people who would be willing to start a rotation picking up milk once a month. I reset my trip meter when I started out, and it was an 80 mile round trip. If I could get 4-5 individuals who would be willing to drive we each could have fresh milk weekly, but only drive once a month.

Here is what I picked up....

Borntrager Dairy-
3 gallons of raw milk $2.50/ gallon (I got 3 this week to make ice cream)
1 1/4 pound raw, homemade cheddar $5.60
1 dozen fresh eggs $1.50
Total $14.60

Yoder Bulk Foods-
Pastry flour
2 small bags of candy
1 small bag dried veggie chips
sea salt
celery salt
garlic salt
raw peanuts
pistachios
Total $14.40

Since I was in Yoder I decided to stop into Carriage Crossing for a cinnamon roll. They are usually large, but this had to be the biggest one I have ever seen. That take home box is one of the large ones that they usually put a full meal in. That is my 4 year olds hand. My husband was watching me post this picture and said, "Oh yeah, that looks like some natural food!" Well, like I said sometimes it is OK to have a treat. This treat fed us for breakfast twice combined with some fresh berries and raw milk.
Total for the cinnamon roll and a book for Madison $4.02! The roll was only around $1.30.
Posted by Lorrie at 5:23 AM
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3 comments:

  1. That's so great that you're able to feed your family organic food on a budget! Looks like you got some great deals! $2.50 is cheaper than I paid for a gallon of non-organic milk at the grocery store last week!
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  2. I just found your blog last week and it's my new favorite. I'm trying to move my family farther along the whole foods path. Currently, we're on the Feingold Diet and staying away from as many fake foods as we can.

    I was disappointed to find out that raw milk is illegal to sell in Virginia. There are two dairy farms nearby who will allow you to buy a share of a cow ($100 plus monthly upkeep expenses) and receive a gallon of milk per week for each share. It worked out to nearly $10 a gallon for raw milk. It's not in my budget and I'm so jealous of your great milk prices.

    Your blog has been a godsend. Thank you!
    Lori
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  3. For many of us the costs of buying organic would be prohibitive as individuals, but as a group, buying in huge bulk directly from local producers and distributors, the prices are very attractive. We've been doing this for a few years now. Any community can do it - no community meetings or physical store necessary. Solitary is not the best way to save.
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