I spent this last long weekend up in Vermont near Mount Snow Ski Resort. While everyone got pounded with two feet of snow down here, we didn't get a flake up north. It seems I won't be so lucky with this next wintery batch churning its way towards us as I type.
Whenever possible, I like to check out the local bookstore of wherever I'm vacationing and bring home a little paperback reminder of the place. This time I went to Bartleby's Books in Wilmington. The town of Wilmington was a cute, little town with its own brewpub, bakery and old time general store. Needless to say, we left the mountains of Vermont with plenty of maple syrup (gifts for friends) and a thick slab of homemade Vermont cheddar freshly cut off the cheese wheel at the general store.
I also bought myself a food-related book at Bartleby's--Sustainable Food: How to Buy Right and Spend Less by Elise McDonough. It's a cute, purse-sized book. While it's not the best food book I've ever read, it's been interesting enough so far. It's full of helpful tips on what to do when you wish to make food choices that are both good for you and your family, as well as Mother Nature.
Here are some do-able money and eco-saving tips, as proposed by Elise McDonough:
1. BYOB (Bring Your Own Bags and Bottles): Stash canvas totes in your car, bicycle basket or on doorknobs around the house to remind you to bring them along whenever you head to the store.
One year's worth of plastic bottles, manufactured solely to hold water, uses up 1.5 million barrels of oil. Instead, purchase a water filtration system for your home and use it to fill reusable, stainless steel water bottles.
2. Consider Unit Pricing: Look on grocery shelves for a sticker listing a product's unit price, which reveals the price per pound, quart or fluid ounce of an item and thus allows you to easily compare prices by weight, no matter what the brand or package size.
3. Know Your PLU Codes: Those pesky stickers attached to fruits and vegetables contain some valuable information for those who know how to decipher them. Four-digit "Product Look-Up" codes denote conventional produce, while a five-digit code, beginning with the number 8 means that the produce in question has been genetically modified. A five-digit code beginning with the number 9 means the produce is organic.
4. Your Local Farmers Market: Farmers markets bring you closer to your community, enables families to stay on their land and helps conserve open space, in addition to providing you with the freshest food. And you're in luck, there are more than 4,300 markets operating in the U.S. today.
5. Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA): Participating in a CSA means you'll receive a weekly delivery of locally grown produce direct from the farm in exchange for pre-season "seed money." Sometimes you may be asked to contribute hours of work as part of your share.
6. Grow Your Own: Starting your own garden gives you an opportunity to grow your own organic vegetables, fruits and herbs at a fraction of the cost, eliminating shipping and storage that contributes to the industrial food system's large "carbon footprint." The freshest, most local and most affordable produce can come from your own backyard, deck or patio. Apartment dwellers can use window boxes.
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