Grocery Store Chronicles: You and Your Food
When an adult hears the word grocery store usually they respond with a cringe and an underlying attitude about the rising prices, planning, frustrations and tedious effort that goes into grocery shopping. In modern days we’ve lost something so precious about the quality of food we expect for ourselves and our families. Genetically modified foods, corporate control, changing and questionable ingredients, rising prices and skyrocketing traveling distances from farm to table have left many shoppers feeling frustrated and overwhelmed about their options or lack thereof. We have places across the country with nothing but super centers and an array of grocery stores and other parts of the country with no fresh food and especially not locally sourced. These places are called food deserts. Food deserts are areas especially those with low-income residents that have limited access to affordable and nutritious food. Farmers like Francisco at Shady Grove Farm and Wellness Center in Peru, NY have worked hard to preserve fresh and affordable access to healthy, clean food that is sourced locally.
Shady Grove Farm is a local farm located in the town of Peru giving residents in the surrounding area, including Plattsburgh, to participate in their CSA or Community Supported Agriculture, vegetable and meat programs. These programs allow buyers to purchase a “share” of vegetables or meats from a regional farmer at the beginning of the season. Once harvests are ready, shoppers come weekly to pick up their family’s share of vegetables and or meats. At certain farms such as Shady Grove, they offer extra products for purchase weekly such as fresh, raw honey and eggs. These programs give shoppers peace of mind to know how their food is being grown, what's being applied to it and where it’s coming from. CSA’s encourage healthy and natural eating and can bring people closer to their food with an appreciation and gratitude for the access they have. Each week when shoppers come they can immerse themselves in the culture and life on the farm while putting care into the quality of food they eat. You can walk around the greenhouses of tomatoes, carrots and more, stroll through the fertile and groomed rows of rhubarb, onions and lettuce, see the farm equipment and processes of harvest to pick-up, see the honey bee hives across the property, take a yoga class in the wellness center, speak with a nutritionist, watch the healthy and cared for cows, pigs and chickens and see their meaningful and pivotal interactions and contributions to the land, let your children see how their food is grown and soak in the experience and hustle of farm production and if you’re as lucky as my class see the trails groomed by Farmer Francisco himself on his property that lead to the river. There is nothing quite like the appreciation you have for a humble farmer and family who sacrifice profit in the face of health and wellness and the promotion of these lifestyles for their community. Attached in the gallery are pictures from our beautiful afternoon on Shady Grove Farm & Wellness Center. Thank you Francisco for your time and the new knowledge I gained!
Contrary to CSA farms and memberships, shopping at the grocery store can often be frustrating, mindless and leave you with many questions. For example, what really goes into that food you only get a four-line description of with a tag titling country of origin? This week after our experience at Shady Grove we were sent on a grocery store adventure analyzing the miles our food travels, the carbon footprint that comes with that and the affordability and access of food in our community. For my comparative analysis, I chose two stores to compare prices and origins of food to: Walmart and Market 32. I attached the spreadsheet I made and brought to the stores with me to help me keep track of what I was looking for.
To start, I will cover my findings at Walmart. Walmart in comparison to Market 32 is less expensive, more chaotic, disorganized and messy, and a slightly smaller amount of organic and locally produced items as Market 32.
Locally produced apple cider from Seneca, NY: $4.88 with a carbon output of 0.14Kg of CO2 emissions.
Globally produced Red Grapefruit from South Africa: $1.24 with a carbon output of .25Kg + of CO2 emissions.
Globally produced Bananas from Guatemala: $.58/lb with a carbon output of .25Kg+ of CO2 emissions.
Globally produced Lemons from Chile: $.50 with a carbon output of .25Kg+ of CO2 emissions.
Organic vs. Non Organic:
Organic Gala Apple: $2.48/lb- Washington, USA
Non-Organic Gala Apple: $1.97/ lb- Washington, USA
Lastly, we were asked to find and describe a common label such as “free range” found on certain products. Free range indicates that the livestock that the product is made from is kept in natural conditions with freedom of movement.
Free-Range Organic Eggs: $4.98- Pennsylvania, USA
The next thing we were tasked to find was a weeks-worth of the healthiest, most sustainable meals for under $22.00. For this I chose the same (store) brand and items from each respective store the best I could to do a price comparison.
Breakfast:
Eggs (Walmart brand): $2.37
English Muffins (Walmart Brand): $1.48
Lunch:
Bread (whole wheat Walmart brand): $1.68
Peanut Butter (Walmart brand): $2.18
Honey & Oats Granola Bars (6) (Walmart brand): $1.98
Dinner:
Frozen chicken breasts chicken (grilled) (Walmart brand):$6.56
Frozen Kale (2) (Walmart brand): $1.00/ bag
Frozen Spinach (2) (Walmart brand): $1.00/ bag
Grand Total: $20.25
These were my findings at Market 32: In comparison, Market 32 was organized with flow, pleasing to the shoppers eyes, more expensive and had more locally produced and organic options available.
Locally produced apples from Peru, NY: $.99/lb with a carbon output of 0.12Kg of CO2 emissions.
Globally produced Bananas from Costa Rica: $.58/lb with a carbon output of .25Kg + of CO2 emissions.
Globally produced Bananas from Ecuador: $.68/lb with a carbon output of .25Kg+ of CO2 emissions.
Organic vs. Non Organic:
Organic Gala Apple: $2.99/lb- USA
Non-Organic Gala Apple: $1.99/ lb- USA
Free-Range Organic Eggs: $5.29-New Hampshire, USA
My under $22.00 weekly meal plan:
Breakfast:
Eggs (Price Chopper brand): $3.19
English Muffins (Price Chopper brand): $1.69
Lunch:
Bread (whole wheat Price Chopper brand): $2.29
Peanut Butter (Price Chopper brand): $2.39
Honey & Oats Granola Bars (6) (Price Chopper brand): $2.69
Dinner:
Frozen chicken breasts chicken (seasoned) (Price Chopper brand contained less than Walmart brand): $4.19
Frozen Collard Greens (2) (Price Chopper brand): $1.99/ bag
Frozen Spinach (2) (Price Chopper brand): $1.69/ bag
Grand Total: $23.80
Overall my shopping trip was very successful. I was able to make almost an identical comparison of prices for my weekly meals buying only store brand products. As you can see from the prices I've compiled although Market 32 may be a nicer, more organized store you may be paying the price for it. It's important to explore your options and try different grocery stores to compare quality and pricing. Walmart, even for name brands had lower prices for groceries than nearly everything in Market 32. In Market 32 more workers came up to me asking if I needed assistance, what I was looking for, and one even asked me what was important to me and why I was doing this report. I cannot say the same for Walmart but, it is a much busier store. Some shoppers avoid Walmart for just that reason, they are looking for a personal and easy shopping experience. For organic products the labeling was often louder, emphasizing the organic label and all of the "does not contain x,y,z" lettering to encourage shoppers to make the switch. This as well as labels such a "cage free" or "free range" are environmentalism awareness being used to sell products. If you speak to the parts of customers heads that make them uncomfortable in the food world, such as the use of chemicals or animal cruelty, shoppers are more likely to chose the more sustainable and healthier option. Across both stores were examples of media influences on our food experience. Whether it was minions on bananas or celebrities endorsing a given food with their face on the box, or the most sugary and colorful cereals and snacks right at a child's eye level, these distractions can further diminish the shopping experience. When we were at Shady Grove, all there was to focus on was the food. All laid out and displayed with the quiet serenity of the natural space it came from surrounding you. It truly is a completely different food experience. At Shady Grove, the furthest the food was traveling was getting the seeds to the farm. At both Walmart and Market 32 I am continuously stunned every time I shop at how far our food is traveling. We have Grapefruits coming form South Africa and Bananas coming form Guatemala with no locally sourced options to be found in the store other than apples from an orchard in the fall in Upstate NY. One of the biggest benefits of a CSA is that it gives shoppers an opportunity to really make a dent in reducing their carbon output. This is a move corporations and companies need to make as well. Attached in the gallery are some images from my shopping experiences.
Next time you're thinking of going to the store try to keep a few things in mind: quality, carbon footprint, and affordability. Know that there are other options you can seek out around your community or initiate yourself. CSA farms are not everywhere, but to gain access to healthy foods a community garden is a great place to start. It encourages community activism, togetherness and makes participants feel pride and empowerment that you and your neighborhood are growing and feeding your families. When deciding where to shop for food it comes down to a number of factors. Sometimes CSA memberships are just not affordable for some families. But we have lost a sense of care for the food that we shop for and eat, and it's not the shoppers fault! Even shopping for organic produce at Market 32 or Walmart, our food is traveling thousands of miles to reach our plates and is only contributing to climate change. It's time for shoppers to speak up and take the actions they can for their family to restore the quality of food we all deserve!
For more information about CSA farms and memberships I have attached two links to CSA farms near my school and hometown, Shady Grove Farm and Wellness Center in Peru, NY and Featherbed Lane Farm in Ballston Spa, NY who works year round with draft power as their primary power source.
Thanks for reading!