Dear Middle Class America: I Have a Bone to Pick With You…
Dear Middle-Class America: Guess what? I make my own chicken stock.
I even blogged about it. I buy organic, free-range chicken carcasses to make it with, and that’s pretty well the extent of what I am able to afford from our organic/grass-fed/free-range/humane meat supplier as of late. Yup, we eat a LOT of soup, brown rice, and lentils.
You see, I am a stay-at-home mom. I’m due to give birth to our third beautiful babe any day now, actually. My husband is a new flight instructor and makes approximately minimum wage when his paid vs non-paid hours are all averaged out. We are also slowly paying off significant debt from his flight training costs which finished last summer.
The bottom line? We’re poor.
Honestly, I hate to use that word to describe our situation because it is often used glibly to detract from the harsh realities of third-world poverty, but please know that I mean it only speaking relative to my own culture, and not on a global scale. I am grateful that we are not dying from starvation or lack of shelter, but yes we do have trouble making ends meet every month.
We have been struggling financially ever since two and a half years ago when we quit our (ie. hubby’s) job and moved halfway across the country so that he could pursue his dream career of aviation. It’s been worth it, yes, and it’s been difficult. The last few months have been the roughest so far, and I’ve been desperately avoiding talking about it on my blog because to be perfectly honest – our family and closest friends read my blog, and I know that they will probably either freak out and admonish us for not asking for help, or else just pity us, and I don’t know which is worse. (For the record, living this way is hard, but we are so grateful that God has provided for us and blessed us in so many ways, and don’t regret our choices).
We’ve visited the local food bank twice in the last couple of years (Separate but related rant? The total and complete crap that is handed out at food banks). Once was less than a month ago. I have stood in my kitchen crying into my husband’s shoulder because my stomach was rumbling, grocery money was depleted until the next payday, and I was so damn tired of struggling to figure out something appetizing to make from the random things left in my pantry and fridge. I’ve scrimped and saved and watched sales and planned and packed food for our day trips to the city. I’ve tried dozens of new recipes for beans and lentils. I’ve felt guilty for the cheese I give my kids as an easy snack because $10 for a block of cheese is very expensive when it gets used up in a week. Same with nuts, fruit, and any other nutrient-dense or protein-rich unprocessed snack.
To be totally honest, I’m not completely perfect in my planning and spending habits (who is??), but you can be damned sure that I’m trying my very best to feed my family healthy and nutritious food with as little money as possible.
That is why when I read comments like these ones in response to the question “How do you respond to the idea that organic food is too expensive?”… I get just a *little* fired up. (For starters? For some people it’s not “an idea”, it’s a fact).
The vast majority of the comments left on that status are condescending, sanctimonious, ignorant, and presumptuous, and if I had any stronger words, I’d use them.
Here are some of the comments and my responses to them:
Many, many people snarkily noted that they’d respond by saying that “cancer costs more, duh”, or some variation thereof. Whether you’re talking about actual medical bills (which is not the same for me, living in Canada) or cost of losing your life – the point is the same.
I’d like to address this by saying: of course I know that cancer sucks. Do you think I want cancer? Or any other host of diet-related illnesses? Of course not. Even if I were American and had to pay for medical bills – I can’t very well go cash in on my doctor’s bills from 20 years in the future and use the money instead to buy all-organic food now. Even if I didn’t have medical bills in the future because I’m Canadian, that doesn’t help me afford to buy organic RIGHT NOW. Some people literally don’t have the luxury of choosing to pay more now in order to potentially save significantly in the far-off future. Also? Not all cancer is caused by an unhealthy diet. I believe it can definitely play a part, but to say that it’s a direct cause and effect thing is extremely ignorant and, I’m sure, offensive to those who try to eat as healthy as possible and still end up with cancer or other illness.
The trite bit about ‘cancer costs more’ aside – the presumptuousness of the other comments really made me angry. The general consensus was that those who claim that organic food is too expensive are:
- Uneducated and uninformed (I actually consider myself extremely informed when it comes to nutrition, which is why I feel such sorrow at not being able to provide my family with a nutritionally optimal diet that is low in empty carbohydrates and high in protein and healthy fats, all from grass-fed, organic, fresh ingredients. You could say it’s a sore spot… so assuming that I’m just uneducated is extremely insensitive).
- Making poor shopping choices (I agonize over each and every item that goes into my cart at the grocery store. I do the best I can with what I have, and have a very few things that I won’t compromise on, like always buying real butter over margarine, or eating eggs for breakfast instead of cheap cereal. I buy hardly anything processed at all except for some condiments – I make my own salad dressing and sauces - and occasionally some rice crackers for cheap snacks on the road to avoid eating out. I also buy almost nothing that is a convenience food – if I can do it myself, I do. I don’t buy pre-shredded lettuce or cheese, etc).
- Eating processed crap that costs more and doesn’t provide any nutrition (This is just a totally ignorant thing to assume. Just because I say that organic food is too expensive for us does not mean that I am buying all processed junk. The vast majority of our diet consists of homemade bone broth soups, legumes and rice, frozen veggies, local-bought farm eggs that are only slightly more expensive than the grocery store, and the occasional ground beef meal at supper time. We snack on fruit or cheese when we can afford it, boiled eggs, homemade yogurt, raw almonds, and fresh farmer’s market veggies which are a “sometimes” treat in the summer. I simply don’t buy things like kraft dinner and boxed cookies, so please stop assuming that I can just cut those out and buy organic apples instead).
- Choosing to spend money instead on “beer and smart phone bills, going to movies, having cable, concerts, expensive cars, regular starbucks trips, eating out weekly, fast food, bottled water, soda, and processed foods, going to the movies weekly, getting your nails done every month, fancy new clothes, fancy designer coffee and a jumbo bag of cheetos…” (Yes, those were all mentioned specifically. As it happens, not a single one of them applies to us. We have cut our budget down in every way we can think of – we recently sold hubby’s smartphone in order to save $40/monthly, we don’t have a TV, and we live in a cheap rental that is enough but nothing fancy. We drive a used mini-van, wear old clothes with holes in them and haven’t bought new shoes in about five years other than the ones we got at Christmas. My son needs new sneakers and doesn’t have any summer PJ’s that fit, and we’ve carefully saved up $100 for a trip to a local children’s second-hand store in order to get those things. We don’t drink anything but water and home-brewed kombucha at home, and our definition of a splurge is a $1.70 fancy tea when we’re in the city for my midwife appointment, and even then, we share!).
- Simply not planning well enough (If I planned any more carefully for the times we are out and in need of food, my head might just explode. We bring an entire bag of packed snacks/meals when we go to the city for the day, and sometimes it’s still not enough. Sometimes I haven’t had the time or energy to make granola bars from scratch, and the kids have eaten all we brought and are simply still hungry with a few hours to go before we head home. It’s not as simple as you might assume).
- Choosing to not make their health a priority (This one really irks me. I think my points above are all related to this one. Sometimes choice is a luxury that only the middle/upper class can enjoy).
- Not sacrificing enough (I think I’ve adequately covered this one. Let’s just say this is one of the most pompous and self-righteous things I’ve ever heard).
- Not already eating from scratch (As mentioned already – we do more than almost everyone we know in this department, and we’re still struggling).
- Not creative enough (How creative is a meal of brown rice and dried black beans, soaked and cooked with some dented cans of diced tomatoes from the food bank, some spices, cheese, and steamed carrots on the side with homemade honey-sweetened yogurt for dessert? What other creative brilliance am I missing? Please, enlighten me…)
- Unaware of how to cook legumes, rice, and healthy grains (sorry, not true in the slightest…)
- Unaware that the answer lies in simply growing your own food (I agree that gardening is a great idea and can potentially save some people a lot of money… but we’ve moved 3 times in the last two years in a poor-soil area with a cold climate and very short growing season. I’m also 40 weeks pregnant, and it’s June. Suddenly, gardening doesn’t appear to be our perfect solution…)
- Not already saving money in other household areas (Don’t bother with this one – we already make our own cleaners, buy very little cosmetic and body care items, use cloth diapers, don’t buy paper towels ever… I could go on…)
***
To quote several of the particularly condescending commenters: “it can be expensive if you are not willing to put time into cooking from scratch…but if you fail to plan you plan to fail!” … “it’s never too expensive if people care about their health” … “no valid excuse” … “you can’t say it’s too expensive, I really believe anyone can do it you just have to make it a priority.”
***
I want to acknowledge that these comments may indeed be applicable for some people. Some people do have messed up priorities (read: different than yours…), are uneducated about nutrition, and don’t know how or have time to make many things from scratch that would ease the costs… BUT…
Let’s not assume that all folks who say they cannot afford organic food are stupid, lazy, and making bad choices, lest you find yourself one day in the position of having to choose between eating Chef Boyardee and Oreos* from the food bank or going hungry…
Instead, when someone says that they cannot afford to eat organic, I would suggest a healthy dose of compassion and gentle offerings to help, getting to actually know the person and their situation, and perhaps even dropping off a bag of that farmer’s market organic produce that you find so easy to come by.
***
Dear Middle Class America: A little less condescension and little more understanding would probably do us all a world of good. Please don’t make me want to throw my homemade yogurt in your face because it’s my kids’ favourite snack and milk costs a lot of money.
Sincerely and with respect,
Beth
* We did in fact receive Chef Boyardee and Oreos in our pre-made boxes of stuff from the food bank (we had almost zero choice about what to take) but passed it on to some young students down the street that willingly took it. We kept things like canned tomatoes and tuna, and the $50 voucher for produce at the grocery store that got us through to the next pay day.
I completely agree with you. We have to be very careful what we eat due to our kids (corn) allergies and it does mean we eat grassfed beef, but honestly we ate venison and no beef for awhile in order to use our tax return on the half a cow, and so forth. I know the crying in the kitchen feeling.
One other helpful idea I didn’t read here that we have employed is eating weeds. We have grown our own simply by selectively weeding to grow the nutritious ones, and have weeded our friends gardens as well as some Upick places. We also pick unwanted fruit from mulberry trees, berry bushes, etc. “Weeds” like purselane, sorrel, lambs quarters, and others are actually quite nutritious and available for most of 3 seasons for the asking.
Thank you for this post! This is the very first post about “eating on a budget” that I can actually relate to! I too, am a stay at home mom of four young kiddos. My husband makes roughly $35k a year, before taxes. He took a job that he doesn’t like, and that doesn’t pay the bills, but a schedule that will allow him to complete the necessary programs to boost his resume to get back into the career field he enjoyed before he was laid off seven years ago.
We do not have cable, we share a basic cell phone, drive a used minivan (we have just one vehicle), vacations are camping in our backyard, we rent a tiny house, all of our clothes come second hand and only if I cannot repair or alter what we already have, I make all of our personal care and cleaning products, we use cloth diapers, are paperless except for toilet paper, I cook from scratch, we eat out only when given a restaurant gift card and are very careful to only use that amount, I spend days planning every single meal and snack that we will eat for the month to make my grocery list so I can then scout for coupons, sales or cheaper ingredients… but still we come up short. Not a day goes by that I do not feel guilt or frustration over not being able to CHOOSE to go to the grocery store to “pick up a few things”.
It is very hard to hear and read those comments that we are lazy, unintelligent, that it is MY fault because I should just get a job rather than staying home (umm.. our cost of daycare was $350/mo MORE than what I was making each month with just 2 kids in daycare, so I am saving our family money) or that we are “doing something wrong” because we can’t make ends meet. I just want to scream at people who are critical of us that once they are doing everything I am, on the same income we are, THEN they can tell me what I am doing wrong. One of the many times that I was desperately searching Pinterest for other tips on how to save money, I came across a blog one day that was “how I saved $40k a year for my family” and started crying because I simply wished we HAD $40k a year to work with!
I do wish people had more empathy for others, that yes, there may be those few who have misplaced priorities for their spending, but most of us are doing the best we can with what we have, as we work towards a better life for our family, even though it means making a lot of sacrifices that few could even begin to understand to get to where we want to be.
Thank you again for this post, for your honesty, and for the encouragement it gives to myself, and so many others. Sending lots of positive thoughts to you and your family!
I’ve been there.
A few years ago we were a family of 4 living on 34K a year, and we had to pay 10k a year out of pocket for child care while I worked and my husband went to college.
We had no cell phones.
We had no cable tv.
No internet.
Eating at a resturaunt was a rare treat.
Even when family offered to babysit for us for free we couldn’t go out because we had no cash.
Our microwave broke and we didn’t have $45 to replace it, so we went without.
All our meals were from scratch because Hamburger Helper is WAY more expensive than making your own with hamburger and egg noodles.
People had no idea why we were doing what we were, but it was very important to my husband and I to NOT go into debt. We didn’t want to wake up somewhere down the road with gobs of debt threatening to strangle us. We made it through though! My husband graduated from college, got a great job and has been promoted!
Things are still tight, now I’m in college and we’ve had another baby since then, but we still make it a priority to eat fresh veggies, try to stay seasonal and local in our produce choices, I buy hormone free meats when it’s avalible and affordable. So while I do not make it a priority to always buy organic foods it is a priority for my family to eat healthy.
I live in a fairly low cost of living area, so I’m trying really hard not to be covetous when you say 34k a year. lol. We are scraping by (ok, not even making it) on 14k for our family of 3. Maybe you live in Chicago or something and its comparable when it comes down to apples to apples…
We live in Tennessee, not too far south of Nashville. Not a super high cost area, but not a rural area either. The hardest was that we were just above the income line for State help so we were paying out the butt for daycare.
I will NEVER forget the feeling of helplessness as I held my W2 in my left and and my daycare statement in my right hand. The left said $23,000 and the right said $10,400. I almost cried.
Our only saving grace was that for those years we were putting our tax returns into a moneymarket checking account and that was our emergency fund. When we had two daycare bills ($400 each) due on one of my paychecks ($900), we would use the emergency money to pay one of them. The car needed new tires? emergency money. We were very careful and could usually manage to squeeze to the end of the year and use the remaining $100 of emergency money to buy Christmas gifts for our kids.
I so sympathize. We’re dealing with unemployment and I’m no slow leak on Real Food- I have written books, run the longest-running real food menu mailer available, run a large website, former chapter leader, have been doing real foods for almost 11 years. Still I get judged because while my husband is on unemployment, we can’t afford organic everything and I refuse to go into debt for food. People judge very harshly and are very critical. I had someone recently tell me I need to give up cable TV so I could feed my kids organics. Really? I gave that up over 5+ years ago! Along with the magazines, new clothes, you name it. When I say our budget is bare-bones, I mean it. I own two outfits that fit. We recently chatted with a financial counselor and by the end of the conversation, they were taking notes from our ideas to save money!
To further complicate matters, I’m paleo due to a health condition. Three of us are GF, one is GFCF. I rely on bulk purchasing and food storage to make sure we have enough through the really tight times. This is the second time we’ve been through an extremely long stretch of unemployment.
I cried when I read this.
I am one of the middle class that can afford luxuries like organic meats, raw milk, and even going out to fancy restaurants when I don’t feel like cooking. I feel so blessed, but wish I could find people like you in my area to help out… I would prefer to help those who are like you — who are working hard at doing the best they can with what they have.
I work full time, have a side business, take care of my family, am a part time caretaker for my mom who has dementia, and have church responsibilities, and other responsibilities. It is hard to find time to cook from scratch. I try to make my own butter (from raw milk), make kefir every day, make my own beef stock and even beef tallow, we make homemade bread (we, meaning “me” since my husband doesn’t participate). I KNOW how time consuming it all is, and I am so exhausted at the end of the day. I don’t even have any kids but don’t see how any person can do all that I do, with kids to boot!
I try my hardest to not make any processed foods in our home, and the only “unhealthy” meals we eat are when we go out to eat at restaurants and then we have no control over the ingredients, only our food choices (we eat out about once a week).
I can only imagine how hard it would be to be living on minimum wage and trying to do everything. Sure, many of the things I do are cheaper than store bought (my laundry soap, my vinegar and water cleaning solution, my butter, etc). We shop second hand stores for clothing. We don’t need to, it is a choice we make to live within our means. We rarely give gifts for Christmas to each other, unless we want to do something that is useful and contributes to our desire to become self reliant.
I hang my clothes to dry vs. using electricity in the dryer. Some people think I am weird. I make my own deodorant, shampoo, body butter, etc. I don’t think I am weird. I think I am smart.
But that is my life, and I wish that I could pass on my financial success to others. I really do. Thank you for sharing your story, this was the first blog post from you that I read, and I am glad I did.
p.s. when I donate to the food shelf, I donate canned goods, but most are organic…. and I also donate pet food….
Ok, I wrote a lot more than I anticipated, sorry about that. I hope I got my point across and didn’t ramble too much. I just want people to know that it is hard to be natural and organic even for me, and I don’t have fiscal limitations…. definitely a big kudos to those who are doing it on less than what I have. I tip my hat to you! And I continue to try to give — my garden this year was so fruitful that I was able to give about 50% of my produce to my neighbors… My fruit trees were plentiful (except my apples and apricots this year). I got to share and it was great.
Thank you thank you for writing this. It makes me feel less alone in my family’s poor state. I read a blog post two weeks ago and there was a breakdown of a family’s income and what they had left over to spend on gas, food, and fun was twice what our gross income is. The author said “I know our income might seem high to some people, but…” SIGH! Your post makes me feel better about a lot of things. Thank you!
Yes, yes, yes. Times a million.
The guilt placing and frustration of this topic is infuriating for me. I do have the Internet and consider it a huge luxury for us! But my husband needs it currently for school.
We also cloth diaper… Build fires in the fireplace… Eat a lot of rice that I bought in bulk… You know.
It is frustrating to be judged for our economic situation, even unintentionally, when it is largely not in our hands to change right now. Someday. And I hope when that someday comes, I remember to share what I can with those who are where I am now.
I don’t have time to read all these comments, so forgive me if I repeat a suggestion someone else has offered. But when we were struggling and I couldn’t even feed my children, I bartered for food. It worked beautifully and we received an abundance of food from people who wanted other things I could offer. Just curious if you have skills or things you don’t need that can help you build up a better stock of staples and fresh food and allow your grocery budget to go further. It felt like a huge blessing to me and at the same time I was able to bless someone else who had a lot of food but not any cash. Took away a lot of stress and helped cover the bulk of grocery expenses for nearly a month as we received some free range chicken, home canned fruits and vegetables, cheese, a ton of milk and frozen veggies too. We also received about 40 lbs of winter squash from one barter with a farmer! It all came about because I heard you could sell your hair for a small fortune and I put an add on Craigslist. A woman responded offering a barter instead and wanted me to keep my hair and while she was struggling financially, her family helped with food and she had an abundance. I had a Moby Wrap she really wanted and I no longer needed mine. Changed my life during the worst financial crisis of my marriage.
I prayed for you and your situation this morning. i am so encouraged by your words and all the comments that follow. our family is in the same situation and we have six children. my husband decided to start his own business here at home because we barely made anything at his job and then the money that we lost from the taxes that had to be taken out and the gas it took to get the it was hardly worth going. so we started our business at home and it is nice to have him here. we don’t make a lot of money but we also don’t have to answer to someone and spend most of our money to get to work. my secret ,for survival, is God. he doesn’t give me everything butHe does provide for our needs. i pray and ask him for what we need and i ask him to give me wisdom to use what we have well. i also ask his blessing over our food like never before .his blessing and my faith i believe can make my butterball turkey bone broth nourishing to my body:) at least this is what i believe. i choose wisely and do not purchase ho hos or twinkies, if you can buy that stuff you can purchase wholesome food just as easily. i also pray over my food as i make it. i pray that God would nourish it to our bodies and fill everyone. one thing i like to remember is that historically we have more food than anyone ever has. all through out time people have lived with less and surviVe we are used to having too much and studies show that people live healthier lives with less when the food is nutrient dence . if i was in hard times i would try to grow kale and green onions. because if you have those and some salt and lentils,you can make some great soup. onions and kale are so good for you! and they grow in cold! find a little spot that is sunny make a small green house out of sticks and walmart bags,ask your local farmer for a bucket of poo and plant some kale:) it is easy to grow,it grows like a weed,is full of vitamins,minerals ,and i throw it in everything as our green stuff:) also,go to the library ,look on line,pray for a friend that knows about what weeds you can eat our the yard because seriously there are a lot! we eat quite a bit og things from our yard. dandilion ,chickweed ,purselane ,and things that are edible. just think how much more prepared you and yours will be when hard times come. you are doing great! you are doing what most people don’t even know is possible !
Also, we do not use cell phones, except a pay as you go Trac-fone that is for emergencies only. Our home phone is a package that has internet and unlimited long distance bundled into it for a much much lower rate. We don’t do cable/satellite tv services, nor netflix or any other movie services. We have board games, dvd’s (cheaper ones that are family friendly), radio, books, and imaginations.
Organic can be done if you grow your own, when seasons allow. I have my herbs inside for the winter, have fresh basil, parsley, thyme, etc for the winter to spice up the rice and beans.
Keep your head up and be encouraged–you’re not alone!
To be honest, I don’t bother to try to find all organic, grass fed, all natural meats or veggies. It is simply too expensive for our budget. I have $300 at the most per month on good months to spend for groceries for 2 adults and 3 children, and it has to stretch to cover meat/veggies/ingredients to make breads/etc. I make my own breads, biscuits, sweets, cook almost all from scratch, have bone broth soup in the fridge right now and keep bones in the freezer on hand for another round whenever I feel like another batch. We eats lots and lots of rice, beans, etc. Hubby and his family are Cuban, so working with Cuban recipes, there’s lots of flavor with little meat needed. We use a lot of biscuits and gravy with a little bit of meat in the winter months to help fill empty bellies as well. Most often I will skip a meal or two a day in order so the kids have a good meal at night. Hubby often follows my routine, drinking off brand home brewed coffee and teas to fill the gap.
Hubby is disabled, has been an RN for over 15 years and got hurt on the job. He still chooses I stay home and do as much as i can from scratch and by hand rather than work outside if at all possible. I cook from scratch just about everything and have learned how to make big meals out of next to nothing. I also make my own laundry soaps, wash my family’s laundry all by hand on a washboard and line dry year round to save on laundering costs (yes, it freezes down here too, but things do dry). I sew a lot of clothing for myself and the family, patch up what can be used, etc. Our vehicles are old, mine was bought new with cash 7 years ago and all the miles on it are ours, hubby’s truck is 20 years old, we’ve had it 2 years, and it is paid off next month. We live in a rental, big enough, it’s a roof and walls. When worse comes to worse, I even mow the yard with a reel mower and we have a good sized yard. Leftovers from the kitchen go to help stretch dog food for the beagle. He loves my baking.
I keep a small garden patch in the summer, and buy what I can fresh and put back in the freezer. I buy in bulk when possible, and make do with what is available. We’ve been to the food pantry a time or two, and we don’t qualify for food stamps (I’m in the US) by $8, despite that we have less income than what the guidelines say we need–the formula is different for folks who are disabled.
But, all that said, God provides for our every need, and while we don’t buy organic/grassfed/etc I do buy from farmer’s markets and such when it’s an option and we have the money. I’ve even sold at farmer’s markets fresh baked breads and goodies. I really don’t like the condescending attitude I get from folks who are into the organic movement, as I make do with what is available to us with the amount of $ we have and make meals stretch for our family. Folks make organic use a god and worship that style…that’s not right.
Well-said and I can relate. I ran out of my FMLA time and lost my job while I was pregnant/gave birth to a 9 week old preemie who was in an incubator in NICU for an extended period while I stayed at The Ronald McDonald House. Dealing with CP symptoms, my hubby and I thought it best I stay home and help our baby as much as possible, while he works a small “poorman’s” wage. We are struggling but we are so grateful for our children, our home and learning to do the best we can with what we have. I would shop so differntly if I could afford all things organic and raw! Thanks for sharing your story and keep blogging!!!
I feel you, Beth. I also gave up clicking on those “30 ways to save money on your bills” posts on Pinterest, because they never give me anything new that I’m not already doing and it was just kind of depressing.
I wasn’t going to comment because of the long list of comments already, but I just had to say THANK YOU. So many people just don’t understand. No one wants cancer or any other disease, but sometimes there’s no choice. Cancer is bad, but hey, so is starvation or not paying the rent. I’d hate to have to say that my kids are freezing out in the cold because I didn’t pay the rent, but hey, at least they have organic food!
Organic or fresh would be nice, but sometimes it isn’t an option. Sometimes, Wal-mart is the only way to go. Sometimes we are limited by area (I’d never even heard of a Whole Foods store, and Trader Joes is just a rumor), and sometimes by availability. EBT food stamps doesn’t cover fresh foods from the local farm, and if I could afford out of pocket, I wouldn’t have welfare. And not everyone on welfare is splurging on other things like cable- we do have a TV, an old one that was given to us, but the only channel we get is the Spanish channel through the old cable left by the previous renters. It makes for a good joke, but not much more. We have a smartphone, which was necessary at the time for my work, but is now being downgraded to a minimized data plan, which is about as far as we can go and still allow me to do some work.
I have to say thank you- this was definitely a much-needed post! I admit I’ve been feeling very down lately, being unable to provide how I’d really like to. I get my meats at the store because it’s the option I have, like everything else. I make what I can at home, but I’m only just starting my food journey, so not everything is an option. In the meantime, I look to God to protect my children, taking faith in that He knows what I have to work with and He can take care of the rest.
So just… THANK YOU! This was definitely an encouragement and just what I needed.
I love this post and agree. I have been there at times, too… not having the money and just having to choose to eat foods that don’t fit my ideals or health needs.
But I do want to say that this cuts the other way, too. Right along with the whole thing about eating organic and from scratch is a frugality mindset.
Truth is, our family has been going deeper and deeper into debt in large part because we refuse to compromise on the food we eat until we really have absolutely no resources (even borrowed) in order to make that happen.
We could eat for probably 1/3 the cost if we put grains and legumes back in and didn’t eat all organic. (We’re on the GAPS diet which you can read about on our blog and are strictly gluten-free). We DON’T have the money we’re spending on all this food.
Kelsy finally has a full time job after about 3 years, and it’s her first job with insurance and a salary – and there is all that school debt to pay. I was also out of work and then in school the past few years after losing my job. Now I have a small business, but “small” is the operative word. It is not enough money, and I work it around the kids’ needs.
Many of the same people who like to point fingers about not buying organic also like to point fingers about finances.
We all get to choose our own priorities. For those of us who struggle financially, those choices can be a lot harder to make. Yes, I realize we’re struggling financially in part because of these choices, and we’ll be paying for it eventually. We each get to pick our own battles.
There’s no sense in judging other people for what they decide their top priorities are.
I have a feeling that a lot of us will be joining your present station in life with the way the economy and debt is being mishandled. You keep up the good work and never let ignorance and rudeness of others discourage you! I’m sure a lot of us will be looking to you for advice as well…