Donna Maurillo, Food for Thought: How to keep fresh food longer...

The cost of everything is going up, up and further up. I don't know if we can blame it all on the cost of energy, but I'm sure that's at least part of the issue.

[Peking]

Donna, I applaud your urging people to shop at farmers' markets, but the average family can not afford to do so. As of necessity, prices at these markets are very high in comparison to those in the local supermarkets and veggie markets. Whenever I go to the Cabrillo market, I notice that the vast majority of people are of a particular demographic: older, white, and (judging by the vehicles in the parking lots) probably of a higher income than average. Until organic, locally grown produce comes down in price, average families on limited budgets can not afford to buy.

The knife sharpening charges are astronomical. It's cheaper for someone to buy an inexpensive handheld sharpener than to pay what this man asks. they are many user-friendly ones out there. Also any good home cook sharpens his or her knives more than twice a month.

[Donna]

Hi Peking... Thanks for the comments. Yes, some markets are more expensive than others. Prices are climbing all over the place, whether at the farmers' markets or at the supermarket. I shopped at my local supermarket yesterday and had to walk by some items. I can afford them, but I thought the prices were beyond reasonable. A buck for a lemon?

My solution is to try and grow as much of my own food as I can. That certainly isn't a lot, but I do have tomatoes, onions, potatoes, herbs, lettuce, etc. When I plant anything in my yard now, I try to choose food-bearing plants. My recent additions were an apple tree and a lemon tree. My plants now have to earn their keep.

I don't have a huge yard, and the soil is lousy. But I plant in 15-gallon pots so I can control the soil quality and fertilizer and water. I can't provide all my food all year long, but certainly I can do something.

About the knives... I was told yesterday that Raley's meat department will sharpen knives at no cost. I have to look into that. Perhaps Nob Hill does the same because they have the same owners.

Hang in there.
Donna

[Farmers Market Expensive]

Donna wrote:

Hi Peking... Thanks for the comments. Yes, some markets are more expensive than others. Prices are climbing all over the place, whether at the farmers' markets or at the supermarket. I shopped at my local supermarket yesterday and had to walk by some items. I can afford them, but I thought the prices were beyond reasonable. A buck for a lemon?
My solution is to try and grow as much of my own food as I can. That certainly isn't a lot, but I do have tomatoes, onions, potatoes, herbs, lettuce, etc. When I plant anything in my yard now, I try to choose food-bearing plants. My recent additions were an apple tree and a lemon tree. My plants now have to earn their keep.
I don't have a huge yard, and the soil is lousy. But I plant in 15-gallon pots so I can control the soil quality and fertilizer and water. I can't provide all my food all year long, but certainly I can do something.
About the knives... I was told yesterday that Raley's meat department will sharpen knives at no cost. I have to look into that. Perhaps Nob Hill does the same because they have the same owners.
Hang in there.
Donna

I agree with the poster who said that farmers' markets are too expensive. I can afford the prices, and I still tend to buy at the FMs rarely. Some are more expensive than others, as you say, and some are better quality than others, but overall I generally walk away from a FM feeling that I've been taken.(I've had too many sellers round up my sales, too. It annoys me.)

About knife sharpening, I believe that any market that has a "real" meat counter (i.e., with a trained butcher) will sharpen knives. Shopper's Corner does it for a small fee. Even if you sharpen your knives regularly, it's good to get a professional edge on there every so often.

[Donna]

Thanks for the additional information. You are right about the expense of a farmers' market. Most of the growers have very small farms and can't compete with the corporate growers because of the cost of doing business on a smaller scale. I've never had anyone round up my total, but that takes nerve.