Food is expensive. Anyone who shops can give you an example of something outrageous. A package of six hot dogs for $8.99 or peanut butter that used to be $4 and now is $7. Or the story of a food like espresso coffee whose current sale price is what the usual price was for years. It is hard to accept this is the new normal.
As a result we are re-honing our skills and re-learning how to do more with less. With the goals of keeping food on the table, maintaining our nutrition and reducing food waste (to save money and the earth) people are finding the knowledge and the hacks to make the most of their food.
One way to increase your knowledge is to reconnect with food skills your parents and grandparents knew. For instance, there was a time, in the low-fat '90s, when saving the fat from roast chicken and using it to make remarkably good chocolate chip cookies seemed silly. Now it seems like a hack that is well worth the trouble given the cost of butter.
Similarly, saving the brine from your pickles to reuse for quick pickled vegetables feels satisfying as a way to both reuse the brine and use up some close-to-the-end veggies. And who doesn’t love pickles?
If you don’t have an expert in the family, turn to the real experts – people who live or have lived on a low income know how to stretch the food budget.
For instance, take the gentleman who has worked in many positions over his life, including butchering. He told all about buying a pork loin roast on sale for $10 (the only way this fellow buys meat) and cut it into 10 pork chops.
Think, too, of the woman who purchases a bushel of roma tomatoes at the discount grocery and stews them in her crockpot all day, tending to the tomatoes between piano students. She can look forward to a delicious spaghetti dinner in February when those tomatoes reappear from the freezer.
Or how about this hack to nurture your well-being while boosting your nutrition. Making your own hydroponic plant pots to be able to grow fresh, leafy greens in your own home this winter. Check out Home Hydroponics by Tyler Baras at Guelph Public Library to learn more.
These excellent ideas have at least two benefits. They decrease food waste and encourage us to use up all the nutrition in our food. As well, they encourage the use of food that is on sale.
Shopping the sales is a strategy for all of us nowadays. Last week Food Basics had butter on sale for $4.75 per pound with a maximum of 12 pounds per shopper. While margarine is still cheaper, this expenditure might allow you to have Christmas baking in a few months. Similarly, there may be some post-Thanksgiving sales that are worth shopping as you prepare for the next holiday season. Will there be turkey parts on sale after Thanksgiving that could make a lovely, small holiday dinner in December? Let’s hope so.
Brian Baker is the food production lead at Hope House and an expert in turning donated ingredients into something delicious. Using food items like frozen haddock and vegetables from the North Field Food Farm, Brian prepares meals for the Food Market. With the help of volunteers in Hope House’s production kitchen community members pick up prepared meals to enjoy at home.
The feedback is very positive! As food prices continue to rise we all need to be more like Brian. Let’s develop our skills to prepare great food from the ingredients we can access and share it with others!
