Ever since the economy has gone down the toilet, or better yet, ever since Bush has left the presidency leaving behind daunting tasks to repair, there have been many people, mostly unemployed, who have felt the burden of having to save and spend cautiously.
Food is essential to life and without food, well, you know what happens. During these times of recession it is essential to spend on food necessities and do so in a very strategic but also beneficial manner. There are many articles, nowadays, books, videos, etc. which also talk about how to go about spending on food. After having read some of these articles I came to my own conclusion that in the end, what is or should be obvious, is that it takes some common sense to go about spending wisely in general, including food.
MagazineDigital, a digital magazine from Spain, has been a good resource and reference especially when you are looking for opinions on certain issues outside of the US. In this case, I was drawn to an article on reverting back to eating primitive, in other words eating more locally grown produce and avoid too many supermarket sprees and fast food binges.
The article simply stated that during hard times -even Spain is going through tough economical periods- people are lured by falling prices on fast food and also that certain produce that is grown fresh can arrive at the supermarket with chemicals added to them in order to avoid immediate decay thus not being so fresh any more. Pollan was quoted stating that it is better to forget nutritionist and nutritional products with so many chemicals added to the product and go back to eating the way our grandparents, even great grandparents, used to do. What better way to maintain a healthy lifestyle than to eat local and natural.
It takes common sense to be able to survive and even save money during a recession. Even if you are employed, substituting the Starbucks for coffee made at home -I am sure you have seen this example used before- will save you cash. I asked a few friends, classmates, teammates, and family members what they have done to save money on food, here is what they said:
Jessica, Graphic Design Student, 20 She works at Starbucks, what a coincidence, so she gets certain perks which allows her to automatically save money if she were to go to Starbucks for coffee. She has decided to cutback on going out so often to bars every week and her alternative to this is having small get-togethers at her apartment and having guest bring over something, whether it’d be wine, cheese, crackers, etc.
Maria Teresa, French Assistant Teacher, 28 Maria T. has opted to bike to work and avoid taking public transportation. Public transportation in NYC is a great substitute to driving but the savings of not having to take the bus or subway can also be dramatic. After months of riding her bike to work she feels better, physically, and this has helped her begin eating healthy and fresh. No more 2 for 1, especially when the sale is for those chewy chocolate chip cookies.
Andrew, International Student/Web Designer, 25 Andrew has been married for about a year or so, what a drag (sorry). He and his wife rent the bottom floor of a brownstone in the Bed-Sty neighborhood of Brooklyn and they are lucky to have the backyard at their disposal. They plant seasonal fruits and vegetables and already save by doing so. They have also strategized on how to spend when eating out. He has told me that instead of each of them eating an entree each, they share an entree and two appetizers. To drink, water please.
Cesar, Cook, 30 My cousin is a family man, married with two children. Somehow, even though he has a well paying job, he has managed to save even more money by cutting spending down. No more sugar for the little ones. It is better to have the children eat healthier and not have so much junk food in the kitchen, my cousin has shared with me. There are other expenses and having cut down on spending, eliminating junk food for one, without putting harm to the nutrition of the children, has helped alot.
Overall, it is pretty difficult to agree with that saying: you are what you eat. If you have been able to cut down on the junk food because you know it will hurt your wallet in the end, you are on the road to a healthy way of life and you may no longer be what you eat. Over and over have I found that all it takes in order to save money when shopping for food is common sense. I’m an advocate for healthy living, it has helped me a lot. But you are in control of your body and life so it is up to you to make the right choice. Take advantage that we are in an economical crisis and start saving and eating healthy. Don’t be tempted by sales on processed food. Eat in more -of course you are not going to binge on food at home-, eat out less. The results are there.
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