Stop Complaining About High Food Prices And Start Your Own Damn CSA!!!

I'm getting sick and tired of people complaining about high food prices! Seriously, I don't care where you live in the US, you are not immune to the great drought of 2012... You are not immune to Climate Change and more disastrous weather events coming... And you are not immune to guaranteed price hikes! So, let's face it, you can either eat cheap canned food or you can get to know your neighbors better. Let' me make this simple.

If you live in or near an urban neighborhood or a long established residential neighborhood, then chances are you're not tapping into the best kept secret for low "real food" prices! The backyard homesteader. I'm talking about your neighbors or someone less than 5miles away who's really into backyard beekeeping, sustainable gardening, composting, and free range chickens! Most of which are either retired and young couples hyper focused on self sufficiency. Now, I've been going to such a master for about 8 months now to buy delicious organic eggs, local avocado honey, and loaves of honey baked bread made with fresh ground organic wheat berries.

His name is Don Axe and his wisdom is deep. He grows a lot of organic food. Kale, chard, onions, garlic, peas, broccoli rabe, beets, carrots, fennel, parsley, leeks, butternut squash, and other cool season crops. And just this week I made a visit to buy eggs and bread, and toured his latest endeavor, a hydroponic green house, when I saw his raised bed full of what I love to eat and the LED light bulb turned on!

I grabbed a box and asked him if I could start a CSA box with him. He said, "Well, what do you want in your box?" And I said, "I'm willing to buy weekly for eggs, bread, and vegetables for some much money per week, what do you think?" He said, "Ok!" Now for anyone who knows all about CSA's or currently subscribes to one, you already understand the benefits of eating seasonally, but guess what... It doesn't get any cheaper and more local than in your neighbors backyard. Cheaper because you can barter for each bunch by buying in bulk. And they'll let you help grow the food! Also, I'm asking him to grow my favorites too like Romanesco broccoli, and strawberries!

Now, I don't want to create the false expectation that every Backyard Homesteader uses sustainable gardening practices nor is right for you. Many gardeners still know nothing about the harmful effects of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, or feeding their animals with GMO crop feeds like corn, alfalfa, or soy beans, so I cannot guarantee the quality of the food. However, if you discover that the homesteader you're talking to is either studying or teaching (and implementing) permaculture, biodynamics, organic soil amendments, vermicomposting, and or seed preservation, well then at least you're on the right track. Also the San Diego Master Gardeners has a program you can introduce your homesteader to be called a certified Earth Friendly Garden!
 
If you like my idea, follow me on Twitter and Facebook and use the sharing options below. Let's also share what kind of subscription agreements we come up with and boast about how much money we're saving in 2013! It's time to stop complaining and start getting to know the passionate people around us and live GMO free.

Finally! A Non GMO Parenting and Cooking Meetup for Moms + Dads

Meetup.com has seemed to completely slip off the radar of social media websites. And yet to my surprise, there are quite a large number of folks that still use the site even though there hasn't been any drastic improvements in comparison to the utter annoyance of Facebook. But then on second glance,  nearly %25 of my 996 FB friends have a Meetup account and many with very little to No Meetup Group attendance.

Why is that?

My theory is any Meetup nowadays has to be both really fun and really on topic or you will see messages from the organizer saying, "What do we want out of this group?" with no meetups planned for months.

For me, starting this was easy! I was reminded how much fun talking about kids and food can be after seeing these photos from this past Mother's Day. I was reminded that I had no plans nor reservations at fancy restaurants and yet our good friend called me up and said, "Let's meetup at the Park (near Morley Field) and hang out with the kids!" And when we got there, the food was amazing... quinoa salad, organic fruit, healthy snacks, and beer! Everyone there were health nuts, or back yard farmer's with chickens, and at one point were all part of a small gourmet food club.


To us, the ingredients really did matter. Our kids ate what we ate without thinking twice. We talked for hours because the weather was perfect, and kicked the balls around, and chased the kids until they passed out. All the elements were just right!

So, how do I recreate that magic?

Simple! Meetup allowed me to select the following interest tags to bring like minded folks to the page: Cooking And Recipes, Parenting, Organic Foods, Playgroups with Moms and Dads, Parents of Food Allergic Kids, Healthy nutrition, Health, Fitness and Wellness, Natural Organic Living, Healthy Lifestyle, Organic Gardening, Organic Farming, Sustainable Farming, Fresh Organic Local Food, Take Action Against GMO's, Label GMOs



Next we're going to meet for lunch and swap Non GMO recipes. Visit community gardens and volunteer, and perhaps throw a huge summer picnic to show others you can eat Non GMO foods in this town on a budget!

Join out group today: http://www.meetup.com/Non-GMO-Parenting-and-Cooking-for-Moms-Dads/ 

Are you not on the same page yet? Want to get your kids started on the right track? Click here. And stay tuned! My next few posts will be about Growing food with your kids, Party planning with all Non GMO ingredients, Great Craft Beer choices, and Shopping for the right CSA box!