Rising food prices - why don’t more people shop local?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the DMV I get home delivery from South Mountain Creamery and do a year- round produce CSA. (This is OP)

For other areas, do a google search for CSAs and your city name.

Wait, you are claiming that SMC is *cheaper* than other grocery options? That's absurd. We ordered it for years, and finally gave it up because it became affordable (or at least irresponsible).

Yes, it’s definitely more. It’s less than the organic milk we were buying at grocery but more than conventional milk. We still buy it because we like it and also I suspect the local milk has more nutrition per ounce — milk actually loses its nutrients with age, so it’s possible the local stuff has more nutrition per $ than grocery store stuff, but that’s hard to say.

Same with the meat—it’s more expensive than the cheap stuff but competitively priced if you’re only looking at the antibiotic free and hormone free meat.

[Anonymous]

I get SMC, and it is completely disingenuous to assert that it’s the best pricewise. Some products are a bit cheaper right now but I don’t expect that to last. I enjoy the freshness, I like the delivery, but if price was my primary concern, I wouldn’t be getting farm delivery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the DMV I get home delivery from South Mountain Creamery and do a year- round produce CSA. (This is OP)

For other areas, do a google search for CSAs and your city name.

Wait, you are claiming that SMC is *cheaper* than other grocery options? That's absurd. We ordered it for years, and finally gave it up because it became affordable (or at least irresponsible).

I used to get milk from them, and with delivery fees I was paying $13 for a gallon, and that was years ago. I think it’s good to support local farms, and the products are good, but it’s not cheap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the DMV I get home delivery from South Mountain Creamery and do a year- round produce CSA. (This is OP)

For other areas, do a google search for CSAs and your city name.

I just took a look at their website since you got me interested. 5lbs of chicken is $51! I can get one pound of chicken for $1.99 at Harris Teeter. Also their milk is more expensive than at the grocery store. So in your OP you whine about how people don’t shop local to save money/ help the environment but really, this local company is super expensive.

When eggs are too expensive for me, we don’t buy them.

Same. SMC is crazy expensive and OP is too ne-deaf, preaching from a position of wealth.

[Anonymous]

tone-deaf

[Anonymous]

Shopping local is extraordinarily expensive. Why do people keep saying it is cheaper when it is not? Go to your local farmer's market. They'll want like $20-30 for a small chicken, and like $20+/lb for any kind of beef. A dozen eggs might set you back close to $10. Please stop parroting around the stupid talking point to 'buy local' for food. It is exponentially more expensive, and people who state otherwise don't live in damn reality. The last thing I bought locally at the farmers market in the fall was some paw paws. Paid over $15 for only about 3 of them, lol. Cheaper my ass.

[Anonymous]

Our local farm sold a dozen eggs for ten dollars a pop. And that was before avian flu.

[Anonymous]

Higher prices, plus you have to go to multiple places to do your grocery shopping, probably destroying any environmental benefits from shopping local.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With all the complaints about rising food prices, especially with eggs, milk, and produce, why don’t more people shop local farms?

I buy all of the above from local farms and have not seen a price increase in years - plus the quality is much better, the packing less wasteful (glass bottles milk, no plastic packing for produce), and you get to support local businesses and community agriculture.

What am I missing?

What you're missing, sweetheart, is that most people cannot afford and are not buying the organic/free range/hormone free/whatever stuff from MOM'S organic market that you are comparing your local farm prices to.

p.s. Nearly ALL milk nowadays is hormone free.

[Anonymous]

Shopping local is more expensive. When I tire of spending too much at Safeway or Giant, I go to Aldi.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Shopping local is extraordinarily expensive. Why do people keep saying it is cheaper when it is not? Go to your local farmer's market. They'll want like $20-30 for a small chicken, and like $20+/lb for any kind of beef. A dozen eggs might set you back close to $10. Please stop parroting around the stupid talking point to 'buy local' for food. It is exponentially more expensive, and people who state otherwise don't live in damn reality. The last thing I bought locally at the farmers market in the fall was some paw paws. Paid over $15 for only about 3 of them, lol. Cheaper my ass.

You're absolutely right that farmer's markets are rarely cheaper than grocery stores (even with recent price increases) -- it's like OP is saying, "Well, I've always paid a lot of these things and I'm still paying a lot. Why doesn't everyone else just consistently pay a lot too?"

That being said, your famer's market has bonkers prices -- mine has cheaper produce than the grocery store (albeit seasonal), and eggs are only $5/dozen. The meat is crazy expensive, I grant you; I paid $120 for leg of lamb last weekend. But I do that for the quality. Definitely wouldn't recommend to anyone feeling the bite of inflation.

[Anonymous]

Economies of scale

[Anonymous]

I think you are confusing prices not going up as fast with actually being cheaper. I have nori ed the price of high quality meat( meat from local farms bought at stores near me ) have not increased much, but the price is still higher than cheaper versions at grocery stores.

[Anonymous]

My CSA is up 7% this year and we get less food each week than we used to.

SMC is raised their milk prices 12% just over a year ago.

Buying local is neither more affordable nor exempt from price increases.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My CSA is up 7% this year and we get less food each week than we used to.

SMC is raised their milk prices 12% just over a year ago.

Buying local is neither more affordable nor exempt from price increases.

Oh, and my "local" quarter cow is 20% more expensive (per pound) than it was 2 years ago.