If you're in some grocery store in suburb-America, you'll probably find that produce can knock your head off, bread is more expensive than cheetos, and milk & meat products can cost a small fortune.
However, in just about every city, you can find local & sustainable agriculture where fruit and veggies are offered. Sometimes the cost is more expensive. However, many times...if you search them out...you can find that the cost is much cheaper, especially if bought in bulk. Often, local hole-in-the wall restaurants shop at these places, and instead of buying one grapefruit, you buy a box.
It comes in the form of produce markets, farmers markets, vegetable co-ops, and clean meat ranchers that sell in bulk or at meat markets. This photo was from my trip to the local produce market with my step-mother where limes are sold 10 for $1.
At these places, we get to commune with other people who find it important to eat healthy. They're next to you commenting on how good the pomegranates look. That builds our network. At a farmer's market, you'll often meet the person who grew your tomatoes, carrots, and celery. That puts a level of trust in your food system that you can't find in bagged spinach.
We tend to buy more in these environments, and that makes for healthier snacks and an abundance of fruits & veggies that we want to eat before they spoil. That's encouragement & reinforcement of positive behaviors. Often, this food wasn't trucked from half-way across the country, but rather grown locally. This contributes to a more sustainable, green-friendly, global environment.
I challenge you to seek out local, sustainable produce at markets that are off the beaten path. I challenge you to find the places where it's less expensive to eat healthy, and where you meet and talk with the people who are feeding your family. You can find some of these places by zipcode here.
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