Grocery Free August

Tucker enjoying our garden!

This winter, I heard someone talk about how they were taking a month off from grocery stores and just eating from their own farm. I loved the idea, but unfortunately we didn‘t have enough food preserved in order to do it, so I set forth a plan to take the month of August off from going to grocery and big box stores.

This means no small or large trips to the grocery store. It means more time in the garden and selecting which cut of pork, beef or chicken we will be eating out of our freezer. It means getting creative with our cow and goat milk to make our own yogurt, butter, and the like. It means using Minnesota Grown’s website to find local farms raising the things that we don’t to make sure we continue to have variety in our diet and support other local farmers. It also means going to a local boutique for a new outfit instead of ordering online or going to a big store.

And before I loose you, don’t worry, this isn’t just a challenge for those of us with farms or big gardens. You can do it too! We simply are sourcing everything from local sources if we cannot provide it for ourselves. A great resource is Minnesota Grown that I mentioned above or comment below and I might be able to connect you to what you are looking for as well. For example, my garden is a few weeks behind, so I will be relying on my good friend Laura at Thompson Family Farm to supply us with lots of fresh veggies. And of course, if you need pork, chicken, eggs, or soap, let us know!

For full transparency, we did stock up on some things before August started. We got bread flour (for my new bread maker), some easy pasta, and other such items.

Check out local farmers markets to find your favorite local farms.

Now there are always some exceptions to this rule. Our kitchen fridge decided it was done working two days ago. Thankfully, we have a farm fridge in another room, but it is pretty full and we’ll need a new one pretty soon. So we will be shopping around and may end up at box store. Other immediate home and family medical needs take precedent, so we will do as we see fit there.

This challenge isn’t about being perfect. It’s about learning to find things in your area that you may have never tried before. It’s about making connections with our food and the people that raise it. So please join us this month and reduce the number of times you go to the grocery store or big box stores.

We’d love for you to join us in this challenge! Join our Facebook group now to learn from each other, get support, find great local businesses/farms.