Stefan, who commented on the Food Stamps and Michael Pollan post a couple days ago, mentioned that he has lived at or below the poverty level for several years but still manages to buy almost 100% of his food from co-ops and farmers markets.

That’s no small feat, since organic and local food can be considerably more expensive, and small, single-site co-op margins are usually higher than big chain groceries or discount stores.

I’m wowed by that effort, but it got me thinking about the choices that my wife and I have made in order to fit good food at the center of our family’s lifestyle. We’re not at the poverty level, but we’re definitely on the verrry shabby side of middle class (if that). Accordingly, we’ve had to do the same thing Stefan has done: Alter our budget and way of life to make room for sustainably grown food.

As I asked myself, “How do we afford it?” I realized that we’ve cut some things out of our lives that many people might not consider going without. Such as:

* We have one used car with no monthly car payments.

* We don’t have cable television.

* No payments on furniture, appliances, etc., and very low credit card use/debt.

* We shop at second-hand stores for our clothes and our kids’ clothing.

* We take public transportation or bike when we can.

* We don’t eat out very much at all (at least now that we have kids!).

* The movies we watch tend to come from the library, not Netflix or a video store. (Wife’s a librarian).

Because we spend a big chunk of our budget on food, we also do our best to make the food dollar stretch as far as possible.

* Buy in bulk (flour, rice, etc).

* Avoid packaged crap as much as possible.

* We make big dishes that can be eaten quickly and easily throughout the week: Pot roasts, rice and beans, chili, gaspacho, tabouli, soups, etc.

I’m not saying you should adopt my lifestyle, by any means. I’m just showing you how one family with modest means still manages to eat organically and sustainably on a slim budget.

I’d love to hear other ideas for making ends meet while still buying from farmers markets and grocery co-ops.  What do you do to make your budget work?