Introduction

Ben and I have decided to participate in the April 2007 Penny-Wise Eat Local Challenge. During the week of April 23-29 we will be attempting to eat all local foods and comparing the costs to our usual food budget. Here are the details of what we will be doing:

Our definition of "local" for this challenge is within a 100-mile radius of our home. The exemptions we will be claiming are for coffee and tea, which are impossible to buy locally. A few other items, such as salt and olive oil, are still up for debate.

The average American food budget for our family size and income level is $121 per week. We don't spend nearly that much--it's closer to half that. However, we do grow a lot of the produce we eat and have laying hens. Our goal for the week is to stay under the American average, and to see how close we come to our own average.

When we buy items in bulk, we will calculate the cost for the portion of the item we use during the week. Food that we grow or produce ourselves we will consider "free" and not include in our week's costs. We are also only eating "one-generation local": we will consider milk, eggs, and meat to be local if the animal was raised locally, whether or not the animal feed was locally produced.

We expect the week to be challenging and educational. If you have questions drop us a comment or email--we'd love to hear your thoughts.