We're NotShopping

Our mission now is to stop going to the store. By store, I mean large supermarkets that conveniently have everything you need plus a lot more things you don’t. Our main goal has always been to be able to produce what we need at home, but this requires skills and know-how that can only come with time and practice. During this transition, we will utilize our community to fulfill our needs. The following three methods are the starting place to change the way we shop.

Our city has many farmers markets to choose from each with a long list of vendors. Usually we can find produce, eggs, specialty food items, and other various home made goodies. This is a good way to find the essentials that you need to stock up on a weekly basis. Many local farms also sell directly from the farm during the week if you can’t make the market hours.

Local farms often participate in CSA (Community-supported-agriculture). This is where you initially invest in the farm to produce the crops and in return you receive a weekly bundle of fresh local produce, sometimes this includes meat and eggs. In this circumstance the community and the farmer inherit the risks to agriculture, but both receive the benefits. Around our area, bundles can be from $29 - $39 a week depending on the amount and the variety of the bundle.

Many local stores may specialize in something that you regularly buy from the store. For instance many cities have local coffee and tea houses where you can buy your supply.

Much of this list only tackles the issue of food. Obviously, there are many other things we buy from the store. Paper products, toiletries, cleaning, etc. Little by little, we’re working on changing our source of these items with the above methods until we can learn to do it ourselves. If we want to live off of fresh and organic ingredients, it makes the most sense to get them straight from the source.