Organic Food in Surprising Places

I try very hard to buy fresh, local food. I visit farm stands, farmer's market and craft shows (a great place to find baked goods, jerky, jam, etc).  When the things I'm looking for are not available in those locales, or if those locales are unavailable (Michigan winters don't keep many farm stands in business!), I have to get them from grocery stores. I often shop at the local VG's chain and sometimes hit the (also local) Hiller's. I also hit the Michigan-based Meijer on occasion. All of these chains carry some organic products and they even mark the Michigan-based brands. If your local market doesn't carry many local items, talk to them and see if they'll start. Also ask them to mark the local products to build awareness.

Now, all that is well and good, but I must admit to a weakness. Costco. Buying in bulk, when done correctly (only buying what you'll use, comparing unit prices, etc) saves a ton of time and money. Not to mention packaging. Imagine my happy surprise when I began finding wonderful organic products in their vast aisles! Just goes to show that you can't discount any options when looking for affordable organic options.

Guidelines #1: Food

Food is one of my very favorite things, so let's start there. Keep in mind, these are guidelines. There are no hard and fast rules for this quest of mine. Sometimes life happens. I'm not going to berate myself if an experiment goes terribly wrong and I end up ordering a pizza...or drinking heavily while locked in my bedroom. OK, probably not that, but you never know.

My hopes for the food part of this adventure are as follows:
1) I plan on cooking real food, from scratch, about 80% of the time. The remaining 20% of the time we will probably be visiting or eating out. If we're eating out, I will do my best to find a locally owned restaurant. Ideally, they will source their foods locally.
2) This spring, I'm going to plant a garden using the square foot gardening technique. I already have rhubarb and raspberries planted and they should both bear fruit this summer.
3) I am going to buy the majority of my meat and produce from local sources. Ideally, these will be organic and untreated.
4) This summer and fall I'm going to begin learning to can and preserve the food that I grow and buy locally.

That about covers it, I guess. I'll probably revise these as I go along, but I think food will be the easiest part. Stay tuned for the hard stuff!