From the Food Nation Radio News Desk
5/25/2020
MAKE IT YOURSELF AND SAVE
BLAME IT ON THE VIRUS
One thing is certain in this transitional, mid-to-post Covid 19 pandemic, grocery prices are rising quickly, and now’s the time to make it yourself and save. With part of the country still on lockdown, the entire process of farm to table has been upended. Before March 15, 2020, the food chain in the US operated like a fairly well-oiled machine. Let’s take a frozen apple pie for example.
SUPPLY LINES ARE MESSED UP RIGHT NOW
Raw ingredients left the farm and arrived at the food processing plant in the right sequence for the processor to create the pie. The trucks arrived, and delivered the apples, eggs butter and flour. The manufacturer made the pie, loaded it onto a refrigerated truck and sent it to large grocery warehouses around the country. Then you, hungry for apple pie, would go to the store, put the box in your cart. While you’re there, you might also grab coffee, eggs and bacon for breakfast. C-19 disrupted the flow all the way around and it will take months, if not an entire growing cycle to get back to “normal.” The government agency that monitors the cost of products purchased by consumers estimates egg prices alone rose 16.1% in the month of April. And of course, that has a ripple effect, because those food processors buy eggs too to make those baked goods. So those baked processed products rising in price. As restaurants re-open, they too face the same dilemma , rising prices mean higher prices or lower profits. Which option do you think they’ll choose? There’s no doubt that the prices on those now disposable menus are more expensive than they were two months ago.
THE JOY OF COOKING AT HOME (AND SAVING MONEY)
Not to pat ourselves on the back, okay, maybe a little, but this site is filled with recipes that Elizabeth has written and tried over the years.
MAKE IT YOURSELF AND SAVE
From Day One of the radio show, Elizabeth has encouraged listeners to make it themselves with the intent being to know what’s actually in the foods you’re eating. Now the emphasis of cooking at home has a secondary focus, “Make It Yourself and Save” money. There was a time when indeed it would have been less expensive to go to a restaurant for a good meal. That’s not necessarily the case any longer. During our own lockdown we took the opportunity to create several new dishes strictly with items on-hand. Now’s the time to get creative. Just remember two rules: baking is a science and you’ve got to follow the instructions, cooking however is an art, so experiment with lesser meat, pasta, spices and sauces to come up with your own family favorites. Lastly, when you’ve created that dish, by whatever means works best for you… save it! Your family will appreciate it time and time again.
