Going Up?

As I sit here trying to stay awake until my husband gets home, my thoughts race as fast as I can blink.


Something that has been at the forefront of my mind, lately, is the rising food costs. With the drought hitting almost every corner of the U.S., farmers, both big and small, are feeling the affects. That cost has to be absorbed somewhere. Welcome to your local supermarket. For the past couple of years, I have tried, and mostly succeeded, in buying organic foods for my family of four. It's never been something that I questioned. I knew what I didn't want going in to my children's bodies. I knew what made me feel good, to feed them. So, I paid the extra for these organic products, and we made up the difference some place else, within our family budget. 


It's getting a little harder to do that. 


I'm feeling guilty. 


I know that I'm not always going to be able to purchase pastured beef, or free range chicken eggs. I know that the milk I love to give to my children, is going to get more expensive. The current price, for a gallon of organic milk, is roughly $8. We consume two gallons a week. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Milk is one area I refuse to make a compromise. I've read to much, watched too many videos, and did my own amount of research on commercial milk. 


It's not pretty. 


So, with these economic times, forcing us to tighten our belts, I'm torn. I will continue to purchase organic milk. I can live without organic coffee, I suppose. I prefer to purchase our meat from Publix now. At least I know that they refuse using "pink slime", fillers, and dye. I talked to the butcher, and he said they take pride in their meat, and that quality is important to them. He told me they PROMISE to never use any of those items, in their meat department. That makes me feel a tad bit better, at least I know I"m not feeding my children slime, when we make hamburgers. As far as there being hormones and such in there, he said that is up to the supplier. Well... we all know how that works. :sigh:


Profit. Fatten them up fast, sell them quick. Profit.


I will continue to make as much as I can, from scratch. At least that way I know what my family is eating. I just know that it's not always going to be sugar in the raw, or organic, stone ground flour.

But I just won't compromise on the milk.

Ever.

How are you dealing with the rising grocery costs?