05/21/2026
We’ve moved so far from what sustains us.
It’s easy to disassociate from the process of how the food was grown/caught/processed when it’s laid on a styrofoam tray, wrapped in cellophane and stamped with a price tag. And sadly, that’s the real deciding factor these days. Can I afford it?
I wish I could afford to buy everything from local farmers. I’d love to stock my freezers with half of a homegrown cow. Unfortunately it’s more than we can comfortably spend. But you better believe every time I stand in the meat aisle, I feel a little queasy. What have they pumped into it? What carcinogens am I going to be eating for breakfast today? What horrors did this animal face before it arrived wrapped in a plastic bow?
This year, we’re focused on producing and harvesting as much as we can ourselves, not only from a health standpoint, but from an economic perspective, too. I want to fill my freezers, not empty my bank account.
We’ve been making all our snacks, breads, muffins, treats from ingredients in the kitchen. And it’s made a definitive difference in our monthly spending. (I need to make an update to our grocery budget video!) As the summer and fall progress, we’ll center our efforts on the garden, the rivers and the woods.
That’s one of the things I love about Alaska. It’s a land of plenty if you take the time to be a part of the process. We have to learn that process, and we’re excited to do so.
