The Value Of A Food Dollar
|What if you viewed your food budget like an RRSP fund?
Did you beat the deadline and make your RRSP contribution in time at the end of February?
RRSP season and tax time force us to put pencil to paper and scratch out our investment plans, craft a budget and plan for the future.
What role does food play in your investment decisions? You’re probably wondering, “What does food have to do with my investments and savings?”
What if your food budget was your RRSP that invests in your personal health, well-being and pleasure, with dividend returns to the communities in which we live and our planet?
Your Health
“You are what you eat.” Yeah, we all know this old adage but then life happens and the healthy intentions are tossed out the drive thru window.
But hey, don’t beat yourself up! You are not alone. Check out our social media profiles that provide recipes, inspiration and information on our home delivery and subscription services to get good food to you conveniently.
Simple, fresh food, loaded with flavor doesn’t take any more time to prepare than ordering and waiting for takeout to arrive — and it’s cheaper than fast food! That’s money in your pocket.
Our Health
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Eating a balanced, healthy diet is just one part of personal health. When combined with getting physically active and nourishing your spirit, one has the recipe for potential longevity and less reliance on medical interventions.
If you are eating better, feeling better, and physically active, your personal health care costs decline and hence, so do regional, provincial and national health care expenses. Our tax dollars can go further in a health care system that’s not unnecessarily overburdened with food related health issues.
Those are healthy returns on your food investment!
Your Pleasure
Some of my most memorable and pleasurable moments on this planet have been when I’ve eaten food that tastes amazing. Folks, I’m not talking about fancy meals presented with white glove service. I’m talking about fresh food, simply prepared and seasoned with only a little salt and pepper to bring out the flavor.
One year, we spent New Year’s weekend at Waskesiu with friends and we each took a turn cooking a meal. Kevin and I chose to pan fry ribeye steaks, mash the potatoes and roast the carrots. Our only accompaniment and seasonings were butter, salt and pepper. We didn’t need more. The potatoes and carrots from our root cellar tasted like the garden, and the steaks — well, ribeyes speaks for themselves. Well marbled with delicious fat — say no more, say no more!
What’s your rate of return on pleasure? Immeasurable really. Why deny yourself the simple savoury pleasure of delicious food? You deserve to have pleasure in life. You really do.
In every culture, food brings us together and provides sensory pleasure that truly satiates us — emotionally, physically and spiritually. Shared around the table, food plays a big role in keeping us grounded in the here and now.
Food pays dividends in pleasurable flavor, memories and relationships for life.
The Local ROI (Return on Investment)
When you choose to buy food grown by local farmers, your food dollar stays in your local community. That farmer uses the dollars to pay employees, invest in equipment, buy supplies, pay family expenses and so on.
Employees spend their paycheques at the local restaurant, hardware store, clothing store etc. and the economic flywheel starts to turn.
As a food eater, you speak most powerfully with your wallet. In fact, your wallet is your superpower. Where you spend your money expresses who you are and what kind of world you want to live in.
It’s like being a venture capitalist, providing funds to businesses you believe have potential and earning returns for yourself in the meantime.
The Long Game — Our Planet
The hard truth is that climate change affects us all. We must choose how to live well now so that our planet can sustain us all into the future. I’m willing to invest now in our children’s future.
But this doesn’t have to be all drudgery, doom and gloom. We have hope!
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
~ Margaret Mead
Your food dollar has the power to shape agriculture — how your food is grown, what goes into, and how it gets to you.
Consider your food purchases to be your philanthropic investment in the future of our beloved planet Earth, who gives us everything we need to live beautifully and bountifully.
Your food dollar generates long term returns for future generations who will live whole and healthy lives. How powerful is that?
In my next post, I’ll address how Pine View Farms “walks the talk” with respect to personal and collective health, well-being, pleasure and environmental accountability. We are not perfect, but we are on a journey to something better.
Have questions or comments? We’d love to hear from you and will happily respond. As always, you are welcome to visit our farm just north of Saskatoon and check things out for yourself. Spring will soon be here and is a wonderful time to get out to the farm.