Welcome to The Globe’s new series, What’s In My Cart?, where we’re asking Canadians how they stock their kitchens.
Retired teacher and social worker Nancy Jones typically tries to buy groceries sourced locally, within a 100-mile radius of her home in Invermere, eastern B.C.Illustration by Kat Frick Miller
Retired teacher and social worker Nancy Jones typically tries to buy groceries sourced locally, within a 100-mile radius of her home in Invermere, eastern B.C.
“I avoid buying anything exported from the U.S., because of politics,” says the 74-year-old, who adds that she has strong views on gun control, women’s rights and the Donald Trump presidency.
Instead, she’s found creative ways around buying goods from south of the border. Over the years she’s built relationships with farmers who sell their products at local markets, found a great baker and even sourced her beef from a nearby cattle farm. When she was younger, she’d buy an entire butchered cow for months of eating.
She also tries to keep her dinner costs to less than $10 by planning around an inexpensive protein and what’s on sale at stores in her area. She shops on seniors’ day at her local grocery store, which gets her a 10-per-cent discount.
Here is how Jones navigates the grocery store aisles.
How I save money on groceries: By shopping on sale at different grocery stores, like A G Valley Foods here in Invermere. I’m lucky to have space for a chest freezer where I can store meats I buy in bulk when they’re on sale.
How I splurge on groceries: When my children and grandchildren come over, I splurge on family dinner. We also buy Lindt chocolate, which is a bit of a splurge and usually have one or two squares at night.
The hardest shopping habit to keep up: Purchasing organic produce. It’s expensive, but I try to keep it organic. It’s also hard to buy locally or not purchase from the U.S., especially in the winter. So during those months I’m a bit more lax with my rules around purchasing.
How I’ve changed my eating habits recently: Our appetites have been smaller since we retired and as we’ve gotten older. We don’t usually eat lunch.
Five items always in my cart:
- Ground pork and ground beef – A G Valley Foods – $15.99: Up until last year I purchased my beef from a rancher, but it’s become hard to get to him lately. I buy one pound of each meat and use it to make Vietnamese meatballs with garlic, mint, coriander and panko. This typically this makes about 40 meatballs, which is four meals for me and my husband.
- A loaf of sourdough cheese bread – Local bakery Schöni Artisan Wood Oven Breads – $12.99: This is a bit of a splurge. We buy the loaf weekly and my husband usually has a slice for breakfast, toasted with butter or a little jam.
- Old cheddar cheese – Bothwell Cheese – $5.99: This company is based in Manitoba and I usually buy the product on sale. We often have sandwiches, and the cheddar is great on a them.
- Sun-dried tomato pesto – Classico – $3.49: We use this for the homemade pizza we make often. It’s also nice tossed with some pasta for a quick, cheap dish.
- Bulbs of garlic – local farm – 50 cents a bulb: I purchased over $30 worth of garlic last summer and kept it in a cool, dark place to use when we need it. You could also peel and freeze them to last longer.
This interview has been edited and condensed.