I went for groceries today. Because of other errands, I ended up at a different store than usual—a more upscale store. I wasn’t surprised, but I was appalled at how much I spent on my normal shopping run. It got me thinking about what I spend on food, both in cash and in time. I did a few back-of-the-envelope calculations, and found that I spend about $5,500 per year on food I don’t grow myself. I then calculated that I spend 980 hours per year producing food (not counting cooking). At my professional charge out rate, that’s nearly $69,000 of my time. I never grumble about how much time I spend on gardening, yet in cash value, I spend twelve times more in the garden than I do in the grocery store.

Why do I not mind spending a fortune in the garden? I value local food, self-sufficiency, and quality ingredients. Paying more at the store might get you more local food, but it doesn’t guarantee higher quality, and leaves you just as dependant on others for food. But spending more time in the garden provides high quality local produce, and doesn’t rely on an uninterrupted supply chain. Besides, who wouldn’t rather be in the garden than in the grocery store? So I’m willing to pay a little more in order to “shop” in the garden.