Money. Money. Money. Money. That's been the big story in the world for the last couple years. Everyone's concerned over where it is, who has it, who doesn't.
Local food is more expensive. We buy meat from a local butcher who sells only local organic meat. Ground beef is usually around $5/lb. That's two dollars more than the typical $2.99/lb at our local grocery store. Any penny pinching cheapskate (like me!) would obviously get it at the grocery store.
I used to think that, but then I thought about where I work, who my customers are, and who the butcher is. Those extra dollars became worth it very, very quickly - it's a little job security.
I'm a baker at an artisan bakery. Our customers are teachers, construction workers, restaurants, farmers, the butcher, etc... My neighbors money is all that goes into my paycheck. Why would I want to take their hard earned money and ship it off to [Cincinnati](http://www.thekrogerco.com/)? I want people to buy bread and cookies from us, not from an out of state factory.
Those extra dollars I pay the butcher - a little goes to his employees, a little comes back to the bakery when they buy a pastry or cookie. A little goes to local [farmers](http://www.foodroutes.org/hottopic.jsp?id=4). Turns out the butcher sends his kids to my wife's preschool, so a little goes back into her paycheck.
Those six dollars run around our community, [hopping from pocket to pocket](http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_19060.cfm), and eventually gets back into my pocket. It boosts the region's income, keeps neighbors working, businesses open. The same can't be said for the four dollars that would get shipped off to Cinci and parts [unknown](http://www.ipmcenters.org/CropProfiles/docs/NCRbeef.html).
And, if you're frugal, it might only be an extra [$10/month](http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/274391).
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