I just delivered my first order of garlic to a local chef. I grew three varieties and he's taking all I can provide. It sounds like a great way to enjoy the garden, make a little money and get closer to the wonderful world of food, right? As they say, two out of three ain't bad.
Thai Purple food garlic sells for $7/lb retail (Filaree Farms website - 7/4/10)
Say that wholesale (to cover the cost of seed garlic, labor and selling costs) my locally grown Thai Purple garlic is $4/lb (which still sounds like a lot for garlic to me....)
2 lbs of garlic X $4 = $8 or the price of a glass of Brumont Rose wine at Soe Cafe in Sawyer MI.
That little equation provides a context for understanding the conundrum we are in. We used to eat closer to home, with less variety and perhaps less quality in some things. We knew the seasons, understood scarcity and acted accordingly. Now we are aware that we eat from around the world, spending less on food than most if not all other countries, yet we aren't consistently eating well as the tainted food stories attest; the costs are higher to eat fresh local foods than fast, carb/fat laden foods; and we're paying for it in higher medical bills. Is eating healthily a right or a luxury?
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