Food Prices in Your Neighborhood

It's Thyme to explore food prices in your neighborhood. For the past year we have dedicated a part of the Community Food and Nutrition Institute newsletter to exploring food prices in your neighborhood. This piece has focused on the difference in prices of a market basket in a particular zip code. I hope that this has been worthwhile and has provided valuable information as you attempt to find the best food prices in your neighborhood. The first blog for January 2011 is dedicated to this topic. I will write several blogs this month, so be sure to follow closely. Food prices are a very important issue to me personally because prior to moving to the city of Baltimore, I lived in Columbia, MD. While there, I was privileged to have 4 grocery stores within a 10 mile radius of my house. Well, when I decided to move to the city, I was intrigued with the fact that my neighborhood had so much food, culture, and entertainment within walking distance. I didn't realize that the food in the neighborhood was mostly restaurants. I hadn't even taken time to scout out grocery stores. I was naive in thinking that the city presented a mirror image of the food environment in Columbia. I soon found out that in my neighborhood the closest market was Safeway. And, for lack of a better term, I felt it was overpriced when compared to other neighborhoods throughout the area, and that there were only smaller mom and pop and convenience stores. I decided to seek out alternative venues for food. My new focus became seeking out variety and lower cost food. I was surprised to find that there are many hidden jewels in the Charm City. My favorites are the Baltimore Public Markets and the Farmers Markets. I love these markets because they allow me to get produce in season that is lower in cost and it also allows me to eat locally grown food. For the next couple of weeks, I will present to you, how to find the best food prices in your neighborhood. Sit back and relax, it is Thyme you spent less money on the food you enjoy!