Cutting food & gas costs in NOLA (and elsewhere)
After posting a response to today’s NOLA.com story about rising food costs in New Orleans and the ensuing comments (here) I figured it might be helpful to repost the info here. So here a few of NOGoddess’s tips on eating better for less money and feeling less pinch at the gas pump:
Someone asked about biodiesel sources in New Orleans - check out BioLiberty in Slidell (an excellent biodiesel processing group that is run by and hires vets created by members of the Vets for Peace who came up here directly after the storm to provide relief services and ended up staying). They collect grease from restaurants in Slidell and turn it into biodiesel. Right now they are trying to help a NOLA collective get on its feet. Check out their website at bioliberty.net and feel free to ask them any questions, from how to convert a vehicle, process your own biodiesel or obtain already processed biodiesel, etc. They are very helpful and very friendly!
I am working on my own container garden and hope to build raised beds and put in a chicken coop as I have the time/funds. For folks looking to learn more about gardening, check out the New Orleans Food and Farm Network, they offer many resources as well as seminars on growing organic food, etc. You can find their website at noffn.org.
Folks who do not have the room to grow their own food or aren’t ready to start their own garden should check out Parkway Partners and their community gardens initiative. Community Gardens are a great way to make something positive and useful for communities out of vacant/blighted lots and work together/share knowledge with other members of the community - and - of course, produce food! You can find their website at parkwaypartnersnola.org.
Don’t forget to check out the Crescent City Farmers Markets at crescentcityfarmersmarket.org - I have been shopping the farmers markets more and more as I find that the produce is better (organic, local) and cheaper than what I find in the supermarkets. Local food does not incur the same transportation and storage costs that food shipped in from who knows where does, so it is much more sustainable, better for you - and supports local commerce! Eat local!!
Also google the New Orleans Food Co-op. Right now it is a buyer’s club (and shipments are on hiatus for a couple of months during the summer) - it’s a cheaper way to get good, healthy foods by sharing cases with other members. They also have other info and resources, so check them out at nolafoodcoop.org.
And google Victory Gardens, the gardens that people were encouraged to grow on their home lots during both world wars to help combat food shortages. Wikipedia is a good place to start. For more ideas on how to maximize growing space in small areas, along with container gardening, look up square footage gardening and vertical gardening (and, my new favorite, upside down tomato plants!).
And one more note about gas savings:
Someone (on the NOLA.com comments) mentioned riding a motorcycle now to save gas money. For those who don’t want to ride a motorcycle, consider a scooter. My husband and I both drive 49cc scooters when we need to go further or haul more than we can reasonably do on a bike. We get 70-80 miles a gallon and can park legally on the sidewalks. Scooters have an easier learning curve than motorcycles, and if you stick to a 49cc scooter, you don’t need a motorcycle endorsement on your license. You can’t go on the highway with a 49cc scooter, so if you need to travel on the highway regularly, consider a higher powered scooter - you will need the motorcycle endorsement, but the gas savings are well worth it!!
We do keep a pickup truck for hauling items for home repairs, really rainy days, transporting friends and larger loads, but having scooters has saved us a bundle. We paid ~$2,000 for ours new (TNG Scooters from Scooteria on Sophia Wright Place), other brands can cost a lot more - but also check scooter shops and craig’s list for used scooters as there are more and more of those on the market as more and more folks have been riding scooters here the past few years.
Eat Responsibly, Act Locally, Respond Politically!
- NOGoddess (aka Andrea)
L’Art Noir New Orleans - lartnoir.com
St. Claude Arts District - SCADNOLA.com
June 9th, 2008 at 7:52 am
Click on the player or the link below to listen to the Talk Radio with Gordon Soderberg form Bio Liberty on Biodiesel for Small Business. This week I talked about using grease from local restaurants to fuel New Orleans rebuilding efforts, the percentage of Oil consumed by the US Military, the reasons for High Fuel costs and the positive effects we can have to reduce the need for oil from abroad.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/AlternativeEnergyCom/2008/06/08/Talk-Radio-with-Gordon-Soderberg-on-Biodiesel-for-Small-Business-1
June 9th, 2008 at 8:45 am
Gordon, thank you for stopping by! Please make a point of keeping us in the loop about any of your efforts in the Gulf Coast area, particularly in New Orleans. Contact info for the bloggers on the team is located on the “Get In Touch” page in our sidebar.
Thanks for sharing that!
June 9th, 2008 at 9:51 am
Hey Gordon - Great to see you stopping by here! I forgot to link up Vets for Peace when I originally made the post, so I’ve linked it up now. Folks, check out the Vets for Peace site (http://www.veteransforpeace.org/) and the Iraqi Veterans Against the War (http://ivaw.org/) when you’ve got a moment for some interesting insight into the realities our troops and veterans face and ways we can help support our troops… and bring them home. We spent many many hours working with members of both these groups, who have been amazingly supportive of NOLA and the Gulf Coast.
June 25th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Well, here is the latest on Bio Liberty, LLC. We have been given a notice by the St Tammany parish code enforcement officer that states we are operating a commercial business on property zoned residential. After contacting the officials we have learned that although there are no State laws that prohibit making bio diesel they feel we are operating outside the law. We do not sell bio diesel. We use it to operate a lot clearing service for Lower Ninth Ward home owners. While we do make the fuel on the property in Slidell, LA. we do not conduct business there. Since my partner and owner of the property in subdividing the land and dose not want to have our bio diesel operation prevent the green construction projects we have planed for. We have decided to move our bio diesel plant to another location.
So, we are looking for a place in New Orleans to make fuel for Bio Liberty, LLC. and to continue to clear lots for Lower Ninth Ward residents. If anyone has ideas about where we could relocate please let me know ASAP!
One possible solution is to create and bio diesel coop where members can make their own fuel and at the same time help the lot clearing efforts Bio Liberty has been doing for over a year now.
I don’t look at this as a set back rather, as a opportunity to expand our services and reduce our costs of gathering used cooking oil from New Orleans restaurants and recycling it into green fuel for the rebuilding efforts.
Peace, Out!
Gordon