I am sure I am not alone in examining all parts of my budget during this time of economic strife. (In fact, this post was late because I am in the midst of epic research on how to cut down my phone bill.)

Since I believe so strongly in buying good, sustainably raised food from local purveyors, it can sometimes be a challenge to reign in spending. On the Eat Local Challenge website, we have talked a lot about eating within a budget and have proven that it's possible -- it just takes a little more planning than average, a little more cooking than average, and a little more preserving of food than average.

So how does one go about eating sustainably on a budget? I have a few ideas, but would love to hear what tricks you are employing to keep your family's budget down.

Eat fruits and vegetables that are in season.

When fruits and vegetables are in abundance in the farmers market, the prices go down. There may be sales, and you are getting the vegetables at their peak of flavor. When you just have to have a bunch of asparagus out of season in August, you're going to be paying top dollar for it. Right now, in the middle of asparagus season, you may find a deal.

Put foods up when you find a bargain.

Start working on canning, drying, preserving, and freezing your food as you find it on sale. There is nothing that's better for the budget and the tastebuds than pulling a bag of peas that were frozen in their peak out of your own freezer, or using your own jarred tomatoes that were purchased in September and canned. Learning to can is a bit of a process, but the resurgence in interest means that there are a lot of resources available. Start with the Ball website for step-by-step instructions.

Menu plan.

You may remember that in January I mentioned that I would be menu planning in order to cut down on food waste as part of my 2009 resolutions. It's been going quite well, and has in fact given way to a new project with a friend where we menu plan for the week and cook together. You can read the first part of the series on Serious Eats. I know that this is the key to keeping my budget in check, but I have to admit that it's been quite a switch for me to menu plan and to eat at home as much as I have been.

Look for unpopular cuts of meat.

Meat definitely takes up a large percentage of my budget. I've taken to combing through a meat vendor's selection for cuts that are less expensive -- oxtails, tougher cuts of meat that need to be slow cooked, or different meats like goat -- in order to find a bargain. It seems to be working out somewhat, and I am also cutting down on my meat consumption.

I'd like to ask you, readers: What have you been doing to cut down on food costs?

Though I'm making great strides in this arena, I feel like there are other things I can be doing to cut down on costs.

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Inexpensive Family Meals

Two weeks ago, I mentioned the rising cost of food around the world. It's been a hot topic lately, and reports are becoming more grim. Costs are starting to hit home in our supermarkets, and warehouse retail chains are even beginning to restrict volume (20 pound) rice sales due to supply issues.

Most sustainable food activists believe that the price of food does not reflect its true price, and that subsidies for crops like corn and soy create artificial prices that keep the price of junk foods and processed foods artificially low. This means unsubsidized, whole foods like farmers market products are more expensive but that they are actually the real price of food.

In an article in the New York Times recently called "Some Good News on Food Prices," Michael Pollan and Alice Waters made the argument that rising food prices will equalize the playing field that is our food system -- organic, local, pasture-raised foods will become feasible options when all food prices are high. "Higher food prices level the playing field for sustainble food that doesn't rely on fossil fuels," said Pollan in the article.

As most know, I am an active voice for voting with your fork and making conscious decisions about where your food dollars go.

However, I have trouble with this argument. And I especially have trouble with Waters' claim that food budgeting in this current climate is simply a matter of reprioritizing:

"It is simply a matter of quality versus quantity and encouraging healthier, more satisfying choices. 'Make a sacrifice on the cellphone or the third pair of Nike shoes,' she said."

While many of us are privileged to be able to make that budget decision or reprioritize, we, in the sustainable food movement, are only alienating those who cannot make those choices with statements such as Waters'. Many are having to make very difficult decisions about their food budgets at the moment, and now may not be the time to make them feel guilty about the decisions that they are facing.

I'm not the only one who was rankled by this article. Tom Philpott, in an article at Grist, called the Pollan and Waters argument an oversimplification.

"I have a hard time imagining people who are struggling to put food on the table rambling off to the farmers' market on Saturday to fill cloth bags with the sort of fresh, local, organic produce so beloved by Pollan and Waters (and me). Indeed, higher food prices are likely to send many time- and cash-strapped people in quite the opposite direction."

I agree with Philpott. Now is the time for sustainable food activists to make sure that there is great access to farmers market, great promotion of CSA's, and to continue to talk about sustainably sourcing our food. But it's not the time to bask in the fact that our nation's food prices are reaching crisis levels.