In Lina’s fridge, 24 years old, 3,800 euros a month: “Having my chickens and my vegetable garden allows me to save money”

• Name :Lina*
• Age : 24 years old
• Place of residence : Alsace, suburbs of Strasbourg
• People living under the same roof and their age : partner for 27 years and both my parents do their own grocery shopping.
• Family income : 3.800€ per month
• Monthly grocery budget : approximately €450 per month but variable depending on the month
• Food specifications : Nobody

Purchase of food products

What foods do you regularly buy each week and why?

I buy milk and butter from the farm weekly because they are products that do not necessarily keep in the freezer, depending on the season, I also buy vegetables when the production of my garden is not sufficient.

Which stores do you shop at and why? How often do you go there?

I go to the Leclerc supermarket about once a month, but also online on the La Fourche website every 5-6 months and every week to a nearby producer’s store. But as for the supply of vegetables and eggs, I take care of it myself.

How do you choose which products to put in your cart? Do you prefer private label brands, low prices or high end?

I usually choose the mid-range, trying to get the best value for money.

Do you want to favor local or organic products when shopping?

I try to favor local and seasonal products. Out-of-season products, even local ones, have too big an environmental impact and the taste and quality are not the same in my eyes. I prefer local to organic, to encourage farmers in the sector. In direct sales I favor sustainable agriculture and organic products.

How often do you buy and eat meat? Fish? Why this choice?

I eat fish once or twice a week. I eat white meat about 5 times a week and red meat 3-4 times a week. I consume this way to have a varied diet and to respect the WHO recommendations, although sometimes I exceed the WHO recommendations on red meat. As for red meat (and milk), I consume animals raised on pasture in good conditions.

Furthermore, unlike other types of farming, animals raised outdoors on pasture represent more of a resource than a constraint for the environment, because meadows represent an important reserve of carbon and biodiversity and allow, depending on some approaches, better management of water resources (which unfortunately is not the case for all farming conditions, especially those based on monocultures).

Who cooks at home? Is it okay for you, does it weigh you down on a daily basis?

Mostly me, but sometimes my partner cooks too. We divide the household chores more or less equally, but I cook more because I enjoy it.

Do you have meals delivered?

Pizza, sushi, hamburgers, whatever you like… This is what happens with us, with a budget of around €100 per month.

What’s your latest food crush? And the indulgent food you can’t live without?

I believe that food “cravings” appear in the context of eating disorders.

I try to practice intuitive eating as much as possible.

I eat what I want in the quantities I want. Sometimes I eat a lot, sometimes less, sometimes I eat sweeter because I want chocolate, sometimes I want vegetables… My body regulates itself.

As a woman, my diet also varies depending on my cycle, right after my cycle I often crave red meat. Our body and our desires can allow us to follow a balanced diet based on our needs if we are not constantly in a logic of constraint and restriction. It is a way of understanding things that need to be worked on and learned.

At first I was afraid to eat only chocolate, but in the end nothing. I want a lot of things. But I must admit that my favorite and time-saving food since childhood is milk. In the morning there is nothing more practical than a big bowl of chocolate milk.

Well, I admit that even for milk I exceed the WHO recommendations, even though for the rest I consume very little dairy products.

Purchase energy management

How does inflation affect food choices and purchasing habits?

I started entering the workforce in 2023, before that I rarely went grocery shopping so inflation was already there when I started.

But I feel like having my own chickens and garden saves me money, which could be even more significant with more experience.

Ecological impact

How aware are you of the environmental impact of the food you buy?

I pay attention to consuming local seasonal products and animal products from sustainable agriculture. I admit that the months of May and June are the most difficult to eat local seasonal vegetables, because winter vegetables are no longer available and summer ones are not yet… It’s hard not to fall in love with out-of-season vegetables.

To have a more sustainable supply, I have a small garden and three chickens. I fill part of my refrigerator and freezer this way, without a great investment of time.

I can consume local and quality products thanks to my own production of vegetables and eggs (which unfortunately do not represent the majority of my diet), and I have more budget to buy local products from the producer or in supermarkets.

My 3 hens come from a laying hen farm and were supposed to be sent to slaughter, I got them back for €5. They have a henhouse of about 1m2 and a screened “yard” of 5m2. They eat my peelings and kitchen scraps (as well as the neighbor’s) and adapted seeds to supplement their diet. They lay enough eggs to feed two people without worries, although in winter they lay less often.

With my 20 square meter garden, which takes a maximum of 40 minutes a week to water and harvest, excluding the time for sowing which takes a maximum of half a day, I produce enough tomatoes, cucumbers and courgettes to be able to consume them with my family 4 from the beginning of July to October. I produce other vegetables in smaller quantities, which I have not yet learned to grow to claim to give advice, but the 3 crops mentioned above are simple and accessible to everyone.

To save even more, I buy my own seeds and produce my own plants.

Just watch a tutorial on YouTube and try it. Otherwise you can buy your plants in a garden center, but the price is higher. Also, you can grow these plants in a large bucket on a terrace or balcony.

I think if everyone who has a little land had at least 2 chickens and a small vegetable garden, it would be good for the climate and for their wallets.

And also for health, gardening and having your hands in the dirt helps reduce stress and engage in physical activity. Plus, the taste of garden tomatoes is priceless.

I know that my point of view is not in line with the norm of people in working life, but I really believe that it is a better approach that forces us to question the conditions of production of the rest of the food that provides fundamental elements and facilitates a first understanding of nature.

My grandparents saw the birth of supermarkets in the 50s, before that they mainly consumed vegetables, eggs and meat in the countryside and did not depend on their purchasing power like us to feed themselves.

I started my garden in 2020 and I have no regrets except not starting it sooner!

*Name changed