Luckily the grapes were delicious

The other day we were supposed to have some people over to play Settlers of Catan.  It was our anniversary and Josh loves Settler so I figured I would be the best wife ever and host an epic game in honour of our three years together.  Guests means snacks so Clare and I went to Safeway to buy treats.  I had gathered a pretty awesome assortment when I made my way to the self checkout.
As I rang through items I was shocked by one purchase in particular.

Organic grapes= $12.89

Excuse me!?!?  Assuming I had made some kind of rookie error as a non-professional checkout girl I inquired with staff.
"this can't be the right price."
"No that's right.  Grapes are expensive when they're not on sale."

At Dairy Queen I could get two burgers, two orders of fries, two medium drinks and two ice cream sundaes for less that this measly bag of grapes.  How is that possible?  What does that say about our society and options available for low income families?

It's hard enough to make healthy eating choices without factoring in prohibitive food costs.  Josh can probably add some figures about evil subsidies here that are the cause of the current food situation.  I don't have the facts to back up my outrage right now.  Still, what can we do to eat well and not go broke?

Maybe worrying about it is a bad idea.  When we made a pretend budget (which we never consult) Josh and I allocated a large portion of our monthly income to food.  We agreed it is worth it to invest in good quality food.  For awhile last year I was riding my bike down to Wascana Lake to pick up bi-weekly vegetable bins from Heliotrope.  That was really great.  I think I will start up again once I'm on maternity leave.  The bins obviously aren't available in the winter.

Does anyone know of other affordable, local, healthy food options?

Then there's the question about the impact of eating grapes in Canada in the winter.  Is it realistic and sustainable to expect we can eat whatever we want, whenever we want?

It's weird that so much of my life, and blogs posts, revolve around the grocery store.  I like eating.
Also our tomatoes are almost ripe!!! The last carrot we pulled was microscopic and the broccoli is long gone.  The kale has been eaten by some kind of bug but the beets look promising.  Has anyone had success with urban garden peas?  Ours have been sad two years in a row.

I heard this quote that reminds me of the environmental movement and gives me some hope for the future.

"First they ignore you,  then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." - Ghandi

I think we're in the third stage.

Also, the expensive grapes were delicious.