Two urban farmers in Vallejo forgo grocery stores, restaurants and live off their own land for a year

“We really want to be debt free by the next three years.”

By Irma Widjojo
Times Herald
10/03/2011

Excerpt:

Just over a year ago, Vallejoans Rachel Hoff and Tom Ferguson, frustrated with the food industry, challenged themselves: For a full 365 days, that ended Saturday, they would not step into a grocery store.

“I couldn’t trust the food from the store anymore,” Hoff said. “There’s a lack of trust with the food system.”

To meet their challenge, they would get their food from the farmers market for the first nine months and then only from their own back yard garden. Restaurants and grocery stores were out of bounds. The only caveat was that they could eat food cooked by others when visiting.

At the end of the year, not only did the couple say they feel much healthier, they also saved about $4,500 in groceries.

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