In 2014 7.3 million Americans consider themselves vegetarian. But just how much damage, if any done at all, does being a vegetarian do to your wallet?
According to the USDA’s Food Price Outlook, the cost of meat has increased. Products such as beef, eggs, and pork are among some of the products that have seen an increase in supermarkets nationwide.
Coincidentally, vegetarianism is also on the rise in the U.S., with about 8 million adults considered themselves followers on the lifestyle. 7 percent of that 8 million had a household earning under $50,000.
A study published last year, compared the amount of money spent by meat eaters and those following a vegetarian diet. It was found that weekly, a person following a meat based diet spent about $53.11, compared to $38.75 for those following a plant based diet. In one year alone, $746.46 was spent on a vegetarian diet.
“I found that eating meat was more expensive,” said Dawn Hewitt, a Newhallville resident. “I usually bought pork or beef.”
Nationally, out of those who ate meat, 2 percent had an income in the $50,000-75,000 range. The average United States income is about $54,000. People who had below average incomes, were much more likely to be considered vegetarian compared to those who made above average, according to the Huffington Post.
“A vegetarian diet is not as expensive as people believe,” said nutritionist, Yvette Graffie-Cooper, “It’s really what you make of it.”
Graffie-Cooper suggests coming up with meal ideas ahead of time to save time and money at the grocery store. She also said looking at the weekly circular for grocery stores will let you know what they have on sale. She also advises to buy healthy foods in bulk, and also utilizing local farmer’s markets which are also cheaper.
“Things like beans and quinoa in bulk are much cheaper than buying individually. It also has a lot more serving,” Cooper-Graffie said.
City Seed is New Haven’s local farmer’s market. It is also apart of the city’s effort to combat their reputation as a food desert.
During the winter months, the farmer’s market is located indoors at the Metropolitan Business Academy. Beginning in about May, different locations around New Haven are chosen as spots for set up.
City Seed also accepts SNAP, or food stamps.
“This makes it easier for families living in New Haven to have access to fresh food, especially those considering a vegetarian lifestyle,” Graffie-Cooper said.
As for the distance, the closest location of the farmer’s market to Newhallville is about a 30 minute walk, or 15 minute drive. Graffie-Cooper says this is another barrier.
“Not everyone has access to these markets, especially those in the heart of the food desert.”
For Lezlie McEachern, a student who grew up in the Newhallville area of New Haven, healthy food was not always a priority. Newhallville is considered a “food desert,” and McEachern’s family struggled with a hectic schedule, lack of knowledge about nutritious food and transportation issues.
According to the USDA, a food desert is defined as an area that lacks healthy produce. Residents within these areas are also more than a mile and a half from a grocery store or supermarket, and lack reliable transportation.
“If you told me I lived in a food desert, I would be very confused — my family would be confused. Honestly, I would keep eating the same — it was cheap,” McEachern said.
McEachern was within walking distance to a bodega and a Chinese takeout restaurant. She frequented them in high school and sometimes when she goes home.
The word “bodega” is Spanish for corner store. They sell some items that can be found in the grocery store, such as milk and bread — but often at higher prices. Although those items are available, it is still cheaper to buy the unhealthier options, such as prepared fast food such as a cheese steak, or fries.
“My favorite thing to get was a beef patty on a hard roll. I also loaded up with snacks for lunch and all throughout the day — I hated the school lunch,” McEachern said.
McEachern’s high school schedule started with first period at 7:55 a.m. McEachern skipped breakfast. Lunch was from the bodega a few blocks down. A beef patty on a hard roll and snacks such as Little Debbie cakes held her over for the day.
“After school, if it was cheerleading season, we would go get something to eat. It would be like pizza, Chinese, or subs. It was never anything healthy. Everything was close,” McEachern said.
Growing up, McEachern’s family attempted to be nutritious. They were aware that diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure ran in the family, and wanted to clean up their diet. But there were financial pressures, and eating healthy was more expensive.
As a result of her poor diet, McEachern’s health began to suffer. Her weight increased, and she felt sluggish. She admitted that a lack of education on what she ate contributed.
“I was really aware of how much my weight changed. I felt sluggish and tired all the time. I didn’t realize it was because of my diet until now,” she said.
At the time, McEachern’s family only had one car. It was mainly used by her father, who worked in North Haven. Her mother worked in New Haven and took the city bus to work. McEachern also took the bus.
“My father often worked late, and was tired by the time he came home,” McEachern said. “By that time, I had already gotten something from the bodega, and my mother cooked dinner, but I usually never ate it.”
To combat issues faced by families such as McEachern’s, and more severe cases, the New Haven Food Policy Council created a “Food Action Plan” in 2012 aimed at creating a healthier “food system” for the city.
Goals include increasing access to healthy food for New Haven residents and encouraging healthy food choices by educating residents.
Events such as a community potluck, cooking classes featuring nutritious food, and gardening activities have been held so far.
“I do think there needs to be programs that educate people in food deserts about nutritious food,” McEachern said. “But I wish more people knew about it. My family didn’t, my friends — they need to push it more.”
Melissa Barclay is a senior journalism student at Quinnipiac University. She is writing about food deserts this spring. She can be reached at melissa.barclay@quinnipiac.edu.
According to Emmet Hedin, the Yale Sustainable Food Program’s (YSFP) student manager and registered volunteer coordinator, it involves using farming techniques that enhance health, while still protecting our environment.
Hedin grew up on a farm in the Midwest and always knew he wanted to be a part of the sustainable food industry. However, Hedin said Yale’s effort is not restricted to people in the food and agriculture industry, but welcomes anyone who is interested in learning more about sustainable food.
“Our aim is to help food literacy leaders create conversations among students and other food leaders today to help people,” Hedin said. “[Members] can talk about issues they never even considered before and create a sense of community on campus.”
Another organization aiming to bring some clarity and organization to the food system is the New Haven Food Policy Council. Mark Firla, a member, said it is an umbrella organization that aims to tackle issues of food and social justice in New Haven. There are many different working groups within the council, each with a different agenda.
One of these groups aims to help with low-income food assistance in New Haven. The members helped to expand the Commodity Supplemental Food Program for the elderly into Connecticut.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s website, “The Commodity Supplemental Food Program works to help improve the health of low-income persons at least 60 years of age by supplementing their diets with nutritious food products.”
The YSFP is also involved with the off-campus community. It has volunteer opportunities on its one-acre farm, where New Haven residents, students and guests of the university can get their hands dirty.
The produce from the farm is sometimes sold at the Worcester Square Farmers Market, the Yale catering service, or to local restaurants.
The YSFP also uses the farm for the “seed to salad” program, in which students from public elementary schools in New Haven come to work with the soil.
“It’s important for these students to get exposure,” Hedin said. “They learn that lettuce doesn’t come from the aisle at Stop and Shop. It comes from the ground.”
Meghan Alderman-Person is a senior journalism major at Quinnipiac University. She is writing about food this spring. She can be reached at meghan.alderman-person@quinnipiac.edu.
With its close proximity to multiple colleges and more than 250 bars and nightclubs, New Haven is teeming with young people going out for a drink on any given weekend night. While most bars and nightclubs try to regulate their customers, underage drinking still occurs. To combat this problem, the state liquor commission conducts unannounced inspections to make sure both businesses and their customers are complying with the law.
Inspections are a joint effort between the state liquor commission and the city’s police department, according to Dave Hartman, New Haven police spokesman. In past years, the task force team for inspections has also included the fire marshal’s office and health department.
Inspections are rarely completely random, said Hartman.
“If you have a bar and people believe that they’re serving large numbers of students underage, we have gotten complaints from the universities, from parents and from other businesses in the area … that certainly weighs in,” Hartman said.
The general manager of Bar, Frank Patrick, is no stranger to inspections. Bar operates a restaurant by day and bar and nightclub on Thursday through Saturday nights. Because every room in Bar has an actual bar in it, all customers must be at least 21 years old or be accompanied by a parent to enter. In the 13 years that the liquor license has been in his name, Patrick said he has never had a violation during an inspection.
“We have a reputation of being strict with IDs, so we are going to get raided less,” Patrick said. “The police department tends to know what places are trouble places, so they’ll go there more often.”
Inspections often do not happen immediately after a complaint is made. The turnaround time is based on the availability of control agents from the state liquor department, according to Hartman. The agents then contact the police department, which puts together a group of people to supplement its team. However, if it is an issue of public safety, Hartman said, the city will send officers in right away.
These inspections are usually a surprise to the establishments and do not generally follow any pattern. Sometimes, Bar will have inspections a couple of times a year, but other times it will not have an inspection for more than a year, according to Patrick.
“They want to surprise you because there are a lot of bars out there that turn a blind eye to underage drinking,” Patrick said.
During the inspections, no customers are allowed to leave or come in. Patrick said the inspections do not hurt his business, but some of the time, the customers will give the liquor commission’s officers a hard time.
If an underage person is caught drinking during one of the inspections, they will most likely be cited for an infraction for underage drinking, but the establishments face bigger repercussions.
“The immediate responsibility is on the person serving the alcohol to ensure that where the alcohol goes is to someone of appropriate age,” Hartman said.
Meghan Alderman-Person is a senior journalism major at Quinnipiac University. She is writing about food this spring. She can be reached at meghan.alderman-person@quinnipiac.edu.
**Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article stated the restaurant has been in Bill Foreman’s family for three generations. Foreman is actually not blood related to the Duberek family; his aunt married Paul Duberek, and Foreman bought the restaurant from Paul.
By Megan Alderman-Person
On busy Broad Street in Meriden, cars are constantly pulling over to a place that has been quietly bustling for more than 50 years. The small sign and side entrance may be easy to miss for newcomers, but it has become a well-known establishment since its opening in 1959. Even with the change in owners, little has changed over time in Ted’s Restaurant and the family hopes to keep it that way.
Ted’s Restaurant in Meriden is finding new ways to expose the world to its unique specialty – steamed cheesburgers. (Megan Alderman-Person photo)
Foreman, leaning on a stainless steel table in a narrow storage room behind the kitchen, explains that family businesses require a lot of work and motivation. Foreman previously worked in the golf business, but took over the restaurant after his uncle, Paul Duberek, had back surgery. While Foreman hopes to keep the business in his family for years to come, Foreman says he is unsure who will take over the business after him.
“It’s tough; it’s a different climate,” Foreman says, while tapping the “ignore” button repeatedly to quiet an incoming call. “You have to be dedicated to what you do. We’re open seven days a week and you always have to be a phone call away.”
Like Foreman, 66 percent of family business owners worry about filling the gaps in their businesses in several years, according to a 2015 family business survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Foreman has a 10-year-old daughter, but his immediate family is not involved in running Ted’s Restaurant.
“It’s really a tough call,” Foreman says. “I would hope that we can keep it going, whether it’s my family or my uncle’s family.”
Paul’s father and the founder of Ted’s Restaurant, Ted Duberek, decided to open a restaurant that specialized in steamed cheeseburgers after seeing them made in the diner where he was working. Although Foreman credits his long-term employees and loyal fan base for Ted’s Restaurant’s continued success, he says he loses business with every new restaurant that opens in the area.
Foreman says it is difficult to keep up with the advertising knowledge that chain restaurants have. The PricewaterhouseCoopers survey again shows that Foreman is not alone, as 47 percent of family businesses say that the need for new technology will be a substantial challenge for them in five years’ time.
Foreman is trying to keep up, and a presence on social media has helped new people find out about Ted’s Restaurant.
Bill Foreman took over the business from his uncle. (Megan Alderman-Person photo)
“How else would you expect someone from Texas to find us, you know, 20 years ago?” Foreman says.
Through their social media accounts, new and old customers can also follow the location of the restaurant’s new food truck, one of the upgrades Foreman has made to the business. Foreman also recently purchased a trailer, which will add to his mobile food fleet.
His two business partners, Scott Backus and Christian Parisi, opened another Ted’s Restaurant in Cromwell nearly five years ago. With these new developments, Foreman says he has never had a moment where he did not think the original Ted’s Restaurant would survive.
“You can’t duplicate the original, whether it’s our business or anyone else’s,” Foreman says. “Hopefully over time, we’ll grow it even more.”
Megan Alderman-Person is a senior journalism student at Quinnipiac University. She is writing about food this spring. She can be reached at megan.alderman-person@quinnipiac.edu.
Tucked in the middle of Wilbur Cross Commons Business Park in Hamden is Abba’s Storehouse.
Mercedes Sherman (left) and Cecilia Lewandowski (right) look over the list of food they ordered for the day on Sherman’s phone. (Julia Perkins photo)
The food bank, affiliated with Faith Healing and Deliverance Ministries, is open every third Saturday of the month from 9 to 11 a.m. About 55 to 70 families pass through the pantry between those hours. Most of the families are from New Haven, but about 30 to 40 percent are from Hamden, according to Mercedes Sherman, a New Haven resident who attends services at Faith Healing and Deliverance Ministries, which runs the pantry, and has volunteered there for years.
“There are a lot of people who go without food and who are struggling, even with state assistance to meet their needs — their needs for their entire family — especially the ones with a lot of children,” Sherman said. “That’s why you’ll see us be generous with someone who has a lot of family because we know the amount they get in food stamps doesn’t come close to what their needs are.”
When a woman with seven sons comes to get food, the volunteers jump to help her.
“Did she get sauce?” Cecelia Lewandowski, who runs the food pantry, asks one of the other volunteers.
Lewandowski starts digging through boxes of food behind the six tables set up around the room. Each table is filled with non-perishable items such as corn flakes, pasta, canned salmon, and one-pound bags of rice, as well as vegetables and bread. The storehouse keeps meat in the freezer, too, to give out to each shopper.
“Do you guys eat cranberries?” she asks.
“Craisins,” the woman responds.
“Okay, Craisins, all right.”
“Don’t forget your beans, honey. I’m still working on it,” another volunteer says as she packs food into one of the woman’s bags.
Lewandowski stepped up to run the food bank about six years ago after Faith Healing and Deliverance Ministries moved into one of the buildings in Wilbur Cross Commons Business Park. Its senior pastor, Sandra Jefferson, made it part of the church’s mission to offer a food bank to residents after the move.
“It’s important because at any point in time it could be you on the other side, so you want to be able to help anybody in any way that you can,” Lewandowski said.
The food bank is run by volunteers. On Saturday, Feb. 20, three church members (besides Lewandowski) and five Quinnipiac University students from the Marketing Society were there handing out food.
It was the first time freshman marketing major Janelle Herbert volunteered at the food bank.
“The most satisfying part is just seeing all the people and being able to know that you made a difference in their lives,” she said. “And to help people who are less fortunate than you and who really need this. … I’ve met so many people. Most people are so friendly when they come in. They’re all so polite. It’s really great working with them and for them.”
Every Friday, Sherman goes to the Connecticut Food Bank in Wallingford to stock up on non-perishable items for the next time the pantry is open. Most weeks she gets about 300 to 400 pounds of food. However, on the Friday before the bank is open she gets nearly 1,000 pounds because she needs to buy perishable foods such as bread and potatoes. While produce is free at the Connecticut Food Bank, everything else costs a few pennies per pound. The storehouse pays for the food through donations and a grant from ShopRite, Sherman said.
Sherman and Lewandowski check out the food they have left at the end of the morning. (Julia Perkins photo)
Abba’s Storehouse is not the only place in Hamden that offers a food pantry. St. Ann’s Soup Kitchen, the Ministry of Helps Foundation, Love Center Deliverance Food Pantry, God’s Miracle Unlimited Outreach Ministry, St. Rita’s Food Pantry and Keefe Community Center all provide food pantries. Many of these pantries are open on different days, that way those in need can get food more often, Sherman said.
Still, Sherman said Abba’s Storehouse is one of the more popular ones.
“I’ve been told by a lot of the people who come here that they prefer coming to this food pantry because we do have meat,” she said. “Other food pantries don’t have meat, but then I realize that a lot of the churches and the organizations that do this, they don’t have a place to store it. And we’re very fortunate that we have freezers.”
Sherman has gotten to know some of the people who come to the storehouse every month.
“The same people come all the time and you get to know who only takes exactly what they need or who takes everything whether it’s what they need or not,” she said with a laugh.
Lewandowski said people start to line up to get food at 7 a.m.—two hours before the pantry opens.
“Because it’s first come, first serve,” she said. “Once we run out, we run out.”
But Abba’s has never run out of food completely. Even if there is no more meat or potatoes left, for example, the storehouse still will have something to give to a latecomer. While shoppers are supposed to show their ID when they come for food, if they forget, Lewandowski said she would never let anyone go home empty-handed.
“We don’t turn anybody away, especially when it comes to food and it’s the wintertime,” she said. “No, that doesn’t work. We don’t turn you away.”
Julia Perkins is a senior journalism major at Quinnipiac University and is editor-in-chief of The Quinnipiac Chronicle. She is writing about poverty and income inequality this spring. She can be reached at julia.perkins@quinnipiac.edu.
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