Nothing went to waste -- they couldn't afford it. Then came WWII and everyone in America was called to help the cause of supporting our military or those families with a loved one at war. When my sister and I came along in the 60's my parents raised us much as they'd been raised. We had a HUGE garden at my Grandmother's house. 
We canned and froze fruits and vegetables and they really did last all winter. My father would buy a side of beef from a local farmer and freeze it. It was always fun to go to the meat locker at Smith's in Clintonville, to pick up what we needed for the month. He found an egg farm near Marion and bought fresh eggs for our family and sold the extras to our neighbors. We shopped at the North Market when it was in an old Quonset hut -- before it was hip -- my mom knew the vendors by name.
The way I was raised made me really think about being green when I began my own family 17 years ago. I didn't want my babies exposed to lawn chemicals and pesticides, so I found alternatives. I didn't want to feed my children artificial baby milk (otherwise known as formula) so I nursed them. I wanted them to know where their food came from so I joined a CSA. Then as the kids got older we became really busy with sports and kid activities. We moved into a bigger house and being green got away from us. Well, thanks to the recession and my husband's job change, we've been forced to be more conservative with most things. I hope being green will be one of the good byproducts of these economic times.
I'll keep you posted!
