I was really amused by the large number of jars of gefilte fish that went on clearance at my local grocery store after Passover this year. I’m not sure why they had so much in stock in town with such a tiny Jewish population (of which apparently almost none like gefilte fish, my boyfriend loves the stuff but then he like lutefisk as well so his taste in fish products is questionable).

Buying in bulk further afield is a good option, and don’t forget social capital – if you check in with some friends before setting off, and offer to pick up some things for them as well, they will likely do the same for you on other occasions.

The power of community is important with getting local grocers to stock specific items as well. If they stock an item that is kosher, encourage others to buy it there as well, demonstrating the demand, and supporting the local grocer’s effort.

Granted, this does require an established relationship with the community, which could take time, but a small religious community is usually happy to welcome new members, and how well you think you would fit in is an important thing to consider in a potential town.

Trent and others are right in that the more basic the ingredients, the more likely they are to be kosher without certification, and that fits right in with frugal practices anyway.

Lastly, you have to remember that it all boils down to prioritising your values. Clearly the dietary restrictions are an important value in your life, so do try to save, but don’t feel that you are wrong to spend on this, the whole idea is to free up money to spend on the things you value most.

Btw, in general all fruits and vegetables, fresh, are kosher, so such produce isn’t really one of their concerns. It has more to do with processed foods, at which point blessing from their religious leaders is something that isn’t really diy.

Kosher meat, to the extent that it’s available, is astronomical in price and *never* goes on sale. Captive audience and all. As result, we generally save meat for Shabbat only in the winter. In summer, we tend toeat more since burgers and hot dogs are more reasonable.

We’ve also had to accept That we can’t host a crowd for every Shabbat. We host about once a month, with a basic meat dish and lots of interesting and more inexpensive sides, we accept an invite to another Shabbat at least once a month, and have quiet home Shabbats the other twoweekends.

We also take advantage of chags with my inlaws in a major Jewish centre to stock up meats and some of the common processed products (horseradish, occasional lunch meats, etc)

Best of luck with your move!

Abbie might also like to check out Sharon Astyk’s blogs. Sharon keeps kosher on her upstate NY farm and writes extensively on home food production.