Last year, after harvesting my first big onion crop, I turned to the best resource I know: my grandmother. Her advice - dry them, trim them, store them in nylons knotted between each bulb - kept my onions fresh well into December. This year's harvest is even better, which meant one thing: I needed more nylons.

I love being able to build a meal around what's growing outside my back door - a banana pepper in an omelet, cherry tomatoes for an afternoon snack, fresh vegetables for a stir-fry. Even in the winter, I can count on potatoes in the cellar, carrots in the fridge, and peppers and beans in the freezer.

But let's be realistic: my small garden won't feed us year-round. Space, time, and climate limit what I can grow. That's why our pantry is also stocked with food from other farmers - peaches from a traveling fruit truck, citrus from far away, beef from our cattle, and produce from the grocery store.

Years ago, policymakers talked about an "all-of-the-above" energy strategy. I believe in an "all-of-the-above" food policy: a mix of homegrown and purchased, fresh and preserved, local and global. The goal isn't to be a purist - it's to keep our families fed, whatever the source.

Come January, when my nylon-stored onions are gone, I'll be just as happy to slice into a store-bought onion as one from my own garden. Feeding a family is about practicality, not ideology.