About Food Plus Freedom

Homesteading is a peace of mind, not a piece of land.

We’re JM Davis and ME Smith, a mother-daughter team teaching practical skills for food freedom. This includes growing your own food, cooking and baking from scratch, stocking food, and home education.

It doesn't matter if you're a seasoned homesteader, or just starting to take control of what you eat and how you live. Food Plus Freedom is for you. We've been where you are, or are there now. It's about the reality and success of freedom.

Who We Are

JM (Janet) has been on this journey for over 30 years. She started from scratch, literally. As a young mom with no gardening experience, no preserving skills, and a fast-food habit, she learned old-fashioned skills one mistake at a time. She grew food on an apartment balcony, a rental backyard, and a small housing development before moving onto land. Each step required unique skills and brought distinct challenges. She made every mistake possible and then some, while raising kids, working, and managing her own health issues.

Today, JM and her husband grow about 70% of their own food, buy another 20% from local farmers, and source only about 10% from stores.

ME (Makalia) grew up in this world but didn’t embrace it until she wanted to start her own family. That’s when ingredients, chemicals, and food sources started to matter. In 2022, she started her first garden. She added chickens in 2023. In 2024, she connected with local farmers. She moved and learned container gardening in 2025.

Today, ME and her family grow about 10% of her family’s food and source 50% locally. Plus, they get some meat from her parent’s homestead. ME brings a fresh perspective, asks the questions new homesteaders actually have, and keeps us grounded in what works for busy families just starting out.

We live what we teach. JM is 30 years deep in homesteading. ME is just a few years in. Between the two of us, we understand the full spectrum, from overwhelmed beginner to experienced grower. From a growing family’s needs, to older empty nesters.

We’re over 500 miles apart. We homestead together by sharing information, techniques, ideas, and harvests. If we can do it from different states, you can do it too.

We teach skills, not perfection. You won’t find Instagram-perfect aesthetics here. You’ll find real economics, practical systems, mistake recovery, and honest conversations about what works and what doesn’t.

It doesn't matter how or if you grow your own food. On a balcony, backyard, or acres, we meet you where you are. Growing everything, buying local or a combination of the two, all paths matter. Skills create freedom, not the size of your land.

We teach you what we've lived and are living: homesteading systems that work, food storage that gets used, from-scratch cooking that saves money and builds health, and home education from an educator and a homeschool mom perspective.

What We Teach

Homesteading Systems: Growing food at any scale, season extension, soil building, and sustainable practices.
Smart & Healthy Food Storage: Building pantries that save money and actually get used, preservation methods, and rotation systems.
From Scratch Cooking & Baking: Using what you grow or buy local, batch cooking, heritage recipes, and real ingredients.
Home Education: Teaching kids (and adults) the skills that create food security and self-reliance.

Our Mission

We’re here to help you build the skills that create food security and peace of mind. One seed at a time. One local grower at a time. One recipe at a time.Whether you want to save money, eat healthier, gain independence, or simply know where your food comes from, we can help you get from where you are to where you want to be.You don’t have to do it perfectly. You don’t have to do it alone. You just have to start.That’s food freedom. That’s peace of mind. That’s homesteading.

Welcome to Food Plus Freedom.
JM Davis & ME Smith
Newsletter/community/blog: https://foodplusfreedom.substack.com
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@FoodPlusFreedom