I would not really care about the SQL part of it, but I'd write a general swappable data access module. Something I frankly don't like is how the use of realtional databases tends to make developers think in terms of tables and SQL for every problem.
A swappable data access module will do the loading and saving at a higher level, and allow for any weirdness in the actual storage used - be it a database, text files or whatever.
On the other side, such a module requires a clear view of your problem, while inserting SQL queries there and here in your code is quick and dirty to do.