In keeping with Earth Day, Consumer Reports (via the Consumerist) has some suggestions of how to save money on organic foods. One ideas is to prioritize your purchases: concentrate on foods that when conventionally grown have the most pesticides, like apples, peaches, strawberries and the like.
Another is to try the store brands. I swear by this –I couldn’t afford to eat anything organic were ti not for Trader Joe’s (also, almost one of their foods have high frustose corn syrup in them) and the private label organics from the two local supermarkets I prefer. Consumer Reports also suggests Costco’s Kirkland Signature organics brand. I agree – however, dealing with the massive warehouse club packaging can be a problem if you have a smaller family or a smaller house.
My personal Costco tip is to shop with a friend and split things. For example, they sell three-pound containers of organic spring mix for something like $5, less than half of what we’d spend for conventionally grown at the local fruit market. But that’s a lot less of a bargain if half of it ends up going bad before you can eat it. My solution is to give half to my mom, who loooovvves her some spring mix, whenever we buy it.
Also, look at some of the big organic brand’s websites for coupons, join a food co-op of there is one nearby, and shop in season. Some of the commenters also suggest buying a community-supported agriculture share or buying “pre-organic” from a farmer’s market. Many farmers are looking to switch to organic but have not been following those practices long enough to be certified as organic farms, so buying pre-organic can both save you money and help the farmer along in that process. Farmer’s markets, whether you’re buying conventional or organic, help the environment by reducing the carbon footprint of your food. And? They’re just plain fun for kids.
