People tell me all the time that they mostly eat produce, so it makes it hard to save since there are never coupons or deals on produce. Well I am here to prove them wrong. You may have to be a bit more creative to save but you can in fact save money on produce.
One rule I follow when buying produce is to figure out what produce is worth buying organic. A good way to figure this out is by using the Dirt Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists. Printable PDF for Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen . The Dirty Dozen list items from the dirtiest to the cleanest – I would buy ALL items on this list Organic. The Clean Fifteen list items from the cleanest to the dirtiest – It’s o.k. to buy these items on this list non-organic.
Dirty Dozen ( Buy Organic)
- Apple
- Celery
- Strawberries
- Peaches
- Spinach
- Nectarines
- Grapes
- Sweet Bell Peppers
- Potatoes
- Blueberries
- Lettuce
- Kale/Collard Greens
I use coupons when I can. Here is a list of Produce Coupons I found recently.
I would join a CSA or find a local farmer who’s values are in line with yours. CSA- Community Shared Agriculture= You pay a subscription fee (usually in a lump sum) to help the farmer buy the seed. Usually starting in May you will start receiving the items the farmer picked that week. Eash CSA is set up different. Two great sites to help you find CSA, Co-Op, Farmers Markets, and More is called Local Harvest.
and Eat Wild. When using a Co-Op be sure to ask where they are getting their produce. Some Co-Ops get it from the same vendors grocery stores do and most is not organic. Look for local farmers on Craigslist. Make sure to be safe and never go alone but always check out the farm you are getting your produce from to make sure they are following the practices they say they promise. Local farmers are a great resource!! If you can get it straight from the farmer you are going to get fresher produce and a fraction of the cost.
Grow you own. Even if you only have a deck or small patio you can do container gardening. A great book for great small gardening tips is Grow Great Grub. Ask family members to work together to grow produce and trade your crops with each other. One person can grow Zuchinnis- another can grow tomatoes and so on and so on.
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These are great tips! I use the dirty dozen list all the time to figure out which produce to splurge on organic and which I can get away with. I freeze and can when I can stock up on cheap produce. I also try to go to a pick your own farm. Last year I got organic apples for $.99 a pound which you will never get in a grocery store unless it's a once in a year sale. I then made homemade apple sauce for the little one and apple butter for us. There is a great resource http://www.pickyourown.org