Organic Foods on the Cheap – Money Saving Mondays

The problem many people have with buying organic food is the cost. It’s often significantly more expensive than conventionally grown produce. That’s rough when you’re on a tight budget.

But there are several ways to get organic food for less.

My own favorite way is to grow a garden. There’s some initial investment and a lot of time spent, but you will generally get back more than you put in. It’s likely to cost you less than what the conventionally grown produce would have cost you at the grocery store.

Although you do run the risk of failure if it’s just a bad year.

There are other ways to get organic food for less. These are a few.

1. Check the farmer’s market.

Some farmer’s markets have better prices than others, but you will probably find a good selection of organic produce there. If not organic, it’s probably locally grown, and that’s not a bad choice either.

Don’t be afraid to ask for a discount if you’re buying slightly damaged produce, and check out some of the less familiar foods. You can find some really interesting foods at farmer’s markets.

You’ll need to know what the prices are at your stores for organic produce to know what you’re saving at a farmer’s market.

2. Join a CSA

This one’s kind of tough, as the investment is upfront. However, if you check out this study done at the University of Massachusetts, you can see that you may be getting significantly more for your money with a CSA. No guarantees, of course, as anyone can have a bad year, but I wouldn’t expect that to be a regular problem.

If you have trouble with the cost or quantity of food, try splitting a share with a friend.

3. Buy in season.

Produce always costs less when it’s in season. If you have the space, the time and the inclination, you can freeze or can any excess you buy for later use.