greener groceries on a low income

[happyhats]

I'm attempting to be more eco conscious in the kitchen, and in my diet. I would really love to be a locavore, eat organically, etc. However I am on a very low income. My food budge largely comes from food stamps, and all the farmer markets, etc. don't accept these. I am planning on suplementing with farmer market goods as I can, and I already frequent my locally owned grocery stores, etc. I am going to really check out the natural food stores in my area to see what they offer. Does Whole Foods and Trader Joe's accept food stamps? While they are a drive I was thinking of making a monthly trip to them if they do. Honestly, other than trying to cut down on packaged foods and buying what i can organically, this is very new to me.

Also my family and I are starting a garden this year, so that's covered. I'm also committing myself to doing some sprouting.

[Hopefulmama]

If you could exchange work for food, you could work something out with a local CSA.
(Community Supported Agriculture). There is a website to find them locally. You could google it or someone else may have the link.

[dancebaraka]

My understanding is that yes, TJ and WF's do accept food stamps.

[katiemfree]

I have a limited food budget, and it does take more work to find greener groceries that fit in my budget. I am still working out the best sources for inexpensive, good food. I don't know how they did it, or how it works, but our farmer's market now accepts food stamps, I have seen them state that in their advertising. We are in Kentucky. Maybe if you let the farmer's market people know you are interested they will recognize there is a demand. Also, I have started buying with a food buying cooperative that has organic/bulk groceries. The prices are better than Whole Foods, plus I can shop online instead of wandering around the store with my two kids!

[gothnurse3]

Originally Posted by katiemfree

I have a limited food budget, and it does take more work to find greener groceries that fit in my budget. I am still working out the best sources for inexpensive, good food. I don't know how they did it, or how it works, but our farmer's market now accepts food stamps, I have seen them state that in their advertising. We are in Kentucky. Maybe if you let the farmer's market people know you are interested they will recognize there is a demand. Also, I have started buying with a food buying cooperative that has organic/bulk groceries. The prices are better than Whole Foods, plus I can shop online instead of wandering around the store with my two kids!

Could you enlighten us??? I have been thinking of doing this myself. WF is almost 1.5 hours away. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!!

[onlygirls]

I have a friend that works at a Farmer's Market selling produce and meat for a farmer. In exchange, she gets a share of groceries every weekend.

[griffin2004]

Have you looked into gleaning opportunities?

[dogmom327]

A huge savings for me is buying grains, beans, etc. out of the bulk bins. Less packaging/waste, usually (but not always) cheaper prices and often I can get the organic versions in bulk for the price of the conventional packaged versions.

[laohaire]

www.localharvest.org

My local CSA is pretty adamant that they want to work with low-income people and have a bit of a sliding scale for their shares. Worth looking around at your CSAs and see what you can do. The very nature of CSAs suggest that they want to help their communities.

[Jemmind]

Originally Posted by laohaire

www.localharvest.com

My local CSA is pretty adamant that they want to work with low-income people and have a bit of a sliding scale for their shares. Worth looking around at your CSAs and see what you can do. The very nature of CSAs suggest that they want to help their communities.

link is not right, do you have the correct one?

[laohaire]

Originally Posted by Jemmind

link is not right, do you have the correct one?

Oops, sorry. www.localharvest.org. I'll also edit my previous post.

[pixiewytch]

DH was recently laid off and in the past six months we have really managed to bring down our grocery bill. For us, it has been the combination of getting great prices on grass fed beef at a local co op and buying bulk grains, legumes, etc that has brought down our bill. I don't shop at all at a chain grocery store. I get my meats and some dairy from the co op. I get mostly farmer's market non/organic produce, some organic if it is comparable...and then anything else in between I buy at the health food store, which is usually more expensive.

The key for me has been focusing on simpler large crockpot style meals vs. trendy organic foods. I used to spend lots of money on fancy cheeses and complicated "gourmet" type of meals. Now we eat a lot of casseroles, pots of lentils and rice, meatloaf...more traditional foods. They are still healthy from my perspective because I use organic ingredients as much as I can and yet they last a lot longer than a salad for instance. I try to stretch meals longer. If I make a pot of chili, we'll eat it for two days and then maybe the third day have chili dogs.

I also agree with the PP about buying from the bulk bins. Boxed pancake mix at the health food store is $5 and up but from the bulk bin it is several dollars cheaper if you pour it yourself. I'm real careful now about what I will buy from the health food store. I wanted some artichoke hearts the other day but they were $5 a jar at the health food store and came from Chile. I knew I could find some delicious ones locally made not too far from us for $2 at the chain grocery store instead.

In a nutshell simpler old fashioned meals made with whole organic ingredients but stretched a lot further has reduced our bill quite a bit.

[Muminmamman]

*

Edited by Muminmamman - 6/25/11 at 6:01pm

[Ianthe]

Eating vegetarian/vegan (or at least mostly) is one of the greenest things you can do. It's also cheaper if you stick to a whole foods diet.

I know for certain that Whole Foods takes food stamps. I don't have trader joes, but I am sure they do as well.

Are there any local food co-ops in your area that focus on locally grown foods. We have a co-op that takes FS too.

Buying in bulk and gardening are also great choices. As well as doing your own canning/preserving with your garden grown fruits and veggies.

[happyhats]

Can anyone explain more about gleaning to me? Also, how does one begin the process of foraging? I'm very interested in it, but I have no idea where to even begin. I live in MO by the way. There are no csas in close proximity but there are people who post on some online classifieds when they have produce or meat to sell. I may put up an ad looking to exchange labor for goods. I will call around at co ops in the city and see if any accept food stamps. If I would already be driving up that way for whole foods or trader joes, it would definitely be worth it. I'm definitely interested in bulk bin shopping, as one of the reasons I want to green my habits is to produce less waste.

[MacroMama]

Two suggestions:

Cleaning with vinegar and water is cheap, green and super easy!

Also, Amazon has great deals, but they don't accept food stamps. However, for green products that you can't get with food stamps, it could be an alternative.

Good luck!

[twin_mama]

Originally Posted by pixiewytch

DH was recently laid off and in the past six months we have really managed to bring down our grocery bill. For us, it has been the combination of getting great prices on grass fed beef at a local co op and buying bulk grains, legumes, etc that has brought down our bill. I don't shop at all at a chain grocery store. I get my meats and some dairy from the co op. I get mostly farmer's market non/organic produce, some organic if it is comparable...and then anything else in between I buy at the health food store, which is usually more expensive.

The key for me has been focusing on simpler large crockpot style meals vs. trendy organic foods. I used to spend lots of money on fancy cheeses and complicated "gourmet" type of meals. Now we eat a lot of casseroles, pots of lentils and rice, meatloaf...more traditional foods. They are still healthy from my perspective because I use organic ingredients as much as I can and yet they last a lot longer than a salad for instance. I try to stretch meals longer. If I make a pot of chili, we'll eat it for two days and then maybe the third day have chili dogs.

I also agree with the PP about buying from the bulk bins. Boxed pancake mix at the health food store is $5 and up but from the bulk bin it is several dollars cheaper if you pour it yourself. I'm real careful now about what I will buy from the health food store. I wanted some artichoke hearts the other day but they were $5 a jar at the health food store and came from Chile. I knew I could find some delicious ones locally made not too far from us for $2 at the chain grocery store instead.

In a nutshell simpler old fashioned meals made with whole organic ingredients but stretched a lot further has reduced our bill quite a bit.

Such a helpful post...thank you!

[ScarletBegonias]

i shop wf, tj's and co-ops. but i just discovered grocery outlet! they take food stamps and have *tons* of organic and all-natural foods. i've been able to stretch our food money way far now with go. last time i went there, they had organic plain yogurt for 10 cents! organic sausages for $2, organic trail mix (2 lbs) for $6. i highly recommend checking them out! and if you possibly can , grow some food. you can buy vegetable and herb seeds with food stamps too.

[ScarletBegonias]

also, pp's who mentioned bulk are right on! i buy 25 and 50 lb increments of organic grains and beans from the co-op/whole foods. it saves us soooo much money. i make everything from scratch like pancakes, biscuits etc.,. instead of buying a ready mix. organic ready mixes are through the roof highway robbery. seriously. $4-6 for a box of organic baking mix is *crazy*! 50 lb of organic flour usually costs us around $25 and lasts about 8 months. beans - 25 lbs ($17) lasts us almost 2 years, rice - 25 lbs ($20) lasts 10 months.

[goldfinch]

How do you store 25 pounds of beans? Do you separate them into smaller amounts and put them in jars...? I'm really interested in the idea of bulk buying some of these things but can't picture how it would work space-wise.