How to eat organic & local on a budget

[t2009]

I just graduated from grad school & have major debt repayment coming up, so we are radically redoing our budget... And it seems like I spend way too much when I do the groceries, so I'm looking for help & ideas.

I am really committed to eating as much organic & local food as we can afford, but I'm afraid that we can't afford it anymore. We already eat relatively simple, mostly vegetarian meals. I admit that I'm not the most efficient shopper & I want to improve my planning abilities.

Ideas for how to remain true to my food "values" while saving money and/or cutting corners? 

[Chamomile Girl]

Farmers markets are your friend (obviously this is easier during the growing season). If you go near closing farmers will often give you great deals, especially if you buy in quantity (and then freeze the extra for the next winter).

Can you garden?

Also frozen organics are usually cheaper and tasty!

Are you a costco member?

[Alyantavid]

Depending on where you live, it can be really easy and cheap.

I have a big garden and lots of my friends garden so we swap.  My mom's boyfriend has an organic farm so we can get lots of stuff from him. 

I live in potato country, so in the fall, potatoes are free for the picking.  They aren't always organic though. 

I raise my own beef and pork and buy chicken bulk from dh's work. 

Milk and cheese I get from a local dairy that isn't certified organic, but they follow the guidelines. 

It's more a matter of looking beyond the grocery store.

[t2009]

Thanks, ladies! I added some things in bold.
 

Originally Posted by Chamomile Girl 

Farmers markets are your friend (obviously this is easier during the growing season). If you go near closing farmers will often give you great deals, especially if you buy in quantity (and then freeze the extra for the next winter). I have found that the farmers market in my neighborhood is extremely expensive. I'm in New England right now, but I remember farmers markets in the midwest being so much more reasonable. Is this the norm?

Can you garden? Funny, I just posted in Diggin In the Earth because I hope to start growing some herbs & greens (at least) this summer. But we don't have a ton of space & will be limited to containers.

Also frozen organics are usually cheaper and tasty! We definitely will have to do more of this! Especially since DS is going through a phase of loving frozen stuff... yes, just frozen, straight out of the bag.

Are you a costco member? Yes! We get organic spinach & dairy & eggs there. Other things I'm missing?

Originally Posted by Alyantavid 

Depending on where you live, it can be really easy and cheap.

I have a big garden and lots of my friends garden so we swap.  My mom's boyfriend has an organic farm so we can get lots of stuff from him. If I get my garden going I'll definitely try this!

I live in potato country, so in the fall, potatoes are free for the picking.  They aren't always organic though. 

I raise my own beef and pork and buy chicken bulk from dh's work. 

Milk and cheese I get from a local dairy that isn't certified organic, but they follow the guidelines. Hmm... great idea... I'll have to see what local farms operate similarly... cheese is one thing that we haven't been able to afford organic from the store at all (& DS love it!).

It's more a matter of looking beyond the grocery store. Yes, I definitely have my legwork cut out for me!

[Chamomile Girl]

Oh, yeah famers markets in the midwest are cheaper, but that doesn't mean that you can't get deals where you are now. I'm in California (where everything is overpriced) and find that the farmers do not want to have to haul the extra stuff back with them so they are willing to bargain by the end of the day.

You can get your frozen veggies at Costco! Or Trader Joes if there is one near to you. Both have great prices on frozen organic veggies and fruit. We also buy Kerrygold cheddar at Costco. Not organic, but I think its pastured.

[cristeen]

Find a CSA. Or several. Prefrably one that will give you a work share, where you put in X# of hours work on the farm in exchange for your weekly veggies. Going from shopping the farmers mkt to the CSA cut my veggie bill in half.

If you can find other types of CSAs or co-ops, those are also great. You can sometimes get eggs, dairy and even meat that way. I'm in a meat CSA, and a friend is in 2 dairy co-ops (2different dairies). We both save a lot that way. If you cant find something like that locally, consider a freezer and buying in bulk. The larger the amount, the better the deal. So if you want 1/4 cow, find 3 friends/acqauntances who each want the same and buy a whole cow. You'll save.

As for cheese, i buy Tillamook brand from Costco. It is neither local or organic, but it is pastured.

[tinuviel_k]

Yes, it can be tricky for sure. I've found ways to cut corners but the fact is that I probably spend a LOT of money on organic and local food.

I can often get a better deal at our local food co-op for certain things. Local organic bok choi is often $2 for a bundle of two (6 oz total) at the farmer's market whereas local organic bok choi at the co-op is $2 for a whole POUND). Organic local farm dry beans from the farmers market are a whopping $7 a pound, whereas organic dried beans at the co-op are $1.85/ lb.

I try to buy in bulk when I can. We eat meat, and I can get 1/4 of a grass-fed organic beef for $3.25/lb total. If I bought th equivalent as ground beef and steaks individually it would run between $5.50/lb-$18.00/lb.
I can buy bulk dry goods from the co-op for a nice discount. It takes me a long time to go through 25 lbs of black beans, though!

Some things just cost more and there is no way around it. We love raw milk, and to get it we have to pay $10 a gallon. But when I tried to go back to homogenized organic milk none of us would drink it. It just tasted bad to us.