How to Eat High Quality Organic Food and Spend Less

Five ways to save greenbacks on your greens budget
If you’ve been through the organic produce section of your grocery store recently, you may have had to take a few deep breaths while standing in front of the cucumbers. You may have faced the necessity of crossing off a couple of extra items from your shopping list in order to afford yourself and your family of the “luxury” of quality fresh foods.

Sadly, this is what we do face: In too many cases, highly processed, non-organic pre-packaged food items are less expensive to purchase than naturally grown, simple vegetables. Agri-business has evolved over the years to place profit above quality. This has made organic vegetables much more expensive to produce, especially if they are locally grown. Yes, outsourcing our food supply, while making apples and strawberries available in January, has led to lower quality produce and sub-standard regulatory practices overall.

Some of us have forgotten what a real tomato or banana even tastes like. Then, just when your taste buds were getting used to thinking an apple was supposed to taste like cardboard, you stopped at the roadside farmer’s stall and bit into a crisp, sweet and juicy apple! “Ummm, that’s good”, you murmured, “I remember this taste.”

Now, it’s too late. You can’t go back. Sure, you still put up with inferior produce, but you know it’s not the real thing. The fact of the matter is: If you want to start seeing more of the real thing in your grocery store at more reasonable prices, you will have to start treating your greens budget as a top priority and stop thinking or organic produce as a luxury item. Organic, whole food is a necessity of life. The very term “organic” should be made obsolete.

To start prioritizing your food budget to include as much high-quality organic and real food as possible may entail incorporating some tips to save on your greens without sacrificing quality.

Tip 1: Grow Your Own

If you have garden space, you can till up some soil, add some compost and natural fertilizer and plant rows of beans, peppers, peas, squash, tomatoes, carrots, beets and whatever else your heart desires. Even if you live in an apartment, you can plant potted peppers and tomatoes on the deck or sprout seeds in glass jars on your window sill all year round.

Tip 2: Shop Smart for Organic Store Brands

Safeway “O” Brand is an in-house line of organic foods that includes everything from bread to olive oil and can be found throughout the store. And Whole Foods “365” Brand is often cheaper when compared with the same commercial products. Even Walmart carries a few packages of organic lettuce and a smattering of isolated items here and there. When you frequent these places, do some comparison shopping and buy smart by purchasing organics.

Tip 3: Frequent Farmer’s Markets

In season, locally grown fruits and vegetables are often less expensive than their commercial grocery-store counterparts. And, as mentioned above, they can spoil you rotten. You can even subscribe to a CSA or Community Supported Agriculture program and have your locally grown produce delivered.

Tip 4: Request More Organic Food from Your Grocer

This will create demand and supply will be sure to follow. Higher demand will foster the creation of better ways to supply the demand and as more high quality food becomes available, prices will hopefully become more competitive. You can go to Walmart.com and lodge your request under Customer Service. Make your preferences known.

Tip 5: Buy in Bulk

Maybe you’ve noticed those bins with baggies and scoops where you can buy grains, nuts, oils, and even shampoo and lotion. Look for the natural, organic products. Buying them in bulk can save you many cents on the dollar. Containers and packaging make up nearly 30% of the purchase price of some items. Bringing reusable containers from home can also contribute to reduction in costs.

While it is clear that we are facing a crisis in our food supply, there is so much to be said for voting with your dollars. If you want to see a change, boycott the inferior, nutrition-less food items in your grocery store. Instead, buy only organic, naturally-grown foods and soon you’ll find that cardboard bananas are a thing of the past.