Frugal Friday

Alrighty, I'm back for another frugal post. Hopefully everything will stay uneventful so that we can catch up and maybe, just maybe get ahead! 

The other day I got a call from my friend, Melody.  She said that there was an opening in the produce co-op she belongs to.  I told her a little while ago that I was interested in it, but there was a waiting list.  So I pounced on the opportunity to try it out.  Every Wednesday a lady goes down to the farmers' market and purchases a bunch of food in bulk.  She then divides it up between the number of co-op members.  We get what ever is in the box for $20. 

This is what we got in our box this week:
1  package of strawberries
1 package of purple grapes
4 oranges
3 large tomatoes
4 cucumbers
about 1.5 to 2 pounds of green beans
7 potatoes
2 heads of ice burg lettuce
3 heads of broccoli

Not bad, not bad.  Seeing as how I had bought two bags of grapes for a snack at the store the other day and it cost me $10!!  I would say we got a great deal on the box of food.  There is no way this will last us a whole week, so I am hoping that at some point we may be able to buy another share. Not sure if we are able to do so, but I will look into it.

There are other ways that you can get great produce at reasonable prices.  One of the most common is to join a CSA (consumer sponsored agriculture).  It will be most helpful to our future food production to sponsor local farmers.  Preferable sustainable farming.  Our local farmers market is very expensive.  It is mostly organic, but very expensive.  I have heard of people who get together (a co-op) and purchase large quantities at the warehouse that distributes to grocery stores.  Of course there are also places like Costco, that I heard has a lot of organic produce.  That requires a membership, so you would need to see if will come out ahead with the amount of food you purchase.  We personally belong to BJ's.  I buy large quantities of bananas, apples, grapes and lettuce on a regular basis.  I also purchase large bags of frozen blueberries and strawberries.  We found out, not too long ago, that there is a Trader Joes in the city, right near where Jeremiah works. I was reading about someone's purchases and was surprised at the wonderful prices the store had for their produce.  We will have to take a look see!

What are some of the ways that you are trying to save?  I also think that there are savings to be had even if one purchases all organic food.  In the immediate sense it is more expensive, but most certainly cheaper in the long term as far as health costs go.