Organic on a budget?

About a year ago I was talking to a friend and saying how much I would love to have a garden but felt I didn't have time or patience. The benefits and taste of organic vegetables I have heard is wonderful. Then fast forward to me getting an email from a lady who organizes a co-op where all the items are organic and purchased from the distributor for one of our local organic stores MOM's. She got my email from the friend who I was talking with, such an answered to prayer. I would love to get these items but for the most part not cheap.

She sent me the spreadsheet of items they offer on a two week delivery. I couldn't believe the amount we would get for $40 every two weeks. Although, you are able to create whatever budget you want to spend. I was excited and decided to try. The worse case is I could opt out at any time. We have been doing this for a couple months and I have to admit it all does taste better. Even my husband who was a skeptic agreed that the taste was so much better.

Below is my most recent delivery, this order was $54 because I opted to get extra yogurt. I have found that we are eating more fruits and vegetables because the are readily available. My family is eating new things we have never tried like bok choy. I menu plan to spread out all the produce. For a couple weeks we got 3 lbs of onions, so those that we didn't use I chopped and froze them, which works really well when they aren't on sale and/or not in our delivery. The added benefit is that I go every other week and get it all in one shot.


You can find out about produce co-ops by going to Local Harvest. Put in your zip code and find what works for you. This co-op was created to get families through the winter months with quality organic produce. Some co-ops go all year. However, in the spring - fall some families either have their own gardens or like our family, we are doing a CSA. Local Harvest also provides information about CSAs - which stands for Community Supported Agriculture. These are local farms that you can pay shares and in return you get a portion of the crop each week. I have researched and found that it is best to go with a CSA that has multiple farms participating in the event one farm has a bad crop year, you will still get produce. Also the one we have selected includes a loaf of fresh bread and eggs in the order. The share is enough to feed a family of 4, for a week. Once you sign up, you are locked in for whatever season you select. This is something we will be trying this year and looking forward to some local organic produce.

So if you think that it isn't possible to eat well for your family on a budget, these are a couple ways to make that happen.

History of my frugal ways

I decided to start blogging my savings due to multiple people asking how I do what I do. I tried many things before I found what worked for me. Initially, just looking at sales. Then I came across The Grocery Game. The concept was great and can work well for someone who doesn't have the time to plan. But I couldn't see paying to save money. Then I was introduced to a friend at church, Sue. She has a family of 9 and shared with our mom's group what worked for her. From that, I found a couple things that would definitely be things to live by.

The main thing I learned was to have a price list. I will explain in detail what this means in a future post. I clip coupons, review circulars from Safeway, Food Lion and Weis. I also shop at Aldi's, which is a great discount store that always has great prices, so I use them when I can't get good prices at the other chains. I also refer to a blog http://www.moneysavingmom.com/, which helps with savings currently going on in stores.

I menu plan for our week, which helps me decide what I need to get, that I don't already have at home. This brings me to the word "stockpile". I buy things when they are at their cheapest. This way I have them on hand at home at all times. It prevents running out and having to pay full price for an item. And conversely when I don't feel like shopping, I know I have plenty to get me through those weeks. I have found creative ways to store this stockpile, which I will show later.

Our family budgets $100 per week for groceries, including cleaning and personal items. I usually am under that per week, but then I store the extra money in the event I come across a big sale such as meat. Prior to making my menu and grocery shop, I pray that God will help me find the deals to meet what we need for that week. He hasn't failed me yet, and always seems to surprise me when I least expect.

I hope this will help you in your shopping adventures. It is a task we all have to do, but we don't have to break the bank in doing.