Buying organic food doesn’t always have to be expensive. Adopt basic concepts like buying seasonal produce, cooking from scratch and buying in bulk will all help you start saving money on organic food. If you are looking for cheap organic food, here are a few money saving tips and resources to get you started.
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Is organic food worth the extra cost? YES!
If you learn how to start saving money on organic food, you will be able to feed your family healthier without totally destroying your food budget.
Will you be able to do all of your family’s grocery shopping for only a few dollars like you see on those extreme couponing shows? No. I’m sorry but that is very unlikely.
It’s extremely frustrating that it is cheaper to eat junk than healthy foods but that is the reality of our current food system.
It seems like whenever the grocery store has a sale on cereal it’s only the colored ones with marshmallows! However, the extra money you pay on groceries will be saved in doctor bills over the long term.
How to Start Saving Money on Organic Food
Organic food has never been cheap but there ARE several ways for you to save money and still eat organic and healthy foods.
Just a few basic ideas include things like learning how to buy organic food online, finding organic food coupons, and learning a few basic homemaking skills to make organic foods at home.
How can we make organic food more affordable om the long run? By VOTING WITH YOUR DOLLARS! The more you support the organic food industry, the cheaper those products will become.
Shop sales and stock up when possible
Most major grocery stores nowadays have a natural food section or at least a few organic varieties of food worked into their regular stock.
When you see a good sale, stock up. Check out the bulk bin area. They often have lower prices than prepackaged foods. Don’t forget organic meat!
Kroger’s frequently puts Annie’s all natural macaroni and cheese on sale for 10 for $10. At only $1 per box, this is a great deal! Buy as many as allowed by store policy. Hide them under the couch if you don’t have room in the pantry.
When you find clearance organic items, stock up. If it is perishable, figure out a way to freeze or preserve it so it lasts longer.
In order to start saving money on organic food you may need to visit multiple stores to do your food shopping.
Use coupons to save money on food
The easiest way to start saving money on organic food is to get on-line and make friends with organic food companies. Check out their website and sign up for newsletters. They will often have coupons to print.
If your store doubles coupons you will save even more. Some stores also offer their own store coupon which you can pair with a manufacturer’s coupon. Can’t find coupons on-line?
Pick up the phone and call the 800 number on the box! Tell them how much you love their product and they will often send complimentary coupons.
Grow your own organic food at home
Even if you don’t have a particularly green thumb it’s easy to grow organic food right in your back yard. Get a pot, some good soil and a tomato plant or two. Put it in the sun and water it a few times a week. Voila! Organic tomatoes!
If you have lots of shade in your yard consider things like lettuce, kale, swiss chard, parsley, and other shade loving plants.
I grow rhubarb in the shade of my house down here in Georgia and it does very well. Rhubarb in the grocery store is ridiculously expensive here in the south.
Many plants love cooler spring and fall temps so don’t think the only time you can garden is the summer. (Read my post about what to grow in November both inside and out!)
Organic gardening is a great way to start saving money on organic food. Check out my post on Handy Tips for Freezing Produce so your bounty doesn’t go to waste. Or learn how to regrow food scraps to make more food without spending a dime!
Start saving money by making things yourself
Organic yogurt is extremely expensive…about $1.25 per container on average. Making your own organic yogurt is much cheaper. I pay $6 for a gallon of organic milk and that will make a LOT of yogurt!
Homemade bread, trail mix, baked goods, etc are also much cheaper if you take the time to make them yourself. I have found a great selection of organic baking products at Target.
Things like organic flour, organic sugar and organic spices make baking from scratch easy and fairly inexpensive. Check out the cookbook Organic Cooking on a Budget to get started on a frugal but HEALTHY organic diet.
Shop on-line for organic food
There are a lot of great places to buy organic and healthy foods on-line! Amazon has a great selection and if you buy multiple packages of a product you usually save even more.
There are even on-line organic grocery stores nowadays like Thrive Market that help you start saving money on organic food.
Like this post about how to start saving money on organic food? Read these frugal tips, too:
- How to Lower Your Heating Bills and Save Money: Learning how to conserve heat in your home will save you money and cut back on the arguments with cold blooded family members!
- Energy Saving Tips at Home to Save Money and Go Green! I find that going green and being frugal have a lot in common, especially when it comes to these energy saving tips.
- Save Money on Gasoline With These Easy Tips: Here are a few ways to save money on gasoline during your next long car ride.
Is eating organic really worth it?
Eating healthy and organic foods is important for the health of our planet as well as our own bodies.
When you eat healthy you get sick less often and have more energy. It isn’t always cheap, however, so you need to do a little bit of planning and research before you shop.
Have any other tips for saving money on organic food? Check out my post on how to save money so you can go green for more money saving tips!
Diane is a professional blogger and nationally certified pharmacy technician at Good Pill Pharmacy. She earned her BS in Microbiology at the University of New Hampshire and has worked in cancer research, academics, and biotechnology. Concern over the growing incidence of human disease and the birth of her children led her to begin living a more natural life. She quickly realized that the information she was learning along the way could be beneficial to many others and started blogging and freelance writing to share this knowledge with others. Learn more about her HERE.
Those are great tips! We always shop the sales and when they are a great price, we stock up! Well, except he fruits and veggies. Those don’t last very long. But definitely on the meats! We have a chest freezer so we can freeze it and keep it longer.
thank you for this post! Since i switched to eating healthy organic food my grocery bill has spiked big time! thank you for the tips 🙂