Make Organic Food Affordable

Whether you choose to get organic food because you believe in more sustainable methods of agriculture, have heard that organic foods are more nutrient dense or because of medical concerns, there are many reasons that lead people to go organic. But even if you consider organic food to be an investment in the planet’s future or in your health, you surely want to save where you can because the prices can shock you. There are several well-recognized ways to cut your organic food bill. Here are a few.

Cooperative Ventures

While other groups of people support cooperative lifestyles, for some reason, those interested in organic foods seem to have a real advantage. Purchasing your dry goods with a food co-op will often save you 30-40% right off the bat. One of the reasons you save so much is that you eliminate the middleman.

My co-op ordered monthly, and each of us had a booklet that listed everything the distributor carried. We would e-mail each other our list of the month and see who wanted to share cases of a certain product. The order would be sent in and each month someone else would drive down to the warehouse, about an hour away, and pick up everything.

Once the driver got home we all met to parcel out the goods. An additional benefit was advance knowledge regarding which items would be on sale so we could stock up for the season.

Community Supported Agriculture

All around the country, in every state, you can find farms that are part of the community supported agriculture (CSA) movement. To be certified as organic they go through a lengthy process. The certification is highly coveted in the community.

To join a CSA you purchase a share, or part of a share, of the crops produced during a given year. For example, the CSA I belonged to offered family shares that fed about four people. Couple shares that provided for two, and single shares. This farm required a donation of 10 hours in the fields as well.

Once growing season began, we would get our percentage of the week’s crops, which we would pick up at the farm. The cost worked out to about $20 a week, and we had vegetables of all sorts from April to November. Specialty items like heirloom tomatoes, organic raspberries and field fresh arugula were standard fare around the house. YUM! Some weeks we had way too much, eleven heads of lettuce one week alone. Therefore, the farm allowed members to donate what they didn’t want to a local food bank.

If the nearest CSA is several hours away, you can often arrange for them to drop the produce off at a central location where it could work if you get a group of members together.

Organic food is becoming increasingly popular. The result is a greater availability, yes, but also larger prices. Supermarkets survive on a fairly narrow margin of profit, and organics allow them to charge a bit more. Ironically, the organics at your average supermarket are long past their prime, so it really hurts to pay top dollar.

Find a food cooperative, join a CSA and enjoy fresh, inexpensive organics on your table.