Go Green, Save Green
The Coupon Mom tells you how to buy organic without breaking your budget.
Green may be the new black, but it doesn’t have to leave you in the red.
And while I can’t promise that you’ll be able to get cartloads of organic food free every week, it’s still possible to trim your costs…
First, Understand What You’re Buying
The USDA defines organic foods as those free of antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, irradiation, and bioengineering.
“Conventionally grown” refers to fruits and vegetables grown with pesticides and fertilizers. This allows farmers to extend the growing season and increase their harvest and translates into lower prices.
A good first step to buying organic is to make sure you know exactly what you’re paying for. The USDA Certified Organic seal, for example, can be affixed only to items that meet specific criteria.
Before deciding whether it’s worth it to pay for the seal—or for items labeled “natural” or “antibiotic-free”—it’s important to learn the lingo. Here’s a primer to help you understand the terms.
Organic:
The makers of the foods with the highest concentration—95 percent or more—of organic ingredients are allowed to use the USDA seal. There are four USDA organic standards:
1. 100 percent organic: (can use USDA seal)Foods containing all organically produced ingredients and processing aids, excluding water and salt. Processing aids used in the production of the food may include lime or calcium.
2. Organic: (can use USDA seal)
The product must contain at least 95 percent organically produced ingredients
3. Made with organic ingredients: (cannot use USDA seal)
Processed foods that must contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients. The packaging can list up to three of the organic ingredients on the “principal display panel,” a surface on the packaging that the consumer is most likely to notice.
4. Less than 70 percent of content is organic: (cannot use USDA seal)
Foods that cannot use the term “organic” anywhere on the principal display panel, but the organic ingredients can be listed on the information panel.
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Comments
I enjoyed your useful and
I enjoyed your useful and thorough article and will check out your website. I would like to put in a little plug to try to seek out independently owned natural food stores and co-ops who offer reasonable prices at least some of the time, rather than always shopping the very large chain stores. (And like so many people right now, I am on a very tight budget.) In this tough economic climate, many small businesses are struggling to survive and it would be sad if they left the landscape. It is worth a look, for the personal service and quality products a good mom-and-pop shop will offer. I have a small, natural foods co-op near my work and take advantage of their excellent bulk section and very fresh, often local organic produce - plus love the smiles and service of the staff, the warm shopping environment and the nice music. I don't do all of my shopping there, as prices are a little higher on some items like canned goods, but do commit to spending about $40 a month there, on certain categories of products like produce and bulk items. As you say, you can save a lot of money shopping in bulk - yesterday bought my own muesli (natural dried fruit, nut and grain cereal) ingredients and saved a lot over the packaged cereal; even bought bulk baking powder (.30), salt, flour, sugar, etc. - you can buy in just the quantities you need. You can save a great deal by buying spices in bulk, also, and just buy the tiny amounts you often need. I do much of the rest of my shopping at a larger but still locally owned chain of natural food stores in Portland, and watch their website weekly for sales on expensive items like natural meats--the only type I will buy (last week, 5% lean ground sirloin was just $2.99 lb.). My best money saving strategy these days is to eat non-meat soups and entrees several times a week; also to prepare rather than buy virtually all of my meals rather than buying them out, and always making enough for a couple of days worth of leftovers. We also have a local coupon book, called the Chinook Book, containing coupons I can use at both of these stores, with "buy x get $ off" store coupons plus manufacturer coupons. (I, too, am a small business owner but sell natural baby products rather than natural foods...and do feel the pinch from giants like Amazon.)
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