Grrr...the price of fresh vegetables

[ljk]

Okay, I was shopping for veggies today and a cauliflower was 4.99.


I know it's probably the growing conditions and price of fuel but five bucks?!

That's crazy.
In the summer, I know I will be seeing the same ones only four times bigger, for 75 cents (I can't wait).

What are people seeing for prices lately? I got one yesterday for 3 dollars and it was a bargain.

[Terry Monk]

Agree. I'm paying damn near 3 bucks for a small, little tiny package of blueberries! It's nuts.

[Cynic]

Originally Posted by ljk

What are people seeing for prices lately? I got one yesterday for 3 dollars and it was a bargain.

Maybe plow up your backyard and start a veggie garden. I may be converting a section of my backyard into a veggie garden.

I'll get back to you about prices later.

Terry, look into a bulk purchase of frozen. I buy frozen blueberries in 2lb bags. Last resort, plant a bb bush in your back yard. Might even do a raspberry bush too.

[Blindside361]

Aren't frozen veggies actually better than fresh because of the pesticides?

And yeah, fresh fruit is awful. I just grab the frozen version of that too.

[missjane]

I love tomatoes and I am spending about 15 bucks a week on them! Grrrrr!

I can't wait until I can grow a ton of them and eat as many as I want!

[riverbender]

I used by by grapes religiously every week. Lotsa grapes. They were anywhere from 1.99-2.99 lb. One day I happened to actually be watching the prices being rung up. Grapes ....$17!!!!!!!!!!!! (Which would have lasted 3 days tops in my house) The price had gone up to 4.99lb. I didn't buy them. The cashier made me take them out when she saw my reaction. I tend to buy what's "cheap" fresh or go with frozen.

I've been thinking about doing the garden thing too. Maybe a couple chickens. No room for a cow. What's goat's milk taste like?

[Espi]

Originally Posted by Blindside361

Aren't frozen veggies actually better than fresh because of the pesticides?

Nope, has got nothing whatsoever to do with this.
Frozen veggies & fruit won't wilt or decay, so the shopkeeper kan sell them for much longer than veggies & fruit that decays even when looking at it. Never mind how lots of people handle them as if it's just a basket ball.. gently touching them is a rarity, squeezing , sniffing etc. et. I bet that over 75% of the produce doesn't get sold but just goes to waste.

Compare this to frozen/packaged veggies/fruit and you see why these are tons cheaper. And always stay fresh. Not as fresh as when you get fresh veggies on the day of arrival but certainly better than after a few days in the store or at home under sub-optimal conditions.

These same frozen veggies will have been harvested in summer time when the crop was abundant and prices low.
Now compare to the fresh veggies that are grown in winter/spring in greenhouses that have to be heated. Or to be transported from who-knows-where.

BTW, I'm in the Netherlands, which seems to be the world's biggest producer of veggies and still buy frozen veggies

[DirtyMartini]

Try Costco for some selective shopping... I bought a 2.5 pound bag of baby spinach yesterday for $4.99. Their 3-lb bags of frozen blueberries were, iirc, $6.99. Their bags of 6 bell peppers are $5.99 (2 each of yellow, orange, and red). Their fruit is also pretty cheap.

[RobLL]

My fall broccoli which was a bust last year, decided to survive and I just picked a mess a couple days a go, it would have been primo, had I picked it a week earlier. Laziness. And my winter broccoli is coming on strong.

To address your problem more directly: You have to find out which supermarkets carry low priced veggies. Walmart SELDOM does. One of our regional chains markets more directly to Mexicans in our area, and frequently has 5 pound sales on veggies. (It used to be 10 pounds which was just too much for the 3 of us). Another MUST DO, get the local paper at least on the day that grocery ads run (usually Wednesday). Because we eat lots of veggies we need to go shopping twice a week anyway, so we choose the stores with veggies and meat on best sale.

[ljk]

great idea
but i have no yard :O

anyway, come veggie growing season things are dirt cheap here. It's winter/spring, when i can't grow stuff anyway, that stuff is so expensive.

Originally Posted by Cynic

Maybe plow up your backyard and start a veggie garden. I may be converting a section of my backyard into a veggie garden.

I'll get back to you about prices later.

Terry, look into a bulk purchase of frozen. I buy frozen blueberries in 2lb bags. Last resort, plant a bb bush in your back yard. Might even do a raspberry bush too.

[Phaedrus49er]

Not sure how they're doing it, but the farmers market I go to has kept their prices in check since last year. Granted, they were a little high then, but no major increases to this year. So far...

[Defiant1]

The price of vegetables today is really absurd. You know our society is fucked up when it is cheaper to buy a double cheeseburger from McDonalds than 99% of the fresh veggies in the produce section.

You want to save some money, make a point to the grocery stores, and feel like you've really accomplished something? Plant some tomatoes, peppers, fruits in your backyard. You don't even need a backyard, you can plant many veggies in pots...I use buckets I bought from the dollar store and they work great. You can also freeze and can the veggies and use them in the winter and spring when we all really get gouged on the "fresh" produce prices.

[EricLikesLifting]

I am worried about this for next year when I live off campus and have to buy my own groceries. My other roommates keep saying how they are going to buy bulk ramen noodles and stuff to keep the cost down, but I still want to keep my diet in check and not eat like crap to save money. Its gonna struggle....

[tonymcclellan]

I just found out we have a community farm type deal here. $700 will get you 20 weeks of food, whatever they grow of course.

Look for farmers markets in your area and spend your money there. At least then you're helping out your neighbors in a way.

[LaraT]

Find a farmer's market near you. The produce is 100 times fresher (usually picked within a day or two of selling) and you are supporting your local family farmers not some giant mega-corporation owned farm wehre most likely the produce is trucked/flown in from China/South America/California. You get better quality food with much less of an enivornmental impact. A win-win situation.

Go to Local Harvest / Farmers Markets / Family Farms / CSA / Organic Food to find markets near you.

[LaraT]

Also, much of the farmer's mkt produce is "organic" yet they can't call it that because they haven't paid the ridiculous fees to USDA to call it organic. So another benefit without the cost.

[ko67]

Originally Posted by Phaedrus49er

Not sure how they're doing it, but the farmers market I go to has kept their prices in check since last year. Granted, they were a little high then, but no major increases to this year. So far...

They are not having to ship it hundreds of miles.

We buy fresh fruit/veggies in the Summer and freeze it. Way cheaper than buying it at the grocery store.

This year I will have a pretty large garden, so there will be less buying.

[RobLL]

Here is what is available in my rural community, admittedly not organic, not 100 mile food, but all the same, veggies for prices one can afford. These all came out of this week's Wednesday Grocery Ads

Asparagus $1.68 a pound
Strawberries, $1.50 a pound, 4 lb $5
Red Tomatoes on the vine $1.48 a pound
Red and Green Lettuce 78 cents each
Small Watermellon 2 for $5
Cucumbers $1 each
Broccoli Crowns 99 cents a pound

5 pounds or more, per pound
Oranges 29 cents
large tomatoes 79 cents
pears 69 cents
sweet onions 39 cents

corn ten ears for $4
green onions or radishes 3 bunches 99 cents