Six Ways to Save on Organics

Yesterday, my daughter Brystol (in the middle) enjoyed playtime with her friends while I enjoyed coffee and conversation with mine. At one point, our talk turned to my family's decision to "go organic" and how our food budget has been affected overall. I've not run the numbers for a precise account, but I don't believe we're spending any more to shop organically.

You may ask yourself, "How could that be? Organic products cost so much more than conventional!" But do they? Some things, yes. Some things do cost more. But the prices among conventional items vary dramatically between brands from time to time as well. Organics should not be eliminated just because a higher cost is assumed.

Whether shopping conventionally or shopping organically, there are a number of ways one can save money on groceries. Here are six:

(1) When shopping, don't limit yourself to one store. We live in an area where health food-type stores are plenteous, and yet, most of my good deals on organic products come from regular old neighborhood stores. Some stores, like Target, carry store-brand organics (Archer Farms), while others, like Tom Thumb and Albertson's, carry a pseudo-generic brand (O Organics).

At Albertson's, I purchased organic salsa for $1.00 per jar. At Kroger, I picked up gallons of organic milk for $2.99 each, cage-free organic egg dozens for $1.99 each, organic cabbage for $0.77 per pound, tubs of organic salad mix for $1.89, and bags of organic fingerling potatoes for $1.79. These aren't regular prices, mind you, but large chain grocery stores often have great (unadvertised) sales on their organic goods, and they sometime have organics on clearance tables or in cooler markdowns.

Just because something is marked down doesn't mean it's spoiled, either. The milk I bought today for $2.99/gallon hasn't even reached its "sell-by" date -- a date still five days away! These gallons might have been marked down because the last shipment of organic milk didn't sell as quickly as the store anticipated and a new shipment has arrived. This markdown milk was fresher than some of the conventional milk I spotted in the cooler. Even if it were at its "sell-by" date already, milk is typically good for a week beyond its "sell-by" date and it can be frozen until needed. When you're in the store next, look for the clearance area or browse markdowns still on the shelf in your grocer's organic section. You may be surprised at the deals you find!



(2) Shop the specialty stores. Just because a store seems to be high-end doesn't necessarily mean it is. Many "health food" stores have well-priced products, as well as clearance bins and sale prices. Some products are priced better at a specialty store than, say, at Target. For example, I picked up the Whole Foods store brand organic Coconut Oil for $5.99, and that was the regular price. It's priced less there because that is an item they purchase in quantity. I found Organic Olive Oil on the clearance table at Sprouts -- 50% off because of a package change. Specialty stores often have a bigger selection of organic produce, and because they offer more, they often have more sales.

Some vitamin stores and small Mom-n-Pop health food stores have great deals and sale prices on organic food products. If you see these stores, check them out. You may be pleasantly surprised and may be able to stock your pantry for less. At these small stores, you have the benefit of building relationships. Some of these stores have community bulletin boards promoting local food events and co-ops. Some store owners may be able to direct you to the best local farmer's market or to Ol' Jim and his organic produce stand down the road. Also, small Mom-n-Pop shops are more likely open to bartering -- exchange web design for an annual discount, exchange housekeeping services for organic tomatoes. (You get the idea.) Bartering services for goods should benefit both parties and can be a way to significantly reduce your spending.

(3) Keep your eyes and mind open -- consider non-traditional stores. Like the vitamin stores or the Mom-n-Pop health food stores, non-traditional options can lead you to great savings. But think bigger and even more non-traditional -- for example, Toys R' Us. Our baby daughter is eight months old and she LOVES baby puffs. She likes them nearly as much as she likes breast milk, and if you know how she loves to nurse, you'll know she's a big fan of the baby puff. Our local grocery stores carry only conventional Gerber baby puffs and my specialty stores don't have an organic puff option. One day, though, while browsing around Toys R' Us, I noticed a large grocery section full of organic baby and toddler food products. We bought each flavor of the Happy Baby Organic Puffs at $2.99 each and each container includes a coupon towards future purchases.

Toys R' Us also has sales on their organic food products leading to some of the best deals around. I just got an e-mail about a two-day store wide sale, and Earth's Best organic baby foods were included: 12-packs of jarred foods are buy one/get one free, so $8.99 for 24 jars or $0.37 per jar. Last week, their in-store sale was 10 jars for $5.50. That deal could have been made sweeter if paired with coupons from the Earth's Best website. Here's what the scenario could have been:

• Buy 20 jars for $11.00 (two "ten for $5.50" deals) plus one jar at regular price ($0.79, I believe) for a total of 21 jars. Total: $11.79


• Apply three "$1.00 off seven jars" Earth's Best printable coupons. New Total: $8.79, or $0.42/jar. [More expensive than this week's deal, but you would have had the option of selecting your own flavors. Still less than regular price at the grocery store.]

(4) Shop online. Stores like Target and Toys R' Us offer organic baby/toddler food products on their websites, often available with free shipping. Other online stores, like Azure Standard and Amazon Grocery, offer good deals on organics for all ages.

(5) Use coupons. The organic segment is growing at a most rapid pace and manufacturers are gaining brand loyalty through coupons. Coupons for organics are not often found in the Sunday newspaper (though someday they may be), but they are easily available. Coupons are sometimes available on or in a product package -- "peelies" are coupons stuck to the outside of a product package and are available for immediate use, whereas other products (like the Happy Baby puffs) have coupons inside meant to encourage a future purchase. Various organic brands offer coupons on their websites or Facebook pages. Some companies (like Earth's Best linked above) make coupons available for immediate download, some companies just request you sign up for a newsletter, other companies make you jump through some hoops. (Earthbound Farms has a quiz for a free reusable bag with coupons. Even if you don't pass the quiz and win the bag, your name will be added to the mailing list and you'll get coupons in the mail.)

Oftentimes, many of those specialty stores offer organic coupon booklets both in the store and by mail. While the stores themselves produce the coupon booklets, the coupons themselves are manufacturer's coupons meaning they can be used in any store. I've picked up coupon booklets at Whole Foods, Sprouts, and The Cupboard. I've also found coupons in newsletters available at The Sunflower Shoppe. Some of those stores will mail the coupon booklets to you directly or will offer it online for immediate download. From time to time, organic coupons can be found on smartsource.com and maybe one day they'll be able to be downloaded straight into your cell phone through companies like cellfire.com.

(6) Networking -- both high-tech and old school. With regards to high-tech networking, social media websites like Facebook and Twitter will go a long way in helping you save money on organic products. Not only can you snag deals on Facebook fan pages, on blogs, and on message boards, but like-minded friends can also clue you in to deals you don't want to miss.

Networking could be a great way to use the coupons you have on hand. For example, though I bought the store brand organic milk today on markdown, the Horizon organic milk gallons were also marked down to $2.99. I don't have one now, but in the past I've had coupons for $1.00 off Horizon gallons. Though I didn't have the coupon in my stash and could not have gotten a better deal today, I could have tweeted the deal and saved my couponing friends even more money. They could help me in the same way.

If high-tech networking is not your thing, keep it old school and network face-to-face. In the couponing world, there is such a thing called a "Coupon Train." That goofy name describes a network in which coupons are shared. A group of people, be it friends, neighbors, coworkers, schoolmates, message board members, etc. gather up coupons and pass them along. You could do a coupon train face-to-face, pass them along, or exchange them by mail. Essentially, everyone would pass long the coupons for organics they have no plans to purchase. Whoever starts the train -- whether in person or by mail -- gathers up the coupons they don't plan to use, then they pass them along to person #2. Person #2 takes the coupons they'll use from the handed-off stash, they add coupons from their stash they don't want, then they pass the selection off to person #3. Person #3 does the same and passes the stash on down the train. The last person would pass the bunch back to #1 and the train can continue on and on and on. Doing a coupon train by mail is similar, only each person mails the stash to the next person instead of personally handing it off. Couponing message boards are great places to find active coupon trains. If you can't find one, start your own!

These are six simple ways to save on organics. I'll post more ideas in the future, but in the meantime, how do you keep grocery costs down?