Beating Broke

Personal Finance from the Broke Perspective

Start Your Summer Right—Go Straight to the Farm for the Best Produce

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Ah, summertime.  If you are a foodie, summertime brings so many food joys—fresh, ripe strawberries, juicy blueberries, crunchy asparagus.  There are many food delights that are available in summer that aren’t available for most of the country for most of the year.

Sure, you can buy strawberries shipped in from a foreign country in January, but they are often devoid of taste and don’t taste nearly as good as those you can buy in June near your home.

019_edited-1 © by Michael Bentley

Since there are likely farmers in your area who grow the seasonal produce you crave, why not take a trip out to the farm to pick some of the produce on your own?  Taking such a trip is a great way to spend time together as a family, plus you benefit both nutritionally and financially.    Not only will you get to enjoy produce at the peak of ripeness, but you will also likely save substantially by buying at the farm.  An added bonus is that your kids will more likely enjoy eating the produce and learning how it grows.

We recently went as a family to an organic strawberry farm near our home.  None of us had ever picked strawberries before, and we didn’t know that strawberries got there name from the straw surrounding the berries so they don’t sit on the ground but the straw instead.  We picked 7.5 pounds, bought 10 pounds and bought another 27 pounds of seconds (berries not pretty enough to sell for the full asking price).  We spent approximately $91 for our haul (about $2.00 a pound which is a great price for organic strawberries), and froze 4 large bags of strawberries and made 21 pints of jam.  The kids still talk about the experience, and now they are more educated about how strawberries grow (as are we).

If you would like to look for a farm in your area, try localharvest.org for organic farmers or farmvisit.com.  If you use farmvisit.com, you can choose between organic and conventional farmers.

If you do not regularly visit farms to pick your fruits and veggies, here are some tips:

  1. Call the farm ahead of time.  The farmer can let you know picking conditions as well as when the busiest times are and the quietest times.  We always try to plan our visits around the quiet times because it is easier with small kids.
  2. Bring your own containers.  Farmers may have large containers for you to take your produce home in, but you will usually have to pay for them.  Bring your own containers instead and save the money.  Use cardboard boxes or even large pots and pans.
  3. Bring plenty of water and sunscreen.  Picking produce makes you hot, so bring plenty of water as well as sunscreen to prevent a burn.
  4. Bring a lunch.  If you will be picking for awhile or will have a drive a distance to get out to the farm, bring your lunch with you so you can have a picnic or eat while traveling.
  5. Wear appropriate shoes and clothes.  Tennis shoes are usually best, and wear sloppy clothes because you will probably get dirty.
  6. Have a plan for what to do with your produce.  Decide ahead of time if you will only pick enough to eat right away or if you plan to preserve some of it by freezing or canning it.  If you are canning it, going to the farm is just the first step to a long (but worthwhile) day of picking and preserving.

A trip to the farm can be a great experience for your kids and save you money on fresh produce picked at the peak of ripeness.  If you go a step further and freeze or can some of the produce you pick, you can enjoy local fruit at a great price all year long, straight from your stockpile.

3 Big Steps to Fight Off Rising Produce Costs this Summer

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My family has been increasingly consuming organic produce because we are trying to eliminate all food additives, preservatives and pesticides from our diet.  If you are trying to feed your family the recommended five servings of fruit and vegetables a day, you may be spending more than you would like on produce, regardless if you buy organic or not.  Just for my family of 5, meeting the USDA dietary recommendations means feeding us 25 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, or 175 servings a week!  Here are steps you can take now to save money this summer on fresh produce:

Grow a garden.  If you have the space, consider growing your own garden.  You will have an abundance of fresh, organic produce growing in your back yard, and food doesn’t get any fresher than that.  Eliminate the chemicals and the long transportation time that your produce often endures to get to the grocery store shelves.

VegetablesIf you live in the city or don’t have room to grow a garden, consider getting a plot at a community garden.  Community gardens are designated locations that usually have 15 to 40 plots available for members of the community to garden.  You use a plot and plant what you would like.  You just have to agree to maintain your plot and water it at least once a week.  There is often a small fee.  The community garden I plan to use this summer charges $20, but that money is refunded at the end of the season if you have tended your garden throughout the season.

Subscribe to a CSA.  CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture.  Many CSAs offer organic produce and deliver it to a location near you every week.  Programs often let you choose between a 1/2 bushel and a bushel of produce weekly or every other week and typically run for 18 to 22 weeks.

In return, you must pay for your share upfront, usually before May.  In larger cities CSAs fill up quickly, so you may want to begin looking for a CSA in your area this month or next month.  You also usually are not given much say in the produce you receive, so being open to trying new vegetables is necessary.

Freeze Your Excess.  If you have grown your own garden or have a share of a CSA, you may find yourself with an abundance of fresh produce during the summer months.  Rather than letting it go to waste, consider preserving some of it.  True, you could can some of it, but I have done that before, and it was a miserable time.  (This is just my experience; you may enjoy canning.)  Instead, take advantage of your freezer.  Shred the excess zucchini and put it in the freezer in small bags.  Puree excess squash to sneak into baked goods during the winter.  Make Jamie Oliver’s pasta sauce and freeze it for future spaghetti or pasta meals.

With careful planning during the rest of the winter months, you will be able to not only enjoy fresh produce during the summer and slash your grocery bill, but you will be able to save some of that produce for the fall and winter months, effectively lowering your grocery bill for produce all year long.

photo credit: Martin Cathrae