Produce Price Point Guidelines
I had a reader comment on my post about my $1 a pound or less guideline for fresh, seasonal produce.
Here is a quote:
Personally, I pay quite a bit more for produce than $1 per pound. Some produce isn't even done by pounds... blueberries, raspberries, etc. that are done by pints/half pints or some are 6 oz. You would have a limited amount of produce you can buy, ie lettuce, you can't find for $1 a pound most of the year. What do you do not have any salads? I mean, you can't stock up on produce. Non-prebagged apples tend not to be $1 a pound except in apple season, fall. Other than Aldi's I haven't seen any $1 a pound strawberries and I doubt you will much in the summer either. Sometimes I think these ridiculously low price points are more depressing to couponers who pay more than anything else.
My thoughts on that?
Maybe you just aren't looking in the right places!
There is a LOT of FRESH, in season produce for under $1/#...let's look at the current ads this week (they all run 5/31-6/6):
Aldis:
Lemons $.79/# in a 1# bag (great for salads, lemonade, lemon picatta chicken
Mangoes $.49 each - GREAT price as each one usually = 1#
Bananas $.29/#
Strawberries $1.19/# (grab a heavier one as some weigh MORE than 1#)
Whole Pineapple $1.09 - usually 2-4#, depending on the brand.
( I was there yesterday and they had OTHER items too in this range like tomatoes on the vine $.99/#, roma tomatoes, corn on the cob, ALL brands of their apples, salad mix and more)
Sentry Foods
Baby Carrots $.85/#
Cauliflower $.89/#
Red or Green Leaf Lettuce $.99 each - weigh a few heads and get a heavier one
Cucumbers $.50 each (2 should be a pound or more)
Green Giant Red B Potatoes $.83/# in a 3# bag for $2.49 - again, weigh a few bags
Copps/Pick N Save
Tree Ripe Peaches $.99/#
Mangoes $.99 each -- cheaper at Aldi
Green Bartlett Pears $.99/#
Iceberg Lettuce $.99 each -again, weigh them
Kiwi $.33 each - (3 should be a pound or more)
You get the idea -- I could add Hy-Vee, Pierce's IGA, Piggly Wiggly, etc.
Now let's talk deals with produce coupons!
I have seen coupons for ALL bagged salad blends (Dole, Fresh Express, etc), Hass Avocados, even the generic $1 off produce when you buy 2 Hidden Valley salad dressings. My favorite place to look for produce coupons is the liquor department of the grocery store - where you often find coupons that do NOT require you to buy that beer or wine. Yippee!
As for apples... it is ALWAYS cheaper to buy them in the bag!! Buying ANYTHING where you pick out only one or two will cost you more, from product to meat. Bulk packs are ALWAYS cheaper.
:)
Again - weigh a few bags to get the heavier one!!! I have had 5# bags of potatoes really be 7# and 3# bags of apples really be 4#. Even the boxes of strawberries can weigh heavy. The grocers do not say:
"That bag is .25# too heavy, cut an apple in half..."
I am talking SEASONAL produce -- so yes, those apples would be cheapest, in their season: fall. I got apples for $.25 or less at a local orchard last fall. (remember applesauce-a-palooza?)
:)
When fresh produce fails to meet your needs, you can almost always find a great deal on frozen!
Add a coupon to a sale price and you EASILY pick up your favorites for $.50/# or less. They are picked at the height of their growing season, cleaned and cut for you - saving a little prep time. However, March is the best month to stock up- - it's National Frozen Food Month.
:)
Now - this is a different picture if you are looking for Organic items.
Obviously, they will be a little pricier and that is why I talked about the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 last year. You don't have to buy ALL organics, just focus on buying the "bad ones" as organic and go crazy on the "clean" list!
Keep in mind that everything in the local sales ads is for sale, they are not always ON sale. Just because a fruit or veggie is in the sales ad - it doesn't mean it is a deal for the consumer. I hope this clears things up for those of you who read along and were confused too, but haven't been to one of my coupon classes where I explain it in detail.
My family eats the perimeter of the store - very little pre-processed foods and produce is a big part of that. We STILL make it work on our $100/month shopping budget, but have been working a fair stockpile for quite a while. We DO grow some of our own fruit (apples, cherries, rhubarb, raspberries, mulberries, and crabapples) and swap out for things like tomatoes, green beans and cukes - if my summer is too crazy to grow them ourselves. I freeze these things, can them, turn them into jam/jellies and pie filling that is also used for coffee cakes.
Life is about choices.
YOU get to choose what is right for your family and how you spend your money. People like me simply give you a rough guideline that you can CHOOSE to follow or not follow. I am simply sharing what works for us - and is working for many other people.
:)
Blessings-
Dannelle
Personally, I pay quite a bit more for produce than $1 per pound. Some produce isn't even done by pounds... blueberries, raspberries, etc. that are done by pints/half pints or some are 6 oz. You would have a limited amount of produce you can buy, ie lettuce, you can't find for $1 a pound most of the year. What do you do not have any salads? I mean, you can't stock up on produce. Non-prebagged apples tend not to be $1 a pound except in apple season, fall. Other than Aldi's I haven't seen any $1 a pound strawberries and I doubt you will much in the summer either. Sometimes I think these ridiculously low price points are more depressing to couponers who pay more than anything else.
My thoughts on that?
Maybe you just aren't looking in the right places!
There is a LOT of FRESH, in season produce for under $1/#...let's look at the current ads this week (they all run 5/31-6/6):
Aldis:
Lemons $.79/# in a 1# bag (great for salads, lemonade, lemon picatta chicken
Mangoes $.49 each - GREAT price as each one usually = 1#
Bananas $.29/#
Strawberries $1.19/# (grab a heavier one as some weigh MORE than 1#)
Whole Pineapple $1.09 - usually 2-4#, depending on the brand.
( I was there yesterday and they had OTHER items too in this range like tomatoes on the vine $.99/#, roma tomatoes, corn on the cob, ALL brands of their apples, salad mix and more)
Sentry Foods
Baby Carrots $.85/#
Cauliflower $.89/#
Red or Green Leaf Lettuce $.99 each - weigh a few heads and get a heavier one
Cucumbers $.50 each (2 should be a pound or more)
Green Giant Red B Potatoes $.83/# in a 3# bag for $2.49 - again, weigh a few bags
Copps/Pick N Save
Tree Ripe Peaches $.99/#
Mangoes $.99 each -- cheaper at Aldi
Green Bartlett Pears $.99/#
Iceberg Lettuce $.99 each -again, weigh them
Kiwi $.33 each - (3 should be a pound or more)
You get the idea -- I could add Hy-Vee, Pierce's IGA, Piggly Wiggly, etc.
Now let's talk deals with produce coupons!
I have seen coupons for ALL bagged salad blends (Dole, Fresh Express, etc), Hass Avocados, even the generic $1 off produce when you buy 2 Hidden Valley salad dressings. My favorite place to look for produce coupons is the liquor department of the grocery store - where you often find coupons that do NOT require you to buy that beer or wine. Yippee!
As for apples... it is ALWAYS cheaper to buy them in the bag!! Buying ANYTHING where you pick out only one or two will cost you more, from product to meat. Bulk packs are ALWAYS cheaper.
:)
Again - weigh a few bags to get the heavier one!!! I have had 5# bags of potatoes really be 7# and 3# bags of apples really be 4#. Even the boxes of strawberries can weigh heavy. The grocers do not say:
"That bag is .25# too heavy, cut an apple in half..."
I am talking SEASONAL produce -- so yes, those apples would be cheapest, in their season: fall. I got apples for $.25 or less at a local orchard last fall. (remember applesauce-a-palooza?)
:)
When fresh produce fails to meet your needs, you can almost always find a great deal on frozen!
Add a coupon to a sale price and you EASILY pick up your favorites for $.50/# or less. They are picked at the height of their growing season, cleaned and cut for you - saving a little prep time. However, March is the best month to stock up- - it's National Frozen Food Month.
:)
Now - this is a different picture if you are looking for Organic items.
Obviously, they will be a little pricier and that is why I talked about the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 last year. You don't have to buy ALL organics, just focus on buying the "bad ones" as organic and go crazy on the "clean" list!
Keep in mind that everything in the local sales ads is for sale, they are not always ON sale. Just because a fruit or veggie is in the sales ad - it doesn't mean it is a deal for the consumer. I hope this clears things up for those of you who read along and were confused too, but haven't been to one of my coupon classes where I explain it in detail.
My family eats the perimeter of the store - very little pre-processed foods and produce is a big part of that. We STILL make it work on our $100/month shopping budget, but have been working a fair stockpile for quite a while. We DO grow some of our own fruit (apples, cherries, rhubarb, raspberries, mulberries, and crabapples) and swap out for things like tomatoes, green beans and cukes - if my summer is too crazy to grow them ourselves. I freeze these things, can them, turn them into jam/jellies and pie filling that is also used for coffee cakes.
Life is about choices.
YOU get to choose what is right for your family and how you spend your money. People like me simply give you a rough guideline that you can CHOOSE to follow or not follow. I am simply sharing what works for us - and is working for many other people.
:)
Blessings-
Dannelle
Awesome info!
ReplyDeleteYou know, with the locavore movement, it may be interesting to see about buying in bulk for veggies and fruits at the end of the market day---
here, we have local markets that end up donating a lot of fruit and veg since it would go bad on the shelf otherwise... they may have extra they are willing to sell! :)