How to Eat Organic on a Budget

Eating fresh produce is the way to go.

Organic produce can get pricey compared to their conventionally grown counterparts, primarily because organic farmers don't use the same cost-cutting mass-production strategies that toxic pesticides and chemical fertilizers facilitate. That doesn't mean, however, that organic fruits and vegetables are the sole province of the well-off. Here's how to eat healthfully even on the skimpiest of shoestring budgets.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

How to Start Saving Money on Organic Produce

1. Join a Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. A CSA is an economic partnership between a local farmer and a nearby community. Members of a CSA either pledge or put up in advance an annual fee to cover the farm's anticipated production costs during the harvest season (typically May to October). In return, you get a weekly bounty of fresh, sustainably grown vegetables for a lot less than you'd pay at the supermarket.

2. Grow your own vegetables (and fruit, depending on where you live) in your backyard, but ditch the chemical nasties and go au naturale. Apartment dwellers can alternatively sign up for a plot with their neighborhood community garden.

3. Shop at your local farmers' market, where organic choices frequently abound. Because you're buying directly from the grower, you don't have to pay the additional premium that middlemen (such as supermarkets and grocers) tack on.

4. Join a food co-op. A co-op is a business that is owned and operated by its members, all of whom have an equal say in how it operates. They also receive an equal share in any profits if the co-op is open to the public. By pooling together their buying power, members are able to negotiate with wholesalers for better prices.

5. Don't just stick to one supermarket--explore your options. Note the differences in price lists from store to store and keep a lookout for sales. Sign up for any mailing lists that will keep you apprised of price cuts and special offers.

6. If finances are really tight, buy only the organic versions of fruits and vegetables that contain an especially high concentration of pesticides. (Examples include apples, strawberries, nectarines, spinach and potatoes.) You can buy conventionally grown produce for everything else.

Resources

• Find a Food Co-op
• Locate a CSA
• Tips for Apartment Gardening
• American Community Gardening Association
• Get the Free Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce