Let's face it, produce can be EXPENSIVE! But to eat healthy and to lose weight it's a must so how do you save money on groceries when you want to buy fresh produce? I have compiled a few ways to save money on produce and lessen your grocery bill.

How to Save Money on Groceries – Saving Money on Produce

1. Garden – This one is the most obvious, start a garden in your backyard and whatever you grow is free. You don't have to have a big garden but plant what you use most. This will save you the most money.
2. Join a Co-Op – There are many options everywhere for co-ops. You can pay one price for the season and get a new box each week. We were in a  co-op last summer and ended up with more fruits and veggies then we knew what to do with!
3. BountifulBaskets.org – This is like a co-op but run a bit differently. The basket you get are huge and you pay per week instead of for the whole season. $15 a week and you can see right on the home page the type of baskets participates are getting for this week. The amount of produce for $15 is amazing.
4. Farmers Markets – Getting your produce straight from the source cuts out the middlemen and the price that gets added because of them. I like knowing where my food is coming from and thatI am helping out a local farmer. plus many farmers will work with you if you are a regular customer. We stopped at a farmers market once and a farmer there introduced us to the Honeycrisp Apple, he gave us one to try no charge and even remembered us each time we came back and gave us a few free apples each time. It adds up!
5. Buy in Bulk – Buying in bulk at places like Sam's Club, Costco and Bjs will save you money even on produce. You can also strike up a deal when you buy in bulk from a farmer at a Farmer's Market. The more you buy they better the deal you can negotiate. Remember many fruits and veggies can be frozen for later use. I love freezing strawberries, apples and blueberries for smoothies.
6. Pick Your Own – Going to a farm and picking you own saves the farmer money by not having to hire workers to pick the fruit and veggies to sell at a farmers market. They pass this savings on to you, so putting in the effort will save you money. I take advantage of this in the fall and pick my own pumpkins and apples. A few years back I went a little crazy and ended up with about 4 bushels of apples and 20+ pie pumpkins. I was apples to process and freeze or can them and use them all year long. It was a win-win because my hubby loves pumpkin pie and because we had pumpkin in the freezer he could have it at just about every holiday or special meal.
7. Buy in Season – It's no secret each fruit and veggies has a season it is grown in. If you buy items out of season how do you think the stores get them? They import them from somewhere that they are in season and this cost more money so the price is higher. When you buy in season they are able to get the produce locally and because of this they can offer lower prices. stock up and freeze items when they are at their lowest price to use later on in the year.
8. Buy Frozen – Just because the fruit or veggies are frozen doesn't mean they aren't as good as fresh. In fact this is the best way to buy items that are out of season.

How do you save money on produce?

buy in season