Yet more food stuff

The Republic had a feature in the Food and Drink section this past Wednesday on food costs and how to control them through purchasing decisions and developing better cooking habits (as in actually prepare and cook as opposed to just heating). I think the reporter could have done a better job in selecting a subject for how to save money--a family of four that spends $400/week on groceries isn't typical, i wouldn't think. That lends itself to a lot of fluff that is too easily trimmed. Granted, the 2 kids were 15 & 17, but still. I went back and looked at our bills for the first 7 months this year. Joanne and I averaged roughly $100/week (all grocery charges; about 3/4 of costco and a small bit at target), and I splurge a bit on meat and seafood, not shying away from stuff in the $7-10 a pound range.

As part of the feature, a list of tips were included, a lot which we already employ, some oddities (olives are a staple of a well stocked pantry?), but others were good reminders or things we hadn't considered:

To save money on produce, consider joining a community-supported agricultural group, or CSA. Consumers pay a monthly fee to farmers and receive baskets of locally grown produce, from kale to lemongrass, each week.

Wean your family off boxed cereals, granola bars and other high-priced convenience foods. You can make 30 bowls of oatmeal for the same cost as one box of cereal. Or make your own granola, or buy less-expensive cereal and trail mixes from the bulk bins.

Limit beverage purchases. Loading the cart with soda, iced tea, orange juice and Merlot quickly inflates grocery tabs.

Learn to make your own salad dressings and marinades. They take just minutes and cost at least half the price of prepared versions

Be energy efficient. Plug in your toaster oven out on the patio in the summer. Use a slow cooker. When using the oven, load up with as many trays of food as possible. For example, if roasting potatoes, add extras for hash browns for breakfast.

Comments in random order: It never occurred to me to put the toaster oven outside--I am slow sometimes (like how it took me almost 3 months to figure out the best way to put on a Onesie).
In another example of slowness, I am a big fan of Minute Maid's Low Acid OJ--all the great taste of OJ, but no acid. It didn't really dawn on me for a long time that it's over $5/gallon. I am sometimes shocked by how much beverage bill can be--a container or two of Naked (much cheaper at Costco), milk, a couple half gallon cartons of OJ, the Dew, maybe gator/power-ade. It all adds up. Not that it's had an effect on our purchasing decisions yet.

The making your own stuff--it never seemed like a bother, but I am reassessing. The last time I shopped for a red wine vinaigrette, i spent too long comparing ingredients--sugar or corn syrup, was the sweetener first, does organic matter, does it have some ingredient I don't like but wouldn't notice. But that's more me being a bad shopper. The anti cereal/bar thing was new in concept, as I grew up a cereal or bagel person. I think I know one person that's an oatmeal for breakfast person (not that it's a topic that comes up much). In that search, I found a site operated by the world's self-professed expert on your morning meal, Mr. Breakfast. Lots of good stuff there, particularly on the oatmeal front--in addition to a lot of recipes, there's the top 10 reasons it's an ideal breakfast.

Last, the CSA produce. I've looked into this twice in the past year. The first time was curiosity; the second was with more purpose after we found out Josiah and Monika had bought a share. My initial impression was that at $20-25/week, it isn't actually a cost savings, though the food itself is probably better. Joanne asked how much I spent on the last Costco produce haul ( 18 kiwis, 11 large peaches, a dozen bananas and a 5 lb bag of carrots), which was about $23. My impression is that the latter is a lot more than the a CSA share. Still, we are likely to try one out. The feature mentioned four in the Valley:

• Crooked Sky Farms based in South Phoenix, a share is $20 a week for 12 weeks. The pickup best for us is Thursdays just south of ASU.
• Desert Roots Farm is based in Queen Creek. This is the one I looked at twice and that JoMo joined. They are adding a pickup spot at Riverview on Tuesday afternoon/evenings that is ideal. A share is $23 for 12 weeks, but they have a 4-week summer session starting soon that would work as a trial. Home delivery is an extra $5/week.
• Whole Earth CSA: they use the blog as their website, and it seems to be lacking a bit in terms of easily finding useful info, so not a contender.
• Bountiful Baskets: this is a food co-op, not a CSA, so it uses a group purchase to cut out the store markup in dealing directly with a produce warehouse. For us, there's a pickup at Carriage Lane park, but I saw a note that there is only a 15 minute pickup window. It's 7:45 am on Saturday mornings, so that might be doable. And $15 looks to go a long way.
  

For my wealth of non-local readers, you can find your own CSAs at Local Harvest.