During the last twelve months, shoppers have found significant price increases at their local grocery store because of higher fuel prices, increased demand, and a lower overall supply of food. Organic food prices, which have traditionally been more expensive than groceries found at big box stores, are not immune from these price increases.
A recent New York Times article found that an average load of organic bread can be up to $3.19, where-as a regular loaf of bread is running anywhere from $.99 to $1.19 in a more traditional grocery store. The article also stated that you can expect to pay anywhere from 250% to 350% to purchase organic milk compared to a standard store-brand milk. Organic eggs were also particularly more expensive than regular eggs. Some stores were selling a dozen organic eggs for over $5.00 per carton!
With an increased demand for organic food and with supply and demand naturally pushing all food prices up, organic foods have a very expensive proposition, so what can you do to fight back?
The first thing you might want to consider doing is creating a fruit and vegetable garden if you have a backyard and you live in a climate that would allow it. Seeds are extremely inexpensive, and with a moderate amount of effort, you can end up with a nice crop of vegetables at the end of the year.
You might also consider shopping at farmer’s markets for organic foods rather than at specialty grocery stores. Local farmers don’t have the overhead and distribution costs that organic grocery chains do, so they are able to sell you fresher organic goods for a much lower price than you might be able to find otherwise.
If you have more than one organic grocery store in your area, be sure to price compare, just as you would when shopping at a regular grocery store. Since there’s more overhead on organic foods than regular groceries, the price will vary much more from store to store and chain to chain on the products that you buy on a regular basis.
Finally, use all of the same tricks you would when buying regular groceries. Most organic grocery stores have circulars each week with coupons. You can often find manufacturers coupons online to get even more opportunities to save. Buying in bulk is sometimes, but not always, an option as well.
If eating organic food is important to you, you shouldn’t have to switch to a more traditional grocery store just because the prices have gone up. Instead use the techniques outline above and get more bang for your buck when buying organic food.
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