Where do you buy your organic food?

[LovetheMouse12302]

We have recently decided to switch over to organic food in our house. I live in a small town with limited options (we have Kroger and Aldi). I've been shopping at Kroger and I don't mind spending more for good quality. I just want to get the most "value" for my money and I will drive to a nearby city to purchase them if I have to. Where do you buy your organic items?

 

[magchavez]

We have a Sprouts and a Whole Foods near us. My dd has celiac so we are always on the lookout for gluten free items. Once we find something dd likes, I order it in bulk from Amazon. We get bread mix, cookies, pretzels and crackers from amazon.

 

[MariDisney]

I receive a weekly organic produce delivery from suburbanorganics.com

 

[superme80]

Grocery Outlet, Raley's and sometimes Safeway. There is a little health store in the closest bigger town that I sometimes will shop at. They have an awesome selection, but expensive. For produce I try and go to the farmer's market or a couple of farms that have little stores. When I get to Whole Foods and Trader Joes I am in heaven!

 

[LovetheMouse12302]

I'm thinking of driving to Trader Joes this weekend. We will be driving in that area anyways and I thought I would check it out. What are your favorite items from Trader Joes?

 

[JessB320]

Think outside the box for the best value. Look at farmers markets in spring and summer. Check craigslist for local ranchers raising meat. You may have a dairy near you you can pick up milk from directly. Eggs on craiglist as well. There is a website wild harvest that can help you find local meat. We eat mostly organic. With our dairy we get from a farm that uses organic practices but does not have the USDA organic seal. This is because while they never use antibiotics on healthy cows, if the crews gets sick or get mastitis they can pull them from milking, treat them, and then return them to milking after the antibiotics are out of their system. I'd a dairy is USDA organic they can not treat sick cows with antibiotics, just something to think about

 

[magsmum]

We belong to a local CSA (community supported agriculture) at a nearby farm. The farm is not certified organic (expensiver process) but follows organic practices for all fruits and veggies except corn. We also buy fresh caught fish there upon occasion. The CSA does offer year round opportunities, but right now we are just doing a main season share. I am super tempted to do the deep winter share b/c they are posting pictures of fresh greens available in the greenhouses right now for the winter share! We are not 100% organic, but I will also buy from Whole Foods or local grocery stores.

 

[Babypooh]

Another tip...buy whatever organic is on sale. We shop at Whole Foods so there is always some type of apple on sale every week and we buy it. Try new things! I shop often and in smaller quantities.

 

[jgreco]

Whole Foods, Publix and our Green Market.

I use this list to help me make the best of what I am purchasing:

12 Most Contaminated
Peaches
Apples
Sweet Bell Peppers
Celery
Nectarines
Strawberries
Cherries
Pears
Grapes (Imported)
Spinach
Lettuce
Potatoes

12 Least Contaminated
Onions
Avocado
Sweet Corn (Frozen)
Pineapples
Mango
Asparagus
Sweet Peas (Frozen)
Kiwi Fruit
Bananas
Cabbage
Broccoli
Papaya

Keep in mind that nearly all corn and soy products contain GMO's if that is a concern to you. So I will only buy organic of those items or Non-GMO Certified foods.

 

[Sagginit]

i get my organics mostly at whole foods and trader joes, although sometimes i pick them up at a regular foodstore. each store may have only certain items organic or i can get a better price elsewhere. like my local foodstore has a store brand organic that is always the best price on milk, but i buy my chicken at whole foods in big family packs that i divide up and freeze, as this is much cheaper than the chicken i find at TJ or my foodstore that is of this quality. my tip is as you start shopping save the receipts and make a list of prices in a notebook for a few weeks to compare. i did that this summer and found that some places that i thought were cheap were not the cheapest on some items.

i also like the sales at whole foods. the downside of TJ is organic items like apples and lemons come in bags, you need to buy in bulk to get the organic.

i am also a celiac so i love TJ, they make it super easy to shop with their labelling. i have a wicked cold so yesterday i went there and stocked up on organic OJ, organic soups, organic almond milk, and soy ice cream as well as GF bread.

 

[unbrelievable]

Don't know if you've got one around you, but I really like Sprouts. And I agree, listen to what one of the previous posters said and try and get what's on sale! Definitely saves a lot of money.

 

[aclov]

Costco carries some organic foods

 

[jedijill]

I echo everything that the PP's have said. Kroger has a decent organic selection as well.

I cannot wait until Trader Joe's finally opens here in Colorado!

Jill in CO

 

[midwestdee]

Whole Foods is a great supermarket for organic and gluten free products (son in law has Celiac disease - I am sooo grateful it has gotten easier to find gluten free products). Also, Consumer Reports has done articles on which items it really "pays" to look for the organic alternative. That might help you in deciding where choosing organic is the most important. I know they said organic milk products were important - if you can reasonably afford it.

 

[LovetheMouse12302]

Thanks for all of the replies!!! We stopped by Trader Joes today and got a few items. I can't wait to try them out!

 

[mel345]

Some of the mom and pop grocery stores exclusively sell organic foods. You might want to check out if there's one close to you.

 

[DisHmsklMom]

I use iherb.com for a number of organic products. Shipping is free for orders over $40, and they have specials going on right now. I don't work for them by the way. Also, you can often find a code for a discount on your first order.

 

[ChrisinNJ]

Luckily I have a lot of choices, but my favorite supermarket, hands down, is Wegmans. Their organic items are clearly labeled, plentiful and reasonably priced. I also shop at WholeFoods, Trader Joes and Foodtown (for quick runs).