I was only risking a dollar.
Yesterday we stopped at a little produce stand (aren't they such lovely things?) and perused the offerings. I bought some sweet corn, and went to pick up a cantaloupe when I noticed some in a box off to the side.
The ones in the box all had a soft spot on one side, but they were priced at $1, while the other ones were $3.50.
This appealed to me on a frugal level, of course, but I also appreciated the opportunity to save a cantaloupe that could have been thrown out.
Jonathan Bloom of Wasted Food frequently talks about how produce that's anything less than perfect is mostly thrown out by grocery stores. Even produce that's perfectly ripe and edible but is oddly shaped gets tossed, and that's just so sad.
Anyway, I happily plunked down a dollar for my cantaloupe, took it home, and promptly cut it open.
Sure enough, it was ripe, juicy, and delicious, all except for the bruised part.
We ate the whole thing last night, and now I'm wishing I bought more melons from the dollar bin. A dollar for a locally grown cantaloupe is a steal!
I've noticed that a number of produce stands offer slightly-less-than-perfect produce at a discount, and I really wish that grocery stores would do the same. I for one would be glad to carve out a bruise or cut off a soft spot as long as I wasn't paying full price.
Do your grocery stores and produce stands offer discounts on imperfect produce?
My grocery store bags up bruised, and damaged fruit and veggies for 50% off. Last week I bought a bunch of bananas and a cantaloupe for a total of 2.85. I sliced and froze the bananas and cut up the melon. Makes life easier for busy days.
I certainly look for produce (and other) marked downs whenever possible, especially come Winter, when produce is so expensive here in CT. I recently got bananas @ 22/lb vs 79, vine tomatoes @ 99/lb vs $2.49, apples @ $2/3 lb bag vs $5.99 (pink ladies, too!). Cut off the bad part, freeze what you can't use right away. Make apple sauce out of marked down apples, or a quick bread/muffins, waffles, a crisp, etc.
Good tip!
We have a local farm that offers discounts at their stand. We often buy the " seconds" in tomatoes and sweet potatoes. I think we pay $2.00 for a half bushel which is crazy cheap. The only problem with the produce is that they just aren't as pretty/well shaped as the full-priced options. The produce is perfectly tasty and not over ripe at all.
Actually Kristen, I know we live in the same area (I promise that I'm not a stalker, but I have just seen you and your husband more than once around town) so you may want to check it out. I can send you an email if you are interested with the name of the farm.
Emailed you!
Sarah,
I am in the same area too! We shop at the same Aldi. I would love to know the name of the farm! I'm teaching a canning class for the women at my church and need to keep my costs as low as possible. Thanks!
Kim
Kim, send me an email at sarah_w919 at hotmail.com and I'll respond. HTH!
We picked organic strawberries earlier this year. They were $2.99 a pound, but we bought up a bunch of the "seconds" (less than perfect) for .99 a pound already picked and made yummy strawberry jam with those.
My farmers' markets do, my grocery does not. Wish they would, though. Once or twice a year it bags up older produce for discount sale which is just not often enough. Far more common is the meat they freeze just before it expires; about once a quarter they haul it all out for half price.
This is one big reason I like farmers markets--you get to see what our food actually looks like. Some of it might be bruised or shaped funny. My farmers market strawberries were tiny--downright puny compared with the gargantuan things sold at grocery stores--but they were exponentially tastier and more satisfying.
One of the stores where we used to live often sold browning bananas at a discount price.
There's a marketplace by my apartment that does this, too. Perfect when you need baking bananas in a pinch 🙂
One way that I look at these marked down produce items, is we frequently have week old produce at home, looking just as bad, yet we eat them anyways.
I have a favorite produce stand north of Seattle (blogged it's address, hours and when discount bin is filled daily, a while back), that has a great marked down section. Their regular prices are pretty good, but the marked downs are real steals. It always surprises me how many people walk on past this bin. But as I see it, all the more for me.
I do take my chances, and I know that this is produce that has to be dealt with that day, either eaten, or frozen, or made into something that will keep longer. A few weeks ago I bought 10 avocados for $1. We ate 9 of them, and lost one to rot. But I knew when buying them that I should make them into guacamole or something immediately, so it was my own fault.
I go to a Fruit and Veggie Market that sells the less than perfect produce from a restuarant supply store and Gourmet Outlet. If I went to the Gourmet Outlet, I would pay at least 5 times what I pay at the discount place. This week I bought a huge bag of romaine lettuce for $1. The bag is about 3 x the size of the one at the supermarket. I purchased 4 mangos for $2, 1 - 5 lb bag of potatoes for $1, 1 lb strawberries for $1 and a little package of raspberries for $.50, 3 lbs apples for $1. Not bad. By shopping at the discount store, I can have fresh fruits and veggies all week for about $7.
Somtimes they have bags of chopped onions or peppers for $1. I just wash them, spin them dry and freeze on parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Once they are frozen, I put them in a freezer bag and use them from the freezer when I cook. I have also gotten large bags of baby spinach for $3, large bags of broccoli florets for $3, large bags of chopped carrots for $1. The prices are unbelievable. Yes, I need to use the produce up within the week but I would pay 2 or 3 times as much at the regular grocery store.
Forgot to mention, they also have spotted bananas for 5 lbs for $1 and another local market gives the spotted bananas away for free. Great to make smoothies or banana bread.
Wow! I wish there was a place like that here in Denver!
I love the farm market near our house. They have a whole rack of items for $.50! Anything that is starting to get ripe gets put in a bag with other items and sold for $.50. I always check out that rack first before I buy my other items. I almost always walk away with bags of wonderful produce for just a few dollars!
My grocery stores don't, but I do frequent the 99 cent stores around here because they offer produce that isn't visually perfect but tastes just fine! Granted there are a few things I could get cheaper at my grocery, like cucumbers and bell peppers, but I can pick up cantaloupes, "personal-size" watermelons, bags of kiwis, even pints of strawberries plus a pretty good selection of other stuff there. Perfect for a poor college student [:
We live in Sacramento, and I was just going to offer the same tip about the 99 Cent stores. If you don't mind your tomatoes being slightly smaller, you can get six for a dollar. Often they will have a bag of yellow onions for a buck. These veggies are the real thing...absolutely nothing is wrong with them! They just don't look uniformly-sized, plastic and picture-perfect like most grocery stores require! Farmers probably had to sell them here because the groceries will reject them. We save at least $2 on every $1 spent at this store (and that is not just on produce). I then take the stack of cash saved and go down the street to buy the best cut of meat available at a specialty shop.
I live in Georgia. We have stores by the name of Food Depot. I have been there in the mornings and they are will put out produce bags of bananas, and other fruit. This also gives me the chance to try new things, we tried a "pulot" I think that is what it is called , it was a cross of a plum and apricot. I have an eight year old daughter who loves fruit, this helps when she wants to try somthing. Sorry so long winded. have a Super day
Yes, I always check the going bad sections - fruit, produce and bread. We have a local store that always marks the bread down, too. When loaves of bread are .99/ea I stock up. Just about anything can be frozen before it goes bad - that's if my family doesn't eat it first! Great reminder, Kristen!
You can always ask the store if you can have a discount on their not so nice produce. I did this at walmart and it worked! If they say no just put it back. No harm done.
I don't think my grocery stores do that, but they do donate some of the imperfect produce to our local food shelf for distribution, which is very good. They also freeze meat the day before it "expires" and donates that to the food shelf as well.
What a great idea. We love cantaloupe and can eat a half in one sitting (there's only 3 of us.)
Question: someone just gave us a bag of avocado's from their backyard tree. Unfortunately, they are all ripening at the same time. Can I freeze avocados? Will they stay green or will they brown? Thanks.
You can make guacamole for the freezer. Just pack it in freezer bags to get out most of the air. There are a few good recipes online. Just google "guacamole freezer".
Some of the stores around here have arrangements with local farmers. The farmer can get a whole truckload of produce and outdated food and dairy for free or very cheap. Then it gets fed to pigs..
One of our local grocery stores sells outdated items, including bread and produce in a 50% off bin. They also mark down meat, deli, and dairy products that are close to expiry dates. I often take advantage of these types of deals, and have very seldom had anything that I ended up wasting. However, they used to mark things down much more than 50%, and some of the stuff they mark down in the produce bin, I definitely wouldn't pay even the 50% price, because they are just too far gone. My best luck from the reduced produce bin has been with mushrooms and pineapples. The mushrooms can last for days more in my fridge and are fine for cooking with, and the pineapples are usually deliciously sweet and juicy because they are actually ripe!
I LOVE shopping the discount racks. Bell peppers are always $3/lb here regardless of colour or season and higher in the off season. The racks offer 3-5 shrink wrapped on a styrofoam tray for $1.25. Thats a bargain for me since we eat peppers all year long. And usually theres barely anything wrong with them, a bruise if even.
I do notice that only the discount grocery stores & asian grocery stores offer marked down produce. Usually its a steal if you're not afraid of the work. A lot of 'wanna be frugal' people will shop at the discount & asian stores but turn up their noses at the discount/clearance rack. S'ok...more for me! 🙂
My store has a rack of imperfect produce that's marked down a LOT. I've picked up almost-overripe bananas and slightly sunburned potatoes for pennies!
OH, that's amazing for just $1...and yeah, I'd do the same, to get some nice fruit. I'd have no problem cutting out the bruised part. Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather 🙂
Oh, yes! Most store do this, although they tend to package produce in plastic bags or wrapped with styrofoam trays which tick me off. Yes, many a pepper, tomato, grape bunch and plum have been saved by us this way.
I shop at meijer and they have a "reduced" produce cart and I check that before I pick up anything else. It's still perfectly tasty 🙂
Tam
as other posters, i am a fan of farmer's markets for this reason, too! i love getting wacky looking produce, it makes me happy!
Great score!!!
Last week I happened to visit a grocery store that I don't usually frequent - it's not far away, but since there's one within 5 blocks of my house, I generally just walk to that one. So.... this new store, while it's the same chain as the one I regularly visit, caters to a much more upscale crowd (my neighborhood is mostly blue collar folk and Mexican immigrants.)
Anyhow, I was delighted to discover that EVERY section of this store had a "manager discount" area! Seriously, I got blemished organic red peppers - three for a dollar! They're usually about $5 a piece! There were also organic apples 3 for a dollar, organic chicken that was nearing its expiration date for $1.50/pound, and a whole bunch of other treasures! My regular store never has manager discounts, and also seldom carries anything organic.
So now I'm torn... I sort of like my weekly walks to the neighborhood store - it keeps my from over-buying because when you have to carry it all home... plus, I don't have to spend anything on gas. Of course, I AM trying to drive more so I don't keep having to replace the battery quite so often. And I really do like supporting my neighborhood store... but I really did end up getting better quality food for less at the new store...
What do y'all think? Should I switch to the fancy schmancy store with the discount bins, even if it means driving instead of walking?
Fareway here does that with their aged and odd shaped produce. It is usually at least 50% off and I snag up the broccoli and cauliflower when it starts to brown and make soup or stir fry. Just as good.
My Meijer has started selling a lot more of these "seconds" on a marked down shelf. It's always my first place to check! This Spring, before my peppers were growing in my garden, I could get 2 colored peppers cheaper marked down for cheaper than 1 green pepper at regular price. For a few little marks, I'll gladly pay less and cut off the bad parts, too! It's a great frugal tip.
Have you ever made cantaloupe ad vanilla bean jam? Like a creamsicle in a jar!
I've never even heard of that. Recipe?
I don't know the protocol for putting a published recipe on a website. I am happoy to send it to you privately or if you tell me how it is acceptable to post it here for everyone I will do that. It makes only small batches, but is great to do when you score a lot of cheap cantaloupe.
It should be fine...ingredients aren't copyrighted, but the wording of the directions is. So as long as you put the directions in your own words, you're good. 🙂
Before I had the space to grow hundreds of my own tomatoes, I always bought a few boxes of "secconds" tomatoes from produce stands for cheap. Once they're diced, stewed, roasted, our pureed and processed, no one would ever know they all had a spot on them somewhere, and they cost next to nothing. You just have to ask the seller. I can usually find secconds in peaches and nectarines as well, and those are only good for making jam and syrup, but I've walked away with boxes full of those for free in the past, because the seller simply has no use for them.
I had a lot of fun the other day! I bought a sealed 8kg box of broccoli...for $3!!!!!
I took it home...
I slit the seal...
I took off the lid...
It was good!!! Save for a few small discolourations which were easily removed. I gave some away, I served some with many meals, I made some broccoli soup, I had a crash course in blanching and freezing...
I had fun...I was happy...
Hey Kristen,
I am a recent reader of your blog. Highly enjoyable. One money saving tip we do, as a family of 7 (6 males and a Mom!) we buy day old produce from the local organic farm near us for 50% off the going price. Also, we just got in our first order from Azure Standard (a bulk/health food distributor) for Ah-Maz-Ing organic (and not) bulk food prices and free shipping to a drop point.
Thanks for all the great frugal inspiration. 🙂
If mine does I've never gotten lucky enough to catch it. I've seen them going through stuff and tossing it in boxes so I'm guessing they trash the stuff. Unfortunately I've seen stuff still out that should have been tossed or marked down...I think mine is probably afraid people would wait for the stuff ot be marked down or help it along!
Even though the profit is less--or nonexistent--I can tell you the farmer was glad you bought that melon too. He wouldn't have put it out there otherwise. He (she?) worked really hard to grow that fruit, and it pains most farmers I know to just throw out food that is perfectly good except for a small blemish. We have a small flock of free-range laying hens, and we sell our cull eggs to people who are willing to take odd sizes, bumpy shells, or other eggs that don't make Grade AA. Those eggs might look kind of different on the outside, but they're all the same on the inside (I guess that kind of describes people too!).
Our local chain stores do actually sell discounted less-than-prime produce, and I snatch it up. And I discovered one of the farmers at our farmers market sells seconds of their apples at half price. They are soooo good. Lots of things taste better when they are local, but local apples are one of my favorites!! One of my friends is a manager at our Trader Joe's, and they donate everything they take off their shelves to a church that distributes it to a variety of food pantries, soup kitchens, etc. Love that.
This was a great risk:)
I love getting deals like that at the local produce stand and farmers' market. We eat (or freeze, or cook and freeze) those kinds of produce right away... it enables us to buy a lot more produce than we would otherwise! And Harris Teeter is very good about selling seconds produce.
I had a very successful grocery store 'random bag' as I like to refer: I bought all this for $1 - one avocado, six bananas and an apple. All still fine to eat 🙂 yay or random produce stuff!