Buy Groceries without Visiting the Grocery Store

 

Do you shop at the Grocery store? How often do you go? 

Some people head to the grocery store every few days – then others may go very rarely. If we didn’t go to check prices, we could honestly say that we rarely go – shocking?!  Probably for some.

When asked why, the answer is relatively easy for us – we really don’t need much there. Our meat and produce are the bulk of our purchase and those items come from places beyond the grocery store. Milk… we try to buy 5-6 gallons at a time – which alleviates the stress of “gosh… we’re out, again?! Lets go!” – you save more when you visit the store LESS. It’s true, it really is. I swear. :)

It’s not that we don’t like grocery stores, we just have a different mentality when it comes to putting food in the house, and we certainly don’t find too much at the store that we need. For some people, a trip to the store to get 2-3 items can turn into 20+ items and a rather large grocery bill.

Sometimes saving money and stocking your cabinets requires you to think outside of the box – and although we love coupons and saving, coupons are not always required TO save – you can save by changing your shopping habits.

With that said, here are some alternative ways to get groceries, without shopping at your traditional grocery store.

Farmers Market

Are you near a Farmers Market? I am near two, and they are such terrific places to get produce!  If you are in the Valley, the produce comes up from Mexico and is distributed between several local Farmers Markets here in town.

• Superstition Farmers Market – Mesa (On Main between Higley & Greenfield)
• Superstition Farmers Market – Apache Junction (On the Northwest Corner of Meridian and Main)

Some of the latest prices include:

• Green Peppers 4/$1
• Red Peppers 8/$1
• Orange Peppers & Yellow Peppers 5/$1
• Broccoli, $.29 lb
• Grapes, $.37 lb
• Strawberries, 16 oz, 2/$1
• Lettuce, Red or Green Leaf, $.59 ea.

You can usually find produce for much lower than you would at the Grocery store – but it doesn’t last long.  I’d try to use what you pick up within the first few days, and make a weekly trip if at all possible.

The $.99 Store

Are you near a $.99 store? They have some AMAZING deals – but they change quickly!  Stuff arrives daily and some will sell rather fast.. we always post our weekly finds there for you to see – our latest trips have yielded:

• English Muffins 6 ct for $.99
• Kitchen Rugs, $.99
• Nature’s Own 100% Whole Grain Wheat Bread $.99
• Fresh produce
• Stonyfield Organic Greek 32 oz. Yogurt $.99
• Ore-Ida Potatoes, Frozen (in bag) $.99
• 12 ct Pop Tarts $1 
• Ocean Spray 64 oz. Juice $.99
• Heinz Ketchup $.99
• Lasagna (Box) $.99
• Alexia Potatoes $.99

The food is NOT expired – and although they don’t accept coupons, you can use apps like Checkout51, MobiSave, BerryCart and even Shopmium there – for even greater savings.  Just remember that items can change frequently – so what we may find one day, you may or may not find the next.

Online ~ Amazon, Green Polka Dot Box & More

Places like Amazon can be a great way to pick up organic and natural food offers that you would traditionally pay more for at the store. If you set up alerts and keep these items you frequently buy on your watch list, you can often times catch them for a nice price with Subscribe & Save.  If you have Amazon Prime you’ll save even more with FREE 2-day shipping.

(Amazon is our favorite way to stock up on Toilet Paper – NO need to clip a coupon and drag kids to the store… this is definitely the way to go!)

It eliminates a trip to the grocery store .. which not only saves on gas, but for most, it keeps you from spending more than you intended once you walk through those electronic doors.

You can also pick up food from the Green Polka Dot Box, as well as other retailers – Amazon Fresh, Thrive Market, and even Safeway. The best part about buying online is that it’s easier to stick to your original grocery list, without the temptation of throwing other items in your cart along the way.

Local Farmer – Join a CSA

Community Supported Agriculture is something we have mentioned here previously – thankfully we have some pretty amazing farmers here in the Valley that you can support through a CSA share.

When you go local, only do you support your local community, you’re supporting the farmers decision to grow organic without pesticides – we live in a country where most are geared to profits, fast turnaround, and mass production in efforts to make more money.

Normal CSA’s allow you to purchase a full or half share, and pick up  your bag of produce weekly – some even deliver. If you are out in E. Mesa, you can pick up your CSA share at Superstition Farm – while you are there, you can also BUY Milk, Butter, Eggs, and more at the Superstition Farm shop before you leave.

If you are interested in being part of a CSA like we have, you can read more about the Veggies available throughout the year, depending on season.  

 

Meat from a Local Butcher

If you are near a butcher shop and we have a few here in Phoenix, you can support their local store by shopping local, and picking up your Beef, Pork, Chicken & etc. from them each week or twice a month.  If you are in Phoenix chances are you have heard of Hobe Meats… they are super nice – we got steaks last year for Father’s Day from Hobe Meat and they were so much better than the steaks we normally get on sale at the grocery store.

You’ll find that a butcher LOVES what they do… they love meat, and loves to talk about meat just as much as you love to eat it. They love to buy from farms that have happy animals. They can likely tell you where the meat came from, what part of the animal the cut came from, and they can also grind it, or cut it how you wish.

You usually find a much larger selection of meat, not to mention they can give you suggestions on cooking, seasonal specials, FREE samples, and meats cut to order  — you will find at least one cut of meat that you probably won’t find at a grocery store … not to mention you can keep your dollar local – they want to keep you happy so they will go out of their way to help you with what you need.

Grab your Meat from Zaycon

Zaycon is not quite your local butcher, but they are a distributor of meat in the Pacific Northwest – they sell large amounts of meat at wholesale prices all across the U.S. 

Instead of buying 3-4 pounds at a time, save money by buying in bulk ~ you can find Chicken, Bacon, Beef, Pork & more through them – place your order 2-3 months ahead of time, then pick up on your designated date in your area.  Right now you can get Boneless Skinless Chicken for $1.69 lb.

Reclaimed Produce

Here in Arizona, Market on the Move and Produce on Wheels both rescue over 30 million pounds of fresh produce and vegetables each year.

They help over 400,000 families in need. You can follow their sites HERE and HERE for distribution opportunities – in most cases they are on Saturdays, for up to 4 hours. Donate $10 to get up to 60 pounds in FREE produce.  If 60 pounds is too much for you.. then you can share with neighbors, and friends.

 

Grow your Own

If you have a green thumb, you can grow your own – depending on where you live you may have to work a little harder to maintain that garden. Here in Phoenix, Tomatoes grow well, as do Peppers – Strawberries too, if you can pick up some netting to keep the birds out.

Growing the things that you use the most will help you save long term. For us, Green & Red Bell Peppers are easy to make in the slow cooker and can be made without meat, so they are not only a healthier meal but really easy too. 

Buy seeds, or 4.5 – 5 inch plants – if you don’t have room for a raised bed or garden bed, you can score a Garden Cart at the Home Depot for just under $49 – it’s not meant for deeper rooted plants (like Tomatoes) but can be used for Strawberries. 

Ethnic Market

When you are in food purchasing doubt … it’s better to opt for smaller ethnic stores. Forego shopping at the big box grocery stores – you will spend much more running in there to get eggs – it’s hard to make a profit on a cheap dozen of eggs .. so the big box store will jack up the price of items to compensate. Knowing FULL well that you won’t be able to resist loading your cart while you are there.

Ethnic stores have more diversity in products – they are a better choice for buying spices, teas, produce, or even specialties for a whole LOT less than your local grocer. 

Chances are if you are in Chandler you have been to Lee Lee Supermarket, though they are also in Peoria too – it’s one of my husband’s favorite places to go (and luckily he works right down the street so he can go on his way home.

Farm Stand

I’m not sure what to call them here in Arizona but in Minnesota we had farm stands on the side of the highway – we used to stop as kids and buy our vegetables there almost every week.  Going to the regular grocery store really never happened now that I think about it.. everything came from the butcher, farmer (eggs) or farm stand – my Dad would get milk at the Convenience store when he put gas in the truck.

I pass by two farm stands every day out my way – one has Oranges and Watermelon, the other has Peanuts, Pecans and Honey (Raw), sometimes they have much more, but those are the key items that I see daily.

What’s great is that I don’t have to unbuckle kids and hear them fight for a car cart, I can pull up and jump out myself, throw the gentleman $3 and put the oranges in the truck & drive off. I love that.

Convenience Store – Your Gas Station

Getting gas? Just get your milk there while you’re at it – depending on where you live, your gas station might just be the next up and coming grocery store. Especially if you live up north and have Kwik Trip – milk is often times the same price as the grocery store and just as easy to add it to your fill up, instead of perusing the aisles at the grocery store.