Some Pros and Cons of Joining a CSA

CSA Organic Vegetables

A First Hand Account of Being a CSA Member

It’s June! What are you doing to purchase vegetables and fruits this summer?  My friends and I often purchase our local vegetables through a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture).  

A CSA is, basically, a group of individuals who pledge to support a farm in the spring and then reap the benefits at harvest time.  

Last year, I joined Groundworks Organics out of Junction City, OR. I paid $500 in March 2011 and enjoyed organic, “local” produce for five months (June-Nov).  The box of food is more than adequate and I actually divided my box with my neighbor.  (Truthfully, I would have been challenged to eat the entire box of produce with my family of three before the next week’s delivery!)  For $20 a week, a farm within 100 miles of our town delivered a 10 gallon Rubbermaid tote full of produce, picked that morning.  The containers were piled at a designated location. I drove there, marked my name off a clipboard and took my box.   (Or, I took bags and transferred the produce into my bags). 

My CSA introduced me to garlic whistles, taught me how to cook beets, and provided me with sweet, organic berries.  Here are more benefits of membership…

The pros of joining a CSA are, as I’ve experienced them:

• 1Supporting a local farm. I live in the high desert where it’s difficult to grow produce.  I have adopted a locavore philosophy that embraces food grown within 100 miles of my town.
• Receiving a weekly newsletter with recipes and information about produce I’ve not used before (eg. garlic whistles)
• Putting affordable, organic, local food on my family table
• Receiving a discount at their booth at the weekly local farmer’s market
• Invitation to visit the farm and learn how they manage it
• Eating in season. I now know strawberries grow in June and early July and that’s when I eat them, freeze them and can them.  Rarely now do I buy or eat them out of season.

Some of the cons of a joining a CSA are:

• What you get is what you eat, or give away or throw out (God forbid!).  If you don’t like turnips or potatoes or you want more fruit, your CSA box can be as much a source of irritation as a source of inspiration.  Make lemonade out of lemonade? Sure! But turnip-ade?
• How much basil can you eat, freeze or make into pesto? Our CSA had basil almost every week one summer. It was good. However, even though we split it between two families, no one wanted to see another basil plant for the rest of the year.
•  If you leave town frequently in the summer, a CSA may not work for you.  You receive a credit for the time you are gone that you must use before the season ends. However, the number of credits you receive are limited, depending upon your CSA. My neighbor and I were always able to work this out, but it takes a little creativity.

All in all, a CSA is wonderful adventure. You learn a lot and enjoy quality produce.  That said, I did not renew my CSA this year. I’ve challenged myself to go to the Farmer’s Market weekly and do my shopping.  (That always sounds so magical at the start of the season, but I do tend to lose my enthusiasm later in the summer).  If I had not made this challenge to myself, I would have joined again this year.

Many CSAs sign up members in the late winter/early spring, but it may not yet be too late! 

How to find a CSA in your area: www.localharvest.org/csa

Still not sure if a CSA is right for you? 

Visit this informative blog for more input: www.robbwolf.com

Let's Talk

Are you a CSA Member? Why or Why not?  
Do you have any questions about CSAs that I might be able to answer or get answers for you?
Please jump over to my blog and share your questions and your comments.  

Is Fred Meyer Cheaper Than Safeway?

If I’d made a bet, I would have lost.

It all started when my friend made the statement, “Fred Meyer* is cheaper than Safeway.” As I am not the argumentative type, I did not take the bait. I’ve been a Safeway shopper for over ten years and didn’t feel the need to defend my store of choice. But, a question began to nag at me, “Is Fred Meyer cheaper than Safeway?” I began to question if my favorite store was more expensive than hers. So, I asked another friend. She sided with me. I felt instantly better. But, the question began to nag at me again, “Is Fred Meyer cheaper than Safeway?”

Deciding to put the question to rest, I began researching the two stores. I reviewed 113 items, comparing brand name, store brand and size. The result of my research?

Well, like I said. If I’d made a bet, I would have lost.

Fred Meyer is less expensive than Safeway.

At least, during the month I was doing my research (July 2009), it was. I was not comparing sale items, fresh produce or meat. I was looking at brand name, store brand, size and the retail price. I specifically looked at items that I buy, such as unsalted butter, Kellogg’s Frosted Mini Wheats, organic when I can, and local as much as possible. Even though the research is of my specific items, the findings may certainly ring true for you as well.

Is it more expensive by a little, or a lot? Let’s take a look at my shopping list and see how I would come out at each store. Sale prices are not included in the research and I didn’t always select the cheapest product (ie. I bought Kraft Mac and Cheese rather than the store brand).

Shopping list:

aluminum foil
butter
diced tomatoes, 1 can
milk
eggs
cereal
mac n cheese
bleach
dish detergent

Okay, here’s what I “bought” at Fred Meyer:

Aluminum foil, 200 sq ft, FM brand: $5.73
Tillamook, unsalted, one pound butter: $2.99
Canned diced tomatoes, Fred Meyer brand, 14.5 oz: $.69
1% Fred Meyer brand milk, one gallon: $2.49
Cage Free Private Selection eggs, 1 dozen: $2.39
Raisin Bran Crunch, 18 oz: $4.39
Kellogg’s Frosted Mini Wheats, 24 oz: $4.83
Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, 7.25 oz: $.79
Everyday Living bleach, 96 fl oz: $1.29
Everyday Living dish detergent, 28 fl oz: $1.99

Total: $27.58

And at Safeway:
Aluminum foil, 200 sq ft, Safeway brand: $8.99
Tillamook, unsalted, one pound butter: $3.99
Canned diced tomatoes, Safeway brand, 14.5 oz: $1.34
1% Lucerne brand milk, one gallon: $2.49
Cage Free eggs, 1 dozen: $3.79
Raisin Bran Crunch, 18 oz: $4.99
Kellogg’s Frosted Mini Wheats, 24 oz: $4.99
Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, 7.25 oz: $1.39
Safeway brand bleach, 96 fl oz: $2.29
Safeway brand dish detergent, 28 fl oz: $2.99

Total: $37.25

Cha Ching! It would cost $9.67 more to shop at Safeway for the same or comparable, items than at Fred Meyer.

A Closer Look:
Maybe $9.67 doesn't seem like very much. It's actually 26% more! And the list is just representational of my findings.

Also, there are variables. What if some of the items were on sale? What about coupons? My answer to that is: it goes both ways! Milk could have been on sale at Safeway and my chosen cereal could have been on sale at Fred Meyer. What’s interesting to me is that comparing, pardon the pun, apples to apples, Fred Meyer store comes out … cheaper across the board, consistently.

Some may say that each store has their low and high price points. Yet, item after item, Safeway comes in higher than Fred Meyer. In some cases, Safeway might be cheaper by two cents, but never by a dollar. In most cases, Fred Meyer is cheaper and, often, by a dollar. Here are some more items from my list for you to review:

• Special K Red Berries cereal, 12 oz: $3.49 (Fred Meyer); $4.49 (Safeway)
• Tillamook cheddar cheese, two pounds: $5.00 (Fred Meyer); $7.99 (Safeway)
• Organic Swanson chicken broth, 32 oz: $3.43 (Fred Meyer); $3.65 (Safeway)
• White vinegar, one gallon: $2.99 (Fred Meyer); $3.75 (Safeway)

Yes, Safeway is less expensive in some cases. Ie.

• Golden Star jasmine rice, 5 lbs: $9.19 (Fred Meyer); $8.59 (Safeway)
• Thai jasmine rice, 5 lbs: $13.69 (Fred Meyer); $9.99 (Safeway)
• Arm & Hammer Free liquid laundry detergent, 120 fl oz: $10.79 (Fred Meyer); $7.99 (Safeway) Their powder is cheaper at Safeway too; good news for us allergy sufferers.

The bottom line:


For me, it’s at least 20% to 26% less to shop at Fred Meyer. Sure, Safeway has some mean sales, but I would lose money if I made it my main grocery stop for the week; I am not disciplined enough to buy just what’s on sale. And, frankly, I don’t have time to shop two or three stores to get what I need for the week. If I consistently save 20% by shopping Fred Meyer (Kroger), then it seems logical to me that I will save even more when I shop the Fred Meyer sales and use coupons. This is something I need to know because groceries are expensive and time is precious.

I feel more confident now that doing my main shopping at Fred Meyer is the way to go. (Of course, I still have to visit Costco, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and some of our local markets. But when I don't have time for visiting, I'll head straight for Freddies).

More to chew on:
Why did I shop Safeway all these years?
What about Albertson’s? Super Wal-Mart? Costco? Whole Foods?
Are those discount stores as cheap as they report (like Food 4 Less)?

Question of the week:

What do you think?
Have you compared your favorite stores?
What am I missing?
Help me do a better job of researching and concluding.

Just for Fun:

Check out how America's Cheapest Family does their shopping! Incidentally, they shop Basha's in AZ, which I think is an independent grocery store. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5O8ZzJfro4

NEXT BLOG:
So, why Safeway?

*Fred Meyer is a KROGER store, for those of you not located in the Great Northwest. When I lived in Colorado, we could shop Kroger’s store King Soopers. We mostly shopped Safeway. If you do your own comparison shopping, I’d be curious to learn if Kroger’s other stores are less expensive than Safeway. So, be sure to let me know!

A Detailed Look at One Grocery Store

Earlier in the week, I dropped my daughter at summer camp and spent the morning at Fred Meyer (aka Kroger, King Soopers) and did some research. Armed with my notebook and pen, I strolled from aisle to aisle listing every item I buy, its retail price and a competitor price, if available. (I know this data exists somewhere, but I'm sure it's highly classified, so I figure I have to make my own). I learned a few interesting things by examining my store this way.

Among the things I learned:

1. A bigger box of something might cost you less or the same as a smaller box. There's an article about this (http://www.ajc.com/business/meltdown-97098.html). A great example is a box of "Cheeze Its" 9 oz is regularly priced at $2.67, but so's the 11.5 oz box and the 13 oz box. I also found this to be true in the cereal aisle.
2. An item marked "on sale" isn't necessarily the best deal. This may seem obvious, but for those of us running through the store (which is my usual mode), the sale signs save us time and leads us to believe that we are getting a good deal. Sometimes I can tell it's less than I usually pay, but if it's $2.00 or under, I figure it'll do. Turns out, it's not always that great a deal, but you need to know what you usually pay for something to be certain.
3. The cereal aisle is deceiving. The secret to buying cereal is to look at the unit price. This is generally true for all of your shopping, but you'll really see it here. An 18 oz box of "Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats" is .22 per ounce. A 24 oz box is .20 per ounce. So while $4.83 looks expensive compared to $3.99, it's a better deal. While that's obvious here, when you are running through the store with your kid talking to you and you're in a time crunch, $3.99 looks fine and almost $5.00 does not.
4. The food storage items are really confusing; I think they do it on purpose. They don't put all the freezer bags in one area, sandwich in another, gallon bags in another. No, they sort it by snap n seal or the kind with the zipper on it. And then within that, they sort it by item, but not always. Comparison shopping for these not Earth friendly items is a real pain. If I thought I could live without them, I'd skip this section all together.

I am certain that there's a lot more to learn, but for today, that was plenty. What I've confirmed for myself is grocery shopping is confusing (the store makes it so), takes time and it would be helpful if I had a steel trap to remember what I "usually pay" for something.

What I hope to learn soon is whether or not Fred Meyer's is generally cheaper or more expensive than Safeway. Or if they are about the same and it's all about the sales or generic food items. Or if it's really about something else I know nothing about, but will learn on this grocery research journey.

Next time: A peek at my price log

Bonus:
Make your own grocery price log; use this form to help: PRICE LOG

Swindled While Shopping?

I place my one stuffed grocery bag in the back of my car and think, "How does $47.00 give me only one bag of groceries?" Of course, I use my own bag instead of plastic, so the cashier has packed it very tightly. Still, I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve been fleeced. No matter how calculating I am, I wonder as I close the trunk, “Did I get the best deal? Could I have done better at the ‘other store’? Did I miss a sale or a coupon that would have lowered my bill?”

I’m the main shopper for our family and with escalating prices and our de-escalating income, I am driven to figure out how to shop better. Sure, I've read a number of articles about how to save money when grocery shopping, ie: don't shop when you are hungry, take a list with you and stick to it, clip coupons, etc. I follow these "tips," but still have the feeling that I'm coming out behind. I have to shop and spend money, but I’m tired of feeling guilty about it.

This summer, I found myself unemployed and while my daughter frolics, I decided to take this time to figure out how to spend our money – and get more for it – when it comes to groceries. And that’s what this blog is, generally, about.

My Next Post: What research at one store revealed

Today's Discussion Question:
Where do you shop? Do you think it's cheaper than the competition? Do you care?

For Fun:
I found this dated commercial from the 1950s that teaches "college-age women" how to shop. It reminds me that when I married, my mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law told me, "The way to a happy marriage is through a man's stomach." My husband and I laugh about this frequently, as we share the cooking equally.

Here's the link: http://consumerist.com/5322794/grocery-shopping-tips-from-the-1950s