Tip: Buy produce in bulk

by Nikki Goodson | More from this Blogger

In my ongoing quest to find the cheapest sources of organic produce, I made a few discoveries in the past month. I think we all know that buying in bulk can often be a great way to save some bucks. But we don't typically think of that principle working for produce, do we? Think again!

I recently started going to The City Market in Kansas City. Read more about that in my recent blog post: Produce Brokers. This is the type of place where you can do a little bit of negotiating.

So here's where the bulk buying came into play: organic bananas. They had them priced at $.50/lb, but I asked at a couple of stands if I could purchase them by the case. I could, and the price varied (which is why I asked at a couple of stands to find the cheapest one). I ended up buying a 40-lb box of organic bananas for $14, which is $.35/lb. (That's not the cheapest I've found bananas, but the others are the over-ripe bananas at my grocery store for $.19/lb which are hit-and-miss.)

After that experience, I decided to ask at Whole Foods if they have a discount for buying by the case. I was surprised to find that they do! You get a 5% discount if you purchase a full case of something! I haven't done it yet there, but I plan to in the future.

Now, this idea of buying in bulk might be crazy for a typical household who may not be able to consume mass quantities of produce before the items go bad. For a person trying to consume a diet of mostly raw fruits and vegetables, this could be a big money saver. But if that's not you, perhaps you have a friend who would like to split large purchases with you. Or consider whether the items can be frozen to reserve for smoothies or something later - that's what I did with my excess bananas.

Related Articles:

Produce Brokers

Do Large Families Save Money Buying in Bulk?

Learn more about Nikki Goodson

Nikki Goodson started hard-core couponing in August of 2004. She is a member of several deals sites and has previously been a Deals moderator for Deals.Families.com.

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