organic eating on a budget
Getty ImagesOrganic foods, and an organic, sustainable lifestyle may seem more expensive than non-organics. But these four families, all hit by the recession, share how they are keeping and even expanding an organic lifestyle and still saving money.

Losing a Job but Staying Organic


Maintaining an organic lifestyle is important to Wendy Kirsner, of Ft. Meyers, FL. So important, in fact, that when she lost her job 14 months ago, she wouldn't let her job loss impact her family's organic values.

But when Wendy lost her job, she did do some cost comparisons. "I'm a purchasing expert," Wendy related. "These are the types of decisions that I'm good at." When she did the math, she found that she could keep her family on an organic diet for the same cost as buying conventional products by skipping packaged foods and buying in bulk.

"By substituting foods like bulk purchased organic rolled oats for oatmeal instead of [buying] packaged cereals, we were able to protect our organic diet," said Wendy. "And it turns out, we like oatmeal for breakfast more than the cereals we were buying before."The Kirsners were able to shave costs by purchasing more of their food in bulk directly from local farmers, using an Energy Star freezer for storage.

Wendy gave another example of how bulk purchasing made the family's organic choices more affordable. Last summer, when she visited a local farmer she regularly buys from, the farmer gave her an unsold case of tomatoes that were a day from getting spots. But what are you going to do with an entire case of tomatoes about to spoil? Wendy recalls: "I boiled and skinned all the tomatoes, vacuum-sealed them, and tossed them in the freezer." She now had a 2-month's worth of single batch-sized bags of tomatoes in her freezer, ready to be turned into marinara sauce to pair with handmade, organic whole wheat pasta.


From Corporate Bucks to Weekend Baking


Demi Knight Clark, of Charlotte NC, owns www.girlfridaypr.com, a PR, Marketing and Green Design firm. Clark started her firm last year, in the midst of the recession after working in the corporate world for 12 years, and she's making due on a smaller salary these days. "I try to use Sunday as 'bake day', and I bake the week's worth of organic breads and quick foods," she says.

Clark was also able to exchange some services to help out a local organic farm co-operative in exchange for discounts. "I joined my local community supported agriculture farm for bulk weekly deliveries, and offered to became the host family," she explains. "This meant I agreed to be the 'drop site' porch for our neighborhood, and advertise the co-op on our community intranet and schools. In return, I get a discount and free delivery -- so I spend 30% less compared to [buying] organic at my local supermarket, all while supporting a 'greener' lifestyle."

Blogger Mama Doesn't Fear the Expiration Date


Jenna Pepper, who describes herself as a "foodie, blogger, mama, nutrition enthusiast and recovering picky eater," lives in Houston, Texas and publishes www.foodwithkidappeal.com. Pepper shared her ideas about how she keeps her family organic during a recession: "I lost my contract in January, so budget organic shopping is my new hobby! I'm not going to eat junk just because junk is cheaper. I'm going to buy quality food with thrifty measures." Pepper often gets deals on organic ingredients by buying in bulk and choosing ingredients that are close to their expiration dates. She made "frugal fruit yogurt parfaits" after finding organic frozen blueberries at Costco for $2.50 per pound -- far less than fresh (non-organic) blueberries, which cost closer to $10 a pound. "Right now, I have organic whole milk in the crock pot making yogurt," she said. "I got the milk BOGO (buy one get one free) as it was expiring soon."

Pepper gave some additional secrets how she stays thrifty and organic at the same time: "I asked my the produce manager to reduce the price of some over-ripe organic pears. I cooked my 99 cent bag of pears with a tad of sugar, cinnamon, butter, and stuffed four containers in the freezer to top future morning oatmeal."


An "Environista" Who Keeps Green Without Spending a Lot of Green


Rachael Lincoln Sarnoff, a Los Angeles based "environista" and sustainability writer for www.ecostiletto.com and www.mommygreenest.com, agrees that is doesn't cost any more to be friendly to the environment. "I once did a challenge where I calculated the cost of an organic lunch versus a conventional lunch and the organic came out 6 cents cheaper," she says.

Rachael offers these tips to organic families who want to maintain their lifestyle during times of financial stress:

  • Grow a basic veggie garden in your backyard, planting things you eat on a daily basis, such as lettuces, sweet peas and tomatoes. You may have to purchase additional "recipe" vegetables, but these basics cost pennies to grow and require little maintenance.


  • Go to the farmers' market at the end of the day, as prices are often cheaper.


  • Drink filtered tap water instead of bottled water. This can save you $50 per month and reduces your environmental impact . You can add a CO2 machine to make bubbly water and sodas.