Do you shop for organic foods?

[Amanda]

Organic produce and other edible goods can be extremely costly. Many families have chosen to purchase certain items that are organic, while others go without completely due to the high costs involved. Do you shop for organic foods? Pehaps you grow your own?

[sharona]

I can't afford the organic produce, etc, on our budget. We do grow a lot of our own herbs and easy to grow produce as well as freqent local farmers markets in the summertime.

The survey has a problem in that some foods should be purchased organic and for some it doesn’t matter so much. And sometimes it just isn’t available organic. But nothing tastes better than organic produce. Just try the bananas. Yum.

Low contamination Fruits Vegetables
Pineapples
Plantains
Mangoes
Bananas
Watermelon
Plums
Kiwi Fruit
Blueberries
Papaya
Grapefruit
Avocado
Cauliflower
Brussels Sprouts
Asparagus
Radishes
Broccoli
Onions
Okra
Cabbage
Eggplant

Foods You'll Want To Buy Organic !
The fruits and vegetables listed below are EWG's latest list of produce with the heaviest load of pesticides. Always buy these foods organic if you can. If organic is not available, you may want to choose fruits and veggies that are consistently less contaminated.

Go organic only Fruits Vegetables
Peaches
Apples
Strawberries !
Nectarines
Pears
Cherries
Red Raspberries
Imported Grapes/raisens
Spinach
Bell Peppers
Celery
Potatoes
Hot Peppers
Root crops


I run an organic co-op. We get organic food at retail prices for commercially grown food. We work with a food wholesaler in St. Paul, MN. We sort at a house just a few miles from the wholesaler’s truck drop in Ramsey. As the produce isn't handled by a grocer and a multitude of customers, it is in the best shape and thus keeps really well. Our cost for mainly organic produce averages the same or less than retail!

Our co-op charges have a upfront charge of a one-time whopping $10 and then $1 gratuity at each pick up. This goes in no one’s pocket but covers whatever produce might arrive spoiled at the bottom of the box and stamps to mail in the bill. We rarely have spoilage but we did drop a box of strawberries last time. I made the executive decision wash 'em up and eat them as we sorted. So we split the cost of the strawberries with our gratuities. People are welcome to give us a try before formally joining.

Our group works without a minimum purchase. You need to indicate the range of say bananas that you want on a wishlist. You can request a case or just 3 bananas - your choice. Others groups are strictly by the case but I can't imagine presenting a whole case of romaine to a family of less than 5 or so. New groups can branch off of ours at anytime and make their own rules. It is a minimum $1000 per drop to get a new shipping location from the wholesaler.

Example: we purchase a 40 pound case of apples, then count them (usually 80 pieces), and divide by requested number of apples into Rubbermaid bins. Your expected order is emailed to you when the order is send in. Small adjustments can be made then. And we make small adjustments when we find we’ve gotten more or less than expected in a case also. Just a word to the wise, we will not always get what we order, and maybe not all of what we ordered, or a little more than we planned. That is the nature of cooperation.

Visitors are welcome; join anytime…if you live in the Twin Cities!

[lene1]

I'm growing my own herbs, lettuce, rocket, tomatoes, cucumber and beans.

Cheers

Lene

[redcardinalbird]

Would not mind buying organic if the price was better. I do buy it if only a small difference in price or watch for them on the reduced rack.

[bbkimberly]

i don't buy organic but my son's grandmother gives me lots of fresh stuff from her grove - avocados, apples, oranges, pears, pomegranates, lemons, limes, and eggs.

[danstigerangel]

I buy the organic if it is on sale at a good price. I'd love to buy organics more often, but they are so expensive.

Lauri

[ethansamuel]

I would rarely buy Organic because of the price.

Kelly&Kids...thanks for the heads up...we have a co-op in the next town over from us and I'll check it out the next time I head over there!

Sandra

[misticrains1]

I EAT FRESH VEGGIES AND FRUIT, DOES THAT COUNT AS ORGANC, THE WORD ORGANIC JUST DOESNT SOUND GOOD. BUT I MIGHT TRY IT IF IT WASNT TO SPENDY.

HUGS
PATT
MISTICRAINS1

[trekmom]

I don't buy organic-costs to much if I wanted to buy it. My cousin tries to grow some crops-corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, onions, peanuts without pesticides but sometimes needs to use them-but he does everything organically otherwise. I honestly can't say that I notice any taste difference, but I do like the convenience of having home grown instead of having to buy.