I'm in the midwest and our farmer's market is more expensive than any stores. I used to get prefer the in season produce and would be willing to pay more, but now the markets have almost as good a selection and that saves me time and money. And at our farmer's marked some stuff was shipped in, not local.
I found this ALDI thread interesting and will have to try it out again. My husband shops there sometimes but I have never liked it in the past. But worth another look.
Our farmers market is not much cheaper if at all. Some stuff is shipped in. I love bell peppers and saw many from Canada last year! The stuff marketed as exclusively organic is even more expensive. Our store prices here are pretty close to what I can find at the farmers market, sometimes cheaper if on sale. The flavor and shelf life is much better on stuff grown locally though, so I feel it is better to buy. I always buy a lot of zucchini, cherry & grape tomatoes and greens at farmers market. The produce the rest of the year is cheaper at Aldi's, but some of it doesn't look too fresh. I like to buy onions there, and frequently see bad ones in the bag. You just have to look carefully. My family drinks a lot of skim milk and you can't beat the price of Aldi's milk. Their staples for baked goods at holiday time is much cheaper by far than any of the other stores.
I love shopping at Aldi. I think I am lucky to have two Aldis in my area that don't seem to have long lines. I definitely can't get absolutely everything there, but what I can get there is much cheaper than I can get anywhere else including Walmart. They only stock the most popular items bought at grocery stores to keep their turn over high. I shop here a lot but do supplement trips at other stores to keep up the variety of foods we eat.
Once upon a time the produce quality wasn't so great but it has gotten better over the years. Not everything at Aldi is fantastic but the same goes for any store!
I like to purchase baked chips, bran flakes and other cereal, dairy products (milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, low fat sour cream, cheese), fresh and frozen vegetables, whole wheat pasta and bread, fruit (fresh, canned, and frozen), fish (canned and frozen), chicken, ground turkey and lean beef. It is nice to see all the different "special purchases" that come in.
When I moved to California I missed having an Aldi, and when I moved from California I missed having a Trader Joe's. I would be in shopping heaven if I lived in an area with both!
Btw, the Farmer's Market prices here aren't cheaper than Aldi but I still love to go to get local produce.
I've never understoon when people say farmer's market has cheaper produce. Our farmer's markets are all very expensive, if you shop at Whole Foods then you could say it's cheaper but not a regular grocery store.
Is it better in the midwest? or someplace not close to a major city?
Farmer's market prices vary greatly, not only by area, but even within areas. We have a lot of farmer's markets in our area of northcentral Wisconsin (in the summer and fall, only), and they all provide very different shopping experiences when it comes to price, variety, and vendor-customer relations.
In the "downtown" farmers market the selection is limited (and "trendier") the prices are higher and the vendors are snootier. It's marketed for the upper middle class "upscale" market and yet if you want anything truly exotic, it's either not there or ridiculously priced.
The Saturday and Wednesday market are aimed at a more diverse array of customers. There's more cultural diversity among vendors also. There are more non-caucasian vendors. The variety and prices are much better, the vendors are friendlier and customer loyalty is rewarded. Our favorite Hmong vendor (she's elderly and very well-respected in the Hmong community as a talented healer and herbalist) is always so happy to see us and she is always suggesting new items and giving us free samples to try or giving us extra free stuff.
In general, I have to say that in our area the Hmong vendors are more likely to give free stuff to loyal customers, but the white vendors are catching on.
Also, if you go during bad weather or at the end of the day, vendors are also more willing to make deals.
I enjoy and save a lot more money by shopping at several stores more frequenlty than shopping less frequently at just one. I wouldn't have expected that to be true. I assumed I would have to "waste a lot of time" to save any money.
Now we just work our shopping into our routine. We buy our prescriptions at Sam's Club, so we buy some things there, but only on days we're going to get prescriptions. Aldi's and Walmart ares near Sam's Club, so we only go to those stores on days we go to Sam's. There's an oriental grocery store near our favorite Thai restaurant, so we only stop in when we're on that side of town. We have a grocery store and an oriental grocery only blocks from our house, we go there more frequently, but we're careful what we buy because only some things are bargains at those stores. We buy apples, oranges, pears, bananas, potatoes, onions, milk and orange juice at Kwik Trip (a gas station/convenience store) because they're cheapest there - but we only buy those when we're also stopping for gas (it's the second cheapest place to get gas). The cheapest place to get gas is at Walmart, but that's out of our way - we stop to get gas there though when we're going to be shopping on that side of town.
It sounds complicated, but it's actually just routine now. We save so much money that people cannot believe we live on our budget. People think we must have rich relatives subsidizing our lifestyle. Our apartment is a little more expensive than most people in our income bracket, but we can afford it because of the money we save elsewhere. We have a much nicer car than we could have afforded if we'd bought it new or even most used prices. We happened to have found a crazy-low deal on our car (buying it in the dead of winter during a car sales slump helped). Our apartment is furnished nicely too because we found all of our furnishings and decor at super bargain prices. Even my husband's computer (with a crazy big screen) was heavily discounted because it had been a customer return (the warrantee was still in place).
We're on disability and living much better on less than half the income that we had when we were working. We're also living in an area with a lower cost of living, and we have more time to put into saving money.
What's amazing is how much money you can save if you look for the opportunities, but you have to know where the savings are and how to go about taking advantage of them in a way that fits into your lifestyle.
Kaplods, more money saving tips please! Sounds like you are rocking it.
The farmer's markets in our area (Brooklyn) are more expensive than the local health food store, which tries to stock locally grown organic produce. I feel like farmer's markets are a bit of a sham. When I am up near my parents place I sometimes go to farm stands (on the actual farm) and things are far cheaper. Our farmers market also has things like gourmet cheese for $20 per pound and bread for $4 per loaf. I don't really shop there much at all except sometimes they have imperfect produce that is deeply discounted in which case I do buy.
Farmers Markets are definitely not cheaper here though almost everything is picked within 24 hours and is very local, no resellers allowed. I drive by several farm stands and those are usually better prices and as fresh. I can often see the fields from the stands
Organic certification also raises the prices because it's an expensive process for a small farmer. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle was a really helpful read for me and now I talk to my local farm stand farmers about GMO, pesticide and herbicide use. Many of them apply low or no spray techniques but have opted not to go for certification. That works for me.
Oh, and CSAs are often a great deal and a lot of fun because they are a surprise every week
Oh, our "Farmer's Market" is not a real fresh farmer's market that you guys are talking about. It's basically a small grocery store that sells mostly fruits/veggies and some ethnic type stuff. Most of the produce there is much cheaper than the regular grocery store. Some things I can get cheaper at Sam's Club though.
And apparently I have to change my opinion of Aldi because much of the stuff I got there this time, my kids actually prefer over the brand name stuff. The frozen pizzas they had last night were better than any I have ever bought before. (yes I cheated and snuck a bite!) I still won't shop there all the time, but I guess I will be going back once in a while.
Here in Atlanta we have one place, Dekalb Farmer's Market that is MUCH cheaper with its produce. They bring in things from all over the world. Many that shop there are not Americans and I love the diversity. Wines and beer is also cheaper. Meats and seafood are higher, but a better quality too. It is an hour away from my house, but I try to get there about once a month.
I love Aldi! I actually almost worked there as a district manager right out of college (their DM's make 55-60K and they pay their hourly workers a good wage). I like their fit&active line of products, the salad dressing, and whole grain rice cakes are some favorites. You can't beta their prices on fruit and produce. I bought some bananas to fill a basket for work last wk and the bag was .99! And as far as I remember they don't keep much of an overstock. What is on the floor is what they have, so things don't sit on the shelves in the back...
I used to shop Aldi's sometimes when we were stationed in Germany. The German Grocery stores had better produce than the military grocery store on base. I like Aldi there, but have not bee in one in the states.
I think there is Farmers Market here. I am going to check it out when it opens. I shop at variety of stores too.
