Will work for food

I love a good bargain, who doesn't? When my husband and I started out on our organic
journey, it was very expensive. What I've learned over the years is that yes, some organic
items will always be pricey. For example, dairy and meats. I love steak but if the price
doesn't fit in our budget, I'll have to wait until it goes on sale.
We started off shopping at our local specialty organic grocery store. It was an adventure.
I loved going up and down the aisles, trying new products, coming back home and telling
my mom and sister about what great finds were to be had. To me, it was the place to be
seen. Well after a few years of shopping there, I thought there has to be another way.

We started going to our local farmers market. The prices were a  whole lot better and it
was a way for our family to spend time together. There is also your local grocery store.
Many of the items that I found at the specialty organic store, I can find at our local grocery
store. If you can't find something, talk to the manager. I have found they will usually
order things for you. Even the local mega-stores have started carrying organic items.
There are also CSA's. CSA stands for community supported agriculture.  You do have
to pay to join. Some CSA's deliver once a week, some have the option to deliver every other week.
If you join a CSA, you get produce that is in season and incredibly fresh. The price from what I have seen is very reasonable.

But my favorite thing to do is work for food. I know it may not sound like fun but
it really does pay off. One of our local farms(that also sells their produce at the farmers
market) has a volunteer program. You sign up to volunteer one day a week for 4 -5 hours
and they pay you in vegetables and fruit. So you get local produce and with the
rising price of food this was great for our family. Even my kids got their cut. I thought it was great family time and it taught our kids a little something about hard work. Not that the work they were doing was hard, it's just more than they're used to. If this is something you're interested in, you can check with you local farms and see if they offer the same program.