I had set aside $5 for extra produce this month. Wanting to stretch that money as far as I could, I stopped at 2 stores on my errands yesterday, Walmart and Sprouts. In total, I spent $4.34. Here's what I got for my money:
3.32 lbs of bananas from Walmart at 42 cents/lb
1 eggplant, 88 cents from Sprouts
2 green peppers, 69 cents each from Sprouts
1 bunch of radishes, 69 cents from Sprouts
Just to note, with the radishes, the leaves can be washed and used as cooking greens, making this softball-sized bunch of radishes a pretty good deal at 69 cents.
I chose Sprouts and Walmart specifically because I knew I could get good produce prices by combing the two stores. Walmart and WinCo have bananas at 42 cents/lb, which is the lowest regular price per pound in my area. I had seen for myself that Sprouts' produce prices beat the other stores in my area on most other items. Sprouts has stores in 21 states and a website which has a search feature for items, allowing comparison of prices with other regular grocery stores. Here's a link to see if there is a Sprouts store near you.
The produce items that I bought are all foods that I don't grow in my garden. Currently, my garden is producing strawberries, rhubarb, kale, lettuce, snow peas, Swiss chard, and herbs. In addition, I also have frozen green beans and peas, plus canned corn, pumpkin, yams, and pineapple, and fresh cucumber, celery, onions, and carrots.
