There are three rules to saving on produce, and they all kind of go together: 1) Buy in a farmers market instead of a grocery store, 2) buy in bulk, and 3) buy what’s in season. This may not sound too bad until you realize that bulk means the tomatoes come in a 25 lb box, cabbages are 20 heads per box, potatoes are 10 – 5 lb bags in a huge 50 lb bag… you get the idea. To get the best price means you are buying way more than one family needs.

There is a very easy solution, though, and that is to go in with friends and create your own produce co-op.  It’s very easy to do and can be as small or as big as you like. Several years ago I interviewed a friend who started her own produce co-op, and the principles still apply! Watch the video below or read on to see more tips on how to start your own produce co-op.

How to Start Your Own Produce Co-Op

Find the largest market near you

This may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s not about the nearest market, you want to find the largest market in your area.  The bigger the farmers market the more farms and vendors will be there selling their goods.  It’s supply and demand and this will work to your advantage, not only will you get lower prices, but you’ll have larger selections and better quality to pick from.  Here’s a list of Farmer’s Markets the government tracks.

Set your day and cost

Getting organized from the start is the best way to make this work long term.  Pick one or two days a month that you will always plan to meet (our co-op is the 1st and 3rd Saturday every month).  You want to plan for early in the morning, most real farmers markets are sold out and closed up by 8:30-9 am each day.  If you go later in the day you aren’t buying from the farmer, but instead you are buying from a re-seller who bought from the farmer earlier this morning and is now re-selling to you (not at the best price).

Decide a set amount that everyone will chip in.  We do $22 a person ($20 is for produce and $2 per basket goes towards the 5 folks that do all the shopping and organizing each week).  To keep things simple and easy everyone needs to chip in the same amount.  If someone wants more than others then they pay for two shares that week and bring two laundry baskets.

Plan your trip

Once you have folks that want to join together and see how much money you have to work with, you are ready to head out to shop.  Before going to the market, pull up market reports that the USDA releases every morning showing what is on sale at the market today and how much it was selling for.  This is your homework and will save you a lot of time and money tomorrow. While the USDA is only tracking the 19 large “Terminal Markets” in the US it will still show you what will be at your market and the prices should be very similar.

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