Whole Foods On The Cheap? Tips On Shopping At Your Favorite Organic Food Destination

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The Whole Foods gods must have been listening this week as we adjusted our food budget to only include organic foods.  This means only shopping at Whole Foods and after reading this article, it cinched the decision as the following statement blew us away because my husband and I really try to live a healthy lifestyle:

The FDA estimates that 20 pounds of pesticides are used per person per year in the U.S., and at least 50 of these are classified as carcinogenic.

This was a decision that took some thought given the rising grocery costs but we want to be more responsible in the area of what we put into our bodies.

So what’s a girl on a budget to do?  Well the Whole Food gods made it easier by creating Value Tours!

From the NY Daily News:

Faced with rising food prices and a national recession, Whole Foods has launched free value tours, leading groups of bargain hunters through the aisles of natural, sustainable and organically made goods.

Other Whole Foods’ deals include their house line of 365 shampoos and conditioners (16 ounces for $1.99; 32 ounces for $3.79). There’s their Whole Catch line of frozen prepared foods ($3.99 for a 10 ounce box of fish sticks) or their fresh, 6-ounce individually portioned filets of fish for roughly the same size per pound as bigger cuts, nice for one or two people.

For all proteins — like chicken, beef, pork or fish — there’s a case of family-sized “value packs” that are at least a $1 per pound less. And for literally any dry good item in the store — meaning everything from diapers to spaghetti sauce to bottled water to energy bars — you can get a 5% discount if you buy it by the case.

Beyond these specific deals, however, the tours are also designed to highlight overall strategies for cutting costs on your bill.

They got the message! What this means for the budding Bargain Mama is that Whole Foods is finally recognizing that even those who live on a budget want to eat healthy.

Value Tours are conducted by Whole Foods employees who guide budget conscious consumers through the aisles showin them how to shop at Whole Foods.  Honestly?  I didn’t think that Whole Foods had sales because they are a bit on the expensive side.  I’ve never seen a sale circular so when we shop there, we know to take the hit and keep on moving.

But now, we know that there are sales cards as I like to call them stationed throughout the store in for consumers to pick up as they go along.  Now, they aren’t as in depth as what you’re used to at your neighborhood grocery store, but it suffices in addition to the yellow signs that indicate sale items throughout the store.

Why Whole Foods?  Because Shoppers, Giant and Safeway have all increased in prices significantly in my neck of the woods.  What used to be a $100 grocery run is now $165.  If we’re going to spend that much then we might as well go to Whole Foods and get our main items there.  Non food items we can still get at the grocery or Dollar store.

Before our trip to NYC this weekend I stopped by to pick up some sushi, salmon and my favorite, fruit parfait straight from their bakery.  I did have a talk with the Store Manager on duty and she agreed that it’s important for shoppers to be on the lookout for their favorite and routine items on sale.

Here are some more tips from the article on how to shop frugally at Whole Foods:

USE WEEKLY SALES FLYERS: Like most other markets, says Whole Foods’ value tour guide Allison Smith, the store puts out its new yellow weekly sales sheet on Wednesdays, marking each sales item in the store with a large yellow sale sign. So once you learn what tags are used for sales at markets, you can easily scan the store for deals.

SHOP SEASONALLY: “In produce,” says Smith, “the really big thing to look for is seasonally and locally.” When you buy local food some of the transportation costs have been cut out, she says, and when you buy what’s in season, there’s more of it, meaning the price goes down.

BUY STORE BRANDS: Many house brand items are just as good as brand names, and some stores even contract with the same people who make brand name products to create their versions. They’re often much cheaper than sales items or even post-coupon prices.

BUY IN BULK: If you can buy just the amount you need from bulk bins, says Smith, food won’t go to waste and you’ll save on packaging costs. Or if you can buy in larger quantities, you’ll save on cost per pound or unit, too.

CONSIDER COUPONS: Many times store brands are cheaper than items bought with a coupon, but you should still check out weekly newspaper circulars and mailings for brands you buy regularly.

Great news right?  Do you shop at Whole Foods?  If yes, is it for health reasons?  Do you have any bargain mama tips to share?