Eating the way I have to is expensive, and I don’t have any choice but to find a way to afford it. I am financially lucky compared to many, and I still have a difficult time affording it. Over the summer as I’ve been stockpiling food for the winter, I’ve found a few ways to cut costs and thought I would pass on what I’ve learned.

• Ask about buying large quantities. Farmers will often cut you significant deals if you are buying a 25lb box instead of just a couple of pounds. Of course you’ll have to find ways to preserve and store that quantity.
• Show up late in the day for discounts on items that the farmers don’t want to pack home. Showing up late may cause you to lose out on the fast-selling items though, so be aware of that before you make this decision.
• Ask about the “seconds” or the “uglies.” These are items that are physically blemished but often perfectly edible. Often these are not out for display and are kept under or behind the counter somewhere.
• See if you can work out a trade. I have had more than one vendor tell me that if I showed up early to help them unload the truck, he’d cut me a deal on the produce I bought. I didn’t end up taking them up on it, but I don’t think they were joking. If you have a marketable skill like website design, you could look at trading that kind of work for food, as well.
• Keep a friendly, polite, open line of communication with your farmers. Being a good and frequent customer can get you some discounts, but if you don’t speak with your vendor enough for them to know you and remember you, they may not realize what a good customer you are.

If you have SNAP/EBT benefits, there are many farmer’s markets that accept EBT cards. Here is a list of Farmer’s Markets that accept them. (This is the official Food and Nutrition Service document, and is a Microsoft  Word document. If you don’t have Word, I will try to keep this Google Doc version updated.)

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