Well there was a heck of a lot of variety this week in the reclaimed food boxes we picked up from Mr. Produce Guy. Lot’s of melons, lettuce and miscellany for the chickens, and plenty of good stuff for us.
Bananas. I don’t think a week has gone by in the last few months where there hasn’t been a boatload of rips bananas waiting for us. It’s a good thing we like making smoothies and baking banana bread around here. 😉
And lemons? Heck ya I’ll take them. I have a lemon cookie recipe I’ve been wanting to try.
Here’s what I ended up keeping for my family this week. Do you see all those apples and oranges? Guess who’s making an apple pie for Thanksgiving? And cinnamon apple chips are on the menu this week too.
So much fruit, so little time. 🙂
Have you tried asking your local grocer for their “expired” fruits and vegetables yet?
Mavis wants to know.
Would you like to see what else we have brought home over the past year?
Head on over HERE to read all the past stories and to see all the pictures.
If you have just stumbled upon this series and are wondering how I got all this food for free, you’ll want to read this story first.
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Gail says
They throw it out, won’t give it to me—afraid I’ll sue. It’s a chain; would I be better off checking with a local mom&pop, if I could find one??
Kim says
same here in GA… 🙁
Carol says
I’ve been told the same as Gail, they have to throw it away. But, since reading your blog, Mavis, I do check out the baskets of reduced price veggies/fruit…..I have found some gems in there!
Janice says
I am a stay at home mom and am looking for everyday, simple ways to not only save but earn money. We have acreage that we could use…please, I would be interested in hearing of items that you have had and earned money doing. Thanks!
Janice says
Not looking for overly complicated ideas and certainly doesn’t have to be something that we use the land for!
Kathy says
I got some good stuff last week…boat load of apples and oranges, which is a good thing. I make a killed orange cookie that uses the juice and zest of the oranges and seeing how my family loves them, I use at least 8 oranges for a double batch, which is what I got! Apples never go to waste around here, pie, apple butter, crisp, dehydrated, you name it! Lettuce and melon wasn’t so hot so off it went to the chickens of a friend. Add this to my groceries from last week and it was a win for me, I spent a whole whopping 90 cents on food last week!
Emily says
I did ask once at my store–Kroger. I needed green beans and the ones they had out were not-so-fresh looking. I asked if they had any more (they did and brought them out), and I asked if they could sell the older ones at a discount. They said no, they donate it to local shelters/food pantries.
debbie says
I cannot get this great deal either!!
Laura says
I can’t do it either. One store used to give the baked goods to the senior center, until some people brought items back for refunds!
I figured you get a lot of bananas after you showed us you bought some a few days ago!
Katie @ Life Lived Intentionally says
I’ve asked two chain stores, but they donate their produce, which is much better than tossing, even if I’d love to take it off of their hands!
I might ask a local health food store that I frequent. We’ll see.
Maggie says
Our (Houston,Texas area) Krogers will not give it away either. Some stores will bag up some things that aren’t too bad and sell for $1, which is better than nothing. I wish I could get older stuff just for my chickens and compost pile. Since following your blog, I just plant extra and give them the fruit that falls on the ground etc…
Also I planted a Elderberry tree. Chicken and birds love it!
Mary says
In Sweden they make a wonderful drink from elderberry blossoms in the spring. It is not alcoholic just a lovely fresh drink.
Patty Hicks says
The stores here have contracts with pig farmers or composting companies. The best we can hope for is to go to a liquidation store that sells produce (most of them do) and hit the local produce markets for discounted items. The only free fruit is what one can glean from trees that are left unharvested and the roadside blackberries which are very plentiful here. It is sad that pigs and compost are preferred over human consumption. I think the reason they do that is also because they know people will wait for the discounted produce and not buy it at full price. Many shoppers are very smart these days.
Here are some tips on how we got things for nearly free back when we were living on fumes for 5 years while my husband was unemployed with no unemployment income and I could not work. If you live near a farm that sells produce or a produce stand, try building a relationship with the owners and see if that will work into some bartered food or free produce. When we were living on fumes I bartered my excess Quince fruit for credit at my favorite produce market. It was enough to feed us for nearly 3 months. (I don’t can due to chronic pain issues so fresh is what we eat most of the time.) Bartering is an excellent way to go. We all have something we can trade that others might need. Hope this helps =)
Patty Hicks says
I should mention we can score great artisan breads from time to time at a local thrift store or from friends who have a family member who works at a bakery. And I also harvest edible wild plants. Great winter greens here in Portland OR.
Rachael says
For those who were successful getting produce who did you speak to and how did the convo go?