Reader comments
101 ways to stretch your food dollars

Food prices are NOT too high. Here is a question - Do you have grass in your front yard? If the answer is yes, then food prices are not too high. If you have money, land, and time enough to waste on a plant that does nothing but act as a decoration, soak up water and make you mow, well, I guess you get what you deserve.

I really enjoyed this article. The link to the USDA Food Stamp Recipe web site is over the top! Thanks for thinking of us kitchen warriors.

I agree, lawns are wasteful of resources and golf courses are the pinnacle of that wastefulness.

This is a great list of tips. I find myself with little more to add.

Food prices are too high...
And I don't have a lawn.
As far as the article goes, do the math on the yogurt. DN's numbers don't add up.

By the time we added up the cost of water, fertilizer for the bad soil and other expenses, home grown vegetables were 10 times more expensive than store bought. The 'victory garden' concept is romantic but when you do the math it can be very expensive, especially if you have poor soil and an arid climate.
On the plus side, it did make for some of the hottest jalapenos I'd ever tasted.

Bravo! Great ideas! I printed them out for my binder to refer to them later too.

Look at home vegetable gardens again--although start up cost are high with bad soil, a lot of the work only has to be done once. And consider growing more vegetables in less space--row gardening wastes a lot of space, and also water. Use drip systems to conserver water, or even water by hands. Veggies won't take more water than the lawn too. And fruit crops take even less.

HortDork, I guess I should have added that wildlife made off with lots of our produce as well. Once the squirrels discovered that tomatoes were edible and reached through the wire to pick them, the garden was officially all over. Birds, squirrels, bugs, domestic pets dumped by people who no longer want them, you name it, they were in there munching in spite of the fencing. The volcanic ash dust/ soil combined with southern Utah water rates just make it expensive. Our fruit crops are riddled with worms, and the strawberries never ripen before birds take them. Even the pine nuts get stripped from our trees by pinion jays before we can get them. I admire the pioneers who had the fortitude to try to farm Southern Utah. They must have spent a lot of time shooing away wily hungry wildlife.

We live in Metro SLC and have found an incredible value for our food dollar. It is a community co-op. $5.00 to join plus minimal volunteer time and AWESOME value on the food packaging. They have distribution centers all over the valley and are expanding continuously.

Find out more by doing a search for utah food co-op crossroads

Great article that goes beyond the fluff to give shoppers many options for saving money on groceries.
I do want to point out that the shopping lists at Pinching Your Pennies are free. They're available every week, for every store, at no charge.
Great job Valerie!

I live in Centerville and participate in the Food Co-Op. It's a great way to save money on groceries and the food is wonderful! We especially like the Nutty Guys Snack Sampler - $11.50 for 4- 1 lb. packages of Nutty Guys! Can't beat that with a stick. And the Stone Ground's Whole Wheat Bread is the best! The Crossroads Food Co-Op is definitely worth checking into.

Lawns are wonderful for children to play on, even to picnic on and relax playing a game. Lighten up!

As to gardens. Maybe they are a lot of work and expense and sometimes the produce isn't used. But a wise man (S.W. Kimball) once said. "It would be there if you need it."

For poor soil make compost. For instructions check your library, Internet, or garden store.

Yes, fruit trees are great. They feed the bees in spring, shade the lawn in summer and provide food.

No storage? Drying is the answer. There are many good books on how-to and inexpensive dryers. My mom used the sun with cheese cloth on the top to prevent bugs and flies.

Learn how to bottle fruits and veggies. If you don't have a garden there are plenty of places to buy in bulk.

Glad that someone finally realizes hype. Brown eggs are no more nutritious than white eggs. It's the hen, not the feed, that makes the color. Great article. We only spend about 10% of our income on food, try living in Asia where some countries spend up to 50%.

I agree the food co-op through Crossroads Urban Center is a great money saver. I also like purchasing a share from a csa for frsh local produce. Farmers markests are another great place for cheap and tasty produce.

About the eggs--you're right, brown eggs are no different than white eggs. If you're worried about the color of eggs, look on the inside--the darker the yolk, the more nutrients. The uncooked egg, if the chicken is fed correctly, should have a firm dark yellow or orange yolk with the a firm white that is gathered around the yolk. IF the white spreads out when cracked, it is either old, or lacking in nutrients, or both. (To check the age of your egg, the air bubble in side the end of the egg shell should be a bit smaller than a dime).

If you're concerned about the feed your eggs are produced on, go to most feed stores such as IFA and you'll find that the chickens are fed on "processed animal protein" (i.e. ground up dead animal parts, chicken feathers, or culled baby chickens). Molasses, vitamins and antibiotics are sprayed over the "protein" to entice the chickens to eat it, provide nutrients lacking, and protect the chickens from eating food that might cause disease.
To Be Continued. . .

. . . Continued

I have been involved in the �chicken business� since the early 1960�s�both in egg production and meat production. If you are interested in growing your own, you can have a few chickens in in your yard, depending on where you live. For example, in Protland, Oregon (in the inner city) you are allowed 3 chickens per yard. Chickens are quite easy to raise too. Ask your local extension service for information on raising chickens. Also, if you�re interested in increasing the nutritive value of your chickens/eggs, LeLand Mills outside of Spanish fork Utah, or places like it, have good feed that�s meant for chicken diets.

Hope this helps--

Good Luck!

Food prices are too high, so is everything else. I'm a single working mother, I feel like I'm getting priced more and more out of life. I also rent so I don't have much control over what grows in my yard, although I do have to do the yard work.

Making your food from scratch is a great way to save on groceries. It takes time, but definitely tastes better than prepared foods. My grandmother's recipe for home made chicken noodle soup, including home made noodles has been a favorite with all 7 of my children.

So what's the recipe?

I follow alot of these tips already since I try to feed my family a local and organic diet. Going organic is costly so I cook alot of things from scratch instead of buying processed foods. My family also does not eat high fructose corn syrup which is in almost everything these days. I do think salad dressings taste much better when made fresh. I no longer buy bottled salad dressing, bbq sauce, and other such things. You'd be amazed at how much better tasting food is when its not processed.