Fab Food 4 Forty $: Tips for getting a lot for a little

One of the biggest challenges these past 4 weeks has been buying enough with only a little to spend.  I've learned a number of little tips to help me be successful in my shopping.  Hopefully some of these will help you curb your culinary spending too!

1. Closed for the Holidays
When grocery stores are closed for the holidays, the food doesn't take a vacation!  Stores want to ensure that any fresh merchandise is sold so that they don't have waste.  Nothing worse than opening the store back up to moldy meat and liquified veggies & fruit.  If your local store is going to be closed for a major holiday, drop by a few hours before closing.  You'll score some pretty great deals.

I dropped by Food Basics on June 30th as the store was going to be closed on July 1st for Canada Day.  I bought little steak rounds for $2.50 (2 in a package) because they were 40% off!  I saw similar deals around the store for fresh produce, dairy and meat products.

2. Flipp App
It's free to download and is available for both iPhone and Android users.  Wendy, the creative mind behind the blog mapsgirl.ca, showed it to me a few months ago and it has been a huge money saver.  In addition to searching all my local flyers and clipping out deals, one of my favourite features has been the shopping list.  I can simply add in the product I'm looking for and Flipp tells me if any of my local stores have a sale or deal offered.  Great for pre-planning and spontaneous shopping!

3. Farm Shares
Not every farm share is a bargain.  Last summer, my sister and I signed up for a bi-weekly organic food share that offered a pick-up location close to us for $25.00 per box.  The timing of the pick-up was sometimes challenging and we got a lot of foods neither of us wanted to eat.  There was an option to remove foods from the bin, but it would cost us for each food we wanted excluded.  Quantity-wise, it wasn't bad, but the boxes could be abundant or short depending on the field yield.

Recently I was introduced to a new program hosted by Kerr Street Ministries in Oakville.  Known as the Halton Fresh Food Box, it costs $20 for a large box and is provided once a month.  There are a couple of different pick-up locations and the hours are reasonable.  Kerr Street Ministries provides a lot of support to families going through a rough patch and when I talked to Michelle, their Community Services Coordinator, I found out that this program is open to those who have and those who have not.  She also explained that it was possible for the "have" users to donate an extra $20 to sponsor a box for those who "have not".   

 I was really amazed at the quality and quantity of the produce.  The program runs all year and I'm excited to be a more regular user in the fall.  Farms in the area provide the produce and it is boxed up at the Kerr Street site.

 If you're interested in the program, you can call the centre at 905-634-8645 or email them at info@haltonfreshfoodbox.ca.  The next set of boxes are available for pick up on Tuesday, August 11th, but you must pre-register by Friday, July 31st.

Given the quantity and variety of the contents of my box, I'll be busy in the kitchen over the next few days.  Keep an eye open for more recipe ideas and results on my blog.  Spending only $40 a week on groceries can be difficult, but with a little creativity and an open mind, it is possible to do it healthily and happily.