Wednesday, January 27, 2010

First "Real" Purchase at EarthFare

So... I scoped out EarthFare today (5% student/faculty discount on Wed. at my store).  Spent a while just wandering around the store, annotating prices on items that I normally purchase and would be interested in buying organic - mostly produce, canned tomato products, and dairy.  I'm still not sure if I'm ready for the jump - I guess I'm not convinced the sales are that great at EF, and since the regular prices are high... I just don't think I can do it.
I did purchase a few things though, and the checkout lady said I did "really great," so I'll take that as a positive!  Here was my breakdown:

  • Blueberry Pomegranate juice (32 oz) - $1.99 after sale + coupon
  • Dr. Becker natural soda (6-pk) - $2.50 after sale (this was a treat for me out of my "allowance", not the grocery fund!)
  • 1 kiwi - 50¢ after sale (I already ate it!)
  • 2 bags of salad (10 oz + 12 oz) - $4.50 after sale + coupons
  • 5 rolls Marcal Small Steps toilet paper - FREE after coupons
I saved 82¢ with the teacher discount, and paid $9.42 after tax, supposedly saving $7.77, or 45%.  Without the sodas, it would've been more like $6.86 with savings of $6.96... 50%!  I guess I didn't do too shabby after all!
A gallon of organic milk is, in fact, cheaper than at my regular HT or Bi-Lo... but for the 50-60¢ savings, I don't think it's worth almost an entire gallon of gas to get there and back unless I've got another good reason to go like a sale + coupon on something, or needing brown rice - quite a steal at only 89¢/lb (versus $1.85/lb at HT... just got it with a super-doubled coupon for 85¢/lb, but that's a rare occurrence - and Uncle Ben's is not organic).
Thanks for tagging along as I  shop (somewhat) organically :)

Soli Deo Gloria

2 comments:

Mark and Christine said...

I like their GF apple cider vinegar mustard. I made my dad bring me up some for Christmas!

Justine said...

Ah!! I don't know when you posted this comment, but I just saw it. I don't like mustard OR vinegar, so that sounds like nasty stuff to me, but I'm glad you like it :) Next time you come to town we can hit up the EF together and when you buy that, I'll buy some regular ol' Organic Apple Juice, which is way yummy.