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Just as farmers' market prices go down in the late afternoon, I occasionally find meat reduced (being sold on the "sell by" date) early in the morning at my local coop market. This of course requires being an early bird.

If organic is important to you, it's important to know which types of produce you'd benefit the most from buying organic. Certain things like apples, peaches, peppers are among the most heavily pesticided crops, and I think that's a pretty good reason to go organic when you can on these items.

Also, just buying seasonal will do wonders to cut the costs. Sure, you can get asparagus in the dead of winter that's been shipped halfway around the world, but if you can control your mind and think about what's really happening there, you'll be OK in both your mind and wallet to wait for spring.

Can you recommend some good sausage places in Chinatown?

I joined my local food co-op, which is open to anyone, not just members (George Street Co-op in New Brunswick, NJ). I volunteer 8 hrs a month and get 15% off all my purchases. Not bad for all-organic, fresh groceries!

i found this at a site called healthy and hot. i try to buy organic produce if i know it's on this list of high pesticide foods.

i try to only buy what i need, which reduces waste, eat close to the ground {sticking to plant based meals and not eating processed foods} and make things that are expensive to buy, like salsa and granola.

12 Highest-Pesticide Level Foods
Sometimes also referred to as "The Dirty Dozen". The number one culprit was, like it or not, peaches. Peaches scored a 100 on the pesticide load and had the highest likelihood of multiple pesticides. The next highest levels were found in nectarines, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, strawberries, cherries, lettuce, imported grapes, pears, spinach, and potatoes.

12 Lowest Pesticide Level Foods
Onions had the lowest amounts of pesticide, scoring the lowest possible level, 1, on the rankings. Avocado, frozen sweet corn, pineapples, mangoes, frozen sweet peas, asparagus, kiwis, bananas, cabbage, broccoli, and eggplant also had low pesticide counts.

Foods like mushroom, cauliflower, lemon, watermelon, and sweet potatoes clocked in at the middle levels of the EWG rankings, with scores ranging from 20 to 60 on the pesticide scale. Though washing and peeling fruits and vegetables can reduce the amount of pesticides on produce, significant amounts remain nevertheless.

To compare the foods with the highest and lowest levels of pesticides, take this fact from the EWG into consideration: If you eat the 12 highest level foods per day, you will be exposed to 14 pesticides, on average. If you choose to eat the 12 lowest levels, however, you will only be exposed to two pesticides. The best candidates for organic purchase seem to be fruits like peaches, nectarines, apples, and berries. On the other hand, veggies like onions, broccoli, corn, and peas, and fruits like pineapple, mango, and kiwi, are not as important on your organic shopping list since they already have lower pesticide levels. It’s all food for thought when deciding what to buy organic.

I would like to buy more organic and used to but with the prices just out the roof on this stuff, I am finding it harder and harder. I love fruit and eat it all the time, but find that the cost of buying say organic peaches versus regular even at the farmer's market, is just too much for me at this time in the economic slowdown. Every time I read about those top ten lists, I know I should be buying organic, but I also try to figure out if it is worse to do without than to eat it anyway.

Any thoughts????

For the past two summers our family has participated in a CSA. For a relatively low cost, about $30/week, we have a giant box full of produce that more than covers our weekly vegetable needs, and actually ends up replacing many of our protein needs. Essentially, I go to the grocery store only to buy the staples (olive oil, pasta, salt, coffee, milk, rice, cheese, flour, sugar, chocolate).

The food from the CSA is clearly local, and it is grown organically on a biodynamic farm that is associated with our local university. We end up eating seasonally by default, and it is light years cheaper than buying the same produce at Whole Foods (or Earth Fare, in our case).

i consider myself "a person with a food conscience do who wants to eat right and do right by the earth and the farmers and still save money", as per your column, but i will NEVER buy organic produce at trader joe's or walmart. that goes against having a food conscience, doing right by the earth OR the farmers. disgusting.

I would also like to sing the praises of CSAs- I find you get more bang for your buck than even a cheap farmer's market assortment, and it's usually fresher to boot. One caveat- in my experience it really does pay to try out different providers if there's more than one in your area. Different suppliers have different specialties and experiences with what is locally "desirable"- which may or may not be practical or desirable for you. Esoteric and obscure produce may sell plates in fine restaurants, but I have to get pretty bored before I want to research a recipe to tempura and deep fry 2 ounces of 1/2 cm blossoms (I'm looking at you, produce express and Peabody farms). CSAs can also be a little shy on fruit, so if you're an addict like me you might want to find one that will sate you.