Join a CSA
Community Supported Agriculture, also known as a CSA, is a system which allows you to have a direct relationship with a farmer during the growing season. Typically, you pay the farmer at the beginning of the growing season, or sometimes throughout the growing season, and in return the farmer supplies you with food every week, or every other week. Most farms participating in this program supply only organically grown food. This arrangement provides benefits to both you and the farmer. You get a variety of organic food at a reduced price and the farmer has a steady income for producing food throughout the growing season. CSAs make eating organic food an affordable arrangement for large families on a budget. In fact, some farms even let their members help out on the farm, which reduces the cost of organic food even more.

Visit a Farmer’s Market
With over 3,000 farmer’s markets in the United States, it should be fairly easy to find one close by if you live in a major city. Similar to Community Supported Agriculture, you get to deal directly with the farmer or the farmer’s representative, which benefits the farmer and you. The farmer makes a little more money selling directly to the end customer, and you often pay less for the food than you would at a retail store. Not all farmers markets include produce from organic farms, but many do. If you like to get out and meet people, shopping for organic food at a farmers market is a great way to save money, get farm fresh produce and enjoy the sense of community and vibrance of an open market.  To find one near you, visit this web site (www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets) or talk with management at your local health food store.

Have it Delivered
Most large cities now have businesses that deliver organic food directly to your home or office, once or twice a week. Sometimes you get to choose the type of produce to be delivered, but usually the assortment of produce is determined by the delivery service and the farms with which they are associated. Home delivery of organic produce is obviously more expensive than leaving home to get it, but if you lead a busy lifestyle, home delivery may be the answer for you. It’s a convenient way to buy organic that more and more people are embracing. In fact, it has become so popular that many cities have more than one organic food delivery service. To find one near you, do a Google search on the Internet for “organic delivery” and the city where you live. You can also look for advertisements in local alternative publications, or talk with management at your local health food store.

Go to a Health Food Store
Although some conventional grocery stores are finally carrying organic produce in limited quantities, health food stores devote most of their produce section to organic food. You’ll pay top dollar for organic produce at a conventional grocery store, and that is why many people believe it is so expensive. However, although organic food certainly costs more than conventionally grown food, you’ll find that overall it’s less expensive when you shop at your local health food store. And most large health food stores carry a wide variety of organic produce all year long. Natural food stores not only carry a large assortment of organic produce, but also carry a wide variety of boxed, canned or frozen foods that are all organic or partially organic, and are free of synthetic chemicals and additives. Shopping at a health food store is a rewarding experience that offers you access to some of the highest quality food available, yet at reasonable prices.