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Where to Buy Your Produce

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May 11, 2010
	Jo Wehage : Head Operations Ego

Last week I posted The 12 Most Toxic Fruits & Veggies, which highlighted some of the 2010 rankings from the Environmental Working Group (EWG). If you missed it, EWG ranks 49 fruits and vegetables from the most toxic, (celery) to the least pesticide-ridden food (onions). As the story goes, you could reduce your consumption of pesticides by 80% if you avoid the top 12 most contaminated or choose to buy them organic.

As I looked at my own shopping list I knew the number of organic items in my cart would increase and I wanted to know where I should be buying my produce.

For one thing, I was not happy to see blueberries launch into the top 12 list, referred to as the Dirty Dozen by EWG. I’ve been buying conventional blueberries in 3lb bags at my local warehouse club, so to turn to organic is going to be hit to the pocket book.

This set me in motion to do my own comparison shopping on many of the produce items on EWG’s list. I wanted to make comparisons in two main lists offered by EWG, the 12 most toxic (The Dirty Dozen) which you should always opt to buy organic; and the least contaminated produce (The Clean 15) which should be safe to buy conventional. Once I started taking notes, I couldn’t help myself, so there’s a third page of produce I noted for personal use that likely falls in the middle of the two.

Where I Shopped
Because there’s more than one location available in the city I opted to visit  Meijer, Kroger, Whole Foods, Bigg’s, Sam’s and Aldi in search of the availability and cost comparisons of conventional and organic produce and how they compared store-by-store. I also added Trader Joe’s because I happen to shop there myself.

What I Learned
Holy cow – Kroger kicks booty! At least the week I shopped there they did. With the intent of only purchasing organic varieties of any item listed in the Dirty Dozen, our friends at Kroger had the best price of any store on six out of the 12 items. This may have been even higher as they were missing four of the 12. Who knows how they’ll rank when organic versions of their peaches, nectarines, cherries and grapes arrive.

Another really impressive thing about Kroger was how close their organic pricing is to their conventional. Shop here and you won’t have the argument that buying organic is just too expensive.

If you have an Aldi near you check out their deals on produce listed in the Clean 15. In most cases Kroger and Aldi were the main contenders in the best price category here. Out of 15 items in the clean 15 Kroger had the best prices for 6 items (sweet corn, sweet peas, asparagus, eggplant, watermelon & sweet potato) which tied with Aldi who had the best price in 6 other items (onions, pineapple, mangos, asparagus, cantaloupe & honeydew melon). Of course since Aldi offers no organic produce in their stores they are no help to you when it comes to seeking organic alternatives for the Dirty Dozen.

Meijer was also an impressive contender. Their pricing was also good, but they also scored high marks for variety and selection. There were fruit and vegetable varieties that I’d never even heard of before and everything seemed very fresh. They had a fair sampling of organics available, even slightly more than made our list (organic blueberries arrived, but no one seemed to know the price). I’d suspect their organic options, like everyones, would increase as summer draws near.

The Complete List by Store
Take a gander at the full Produce Price Comparisons by Store and see how the other stores ranked. For quick reference items highlighted in green were the best price when comparing all stores. (Pardon the obnoxious colors. My color palette was extremely limited.)

Also, if you see a great deal on any items at these or other stores please share them with us.

We hope we’ll find the time to revisit these prices again late summer as many of our favorite crops come into peak season.

Also be sure to take note:

• Prices are always better in peak season. We’ll check back on those berries!
• Some of the items noted in our comparison were indeed sale prices and all prices are subject to change.
• Farmer’s markets will be in full swing soon, so shop there for other bargains and support local farmers.