frozen

Most of my groceries are fresh vegies, milk, ever declining in quality juice - that is, I pick less good stuff - ever lessening bits of meat or fish. I bought my first canned shrimp the other day. G'knows what I'll do with that - but I also bought wonton wrappers and some glass noodles, we'll see. Already have some of the other stuff for spring rolls.

I love fresh peppers, sweet or not, but they're often out of my buy zone, somewhat lower in price right now.
Anyway, I agree, produce is way high, here at least.

I think frozen (and canned) stuff lets them store stuff longer. That is, it might be hard to market an entire crop of peas at one time. They can use canned and frozen stuff to make the supply match the demand.

I went shopping at 930 deliberately.

I truly hate bumping elbows while I shop and having rushing people prance around me.

At 930, when the shop for dinner crowd is gone , the biggest dent I saw was in frozen veggies.

I had to dig in the backs of the freezer section to find what I wanted.

I got to the fresh section that late to find deals on the super ripe fruit.

Like tonight, mangos , almost over ripe , 3 for a dollar.
The tiny yellow mexican mangos ( at least that is what they call them ) 4 for a dollar.
Bananas 20 cents a pound ( again really ripe)

Yet all of that is still there... frozen? gone.



canned shrimp.
I did not know they canned shrimp.
I would be scared, but if it is good and cheap, stock up on it.
I dont buy fresh anymore.
Cant do it. Not at almost 3.00 a pound. We, well.. we nothing.. JILLIAN.. can eat a whole head of broccoli and call that a snack
I give her frozen broccoli and she sucks on it for a while calling it ice cream tree.

Often wondered about that myself! We see canned fruit at a fraction of the cost of "fresh" fruit. The canned fruit has extra costs such as paying for the can, the cannery, the workers who can the fruit, then ship it to the stores.

I noticed another strange phenomenon; the stuff at the farmers market cost a bit more than at the supermarket. When there's no middle-man, how come it costs more? Most of the fruits at the farmers market costs about $2.50/lb, but the same fruit can be purchased at the supermarket for .99c/lb.

Something is not right in Schenectady.

Now that's good to hear...

(I meant about the broccoli)

I think it is because the farmer at farmers market shoulders the water bill, fertilizer bill, transportation bill and months of growing it.

Where as the produce at the grocery store is bought in HUGE quantities , and the bill for producing that one piece of broccoli is shouldered by many.

Imagine if you could make a living just by driving veggies from the market to the store.
only a few cents a mile.. but that was all you had to do.
Well thats pocket change to the farmer, and pennies on the floor from the grocery store ya know. .

why fresh costs more.
There are a number of answers

In part you have supplied your own answer.
I got to the fresh section that late to find deals on the super ripe fruit.

1. This is product that has been paid for. Some of it will not be sold.

2. Quality of canned and frozen is usually lower. Retailers need to pay a premium price for blemish free fresh product.

3. Economy of scale. Often frozen or canned produce is sourced from areas where surpluses exist. Mid season when a large volume of product is entering the market prices are driven downward, processors purchase at lower prices, they process and package the goods then store for later resale.

Farmers markets:

1. If farmers sell for less than supermarket prices the supermarket chains will not deal with them.


2. Why should farmers not make the same profit as supermarkets?

Fresh vegetables are perishable so the store will need to sell them right away or throw it away, whereas frozen they can keep for years. There is little or no waste for frozen, but much waste with perishable items.

I also wonder if the quality of frozen/canned can be hidden over the fresh stuff. Canned fruit often times has so much sugar and other crap in it, that it could mask the quality of the product.

I think farmers market cost more because these farms do not deal in bulk like the grocery store farms. Often times farmers market uses less chemicals and more organic ways of growing food so their costs are more. Farmers market tend to have higher quality - worth paying more for.

Just because something is not bruised or it is really clean does not make it a better quality either.

Chili grapes for example. The pesticides they use there have been banned in most countries because of the death toll of the workers who use them.
Yet they are sold in america like candy. They are pretty, ripe and deep red.
Deadly little bastards.

The sugar in canned fruits can be washed away ( some of it) or you can purchase fruits in just water now. You dont have to buy the ones with sugar in the so called syrup.

But at this point in american food production, all is over processed, genetically modified ( even if they say it isnt.. they just mean it isnt ANYMORE) pesticide grown, lower quality food. Flash frozen is the bruised and otherwise unattractive veggies that could not be sold because people think big and perfect means good quality.
So I am not going to be able to debate quality because I question the quality of almost all foods now. Im only picking what I can afford from all the crap there is.

We have narrowed our available foods all over the entire country to only a handful of selections. So, out of the limited availability, frozen seems to be a reasonable option. For several reasons and the very reasons it is cheaper it seems

dadpad wrote: . Why should farmers not make the same profit as supermarkets?

I'm not talking about "same profit." When the supermarket sells a fruit for .99c/lb, but the grower sells it for $2.50/lb, it's not the "same profit."

c.i. - the small farmer has costs that large commercial operations don't. They (and you) have more control over the product.

If you value your health, and you can afford it, I'd recommend buying from a farmer you know, or buying produce through a c.s.a.

This thread was brought to mind by this interesting article

http://www.amconmag.com/2008/2008_06_30/article.html









<big snip>