Every single item on that list is commonplace in my house. I can't wait until next year when I move out and I can do my own grocery shopping. I always try to get my parents to buy organic products but they don't really listen!

I always try my best to buy organic fruits and vegetable for me and my kids.

You wanna know something? I will give my veggies a good wash. With gas and food prices what they are, I can barely afford to feed myself normal food, let alone organic. I ahve taken to buying cheap store brand everything, (even pasta which I was proud to say I was 100% whole wheat and organic at one point) because it was .99/box if i got the reg store brand that i needed. instead of 3.99 or 4.99. I will keep this in mind for when either i make more money or prices go down. until then, my body will just have to ingest some pesticide...although, i am pretty much only buying canned or frozen veggies and fruit now because i can't afford for the stuff to go bad before I can eat it. Nor can I afford the gas to go to the store every 2 days to make sure I don't buy more tha I can eat at a time...

I don't touch food that isn't organic, you aren't getting your monies worth otherwise. I live on a student budget and still find it easy to buy organic fruits and veg. People often assume its fresh foods that break their food budget, this is true only if you're supplementing fruits and veg with expensive meat products and pre-packaged, nutritionally devoid "foods."

Cravin, If you cut out meats and dairy and instead tried a week or so on fresh fruits and veg supplemented with soaked, steamed rice I'll guarantee a huge decrease in your food budget.

The only reason your produce would be spoiling in under a weeks time is because you picked over-ripe or low-quality products. Try quickly estimating which days you'll be using the items to better prepare for ripening times. Also, try washing and drying produce when you get home before you store it. Food that has been sitting in the grocers is moist and can develop molds fairly quickly.

Thanks Finn, next time I am shopping i will note the prices of things i would be buying and see if i can budget it out...i don't know what your student budget is, but on my adult budget (meaning i support myself and am not in school) with commuting expenses rising because of gas, i have had to bargain with my boss to let me work remotely 1 day a week and i am still barely making it. I have had to cut out all "fun" in my life, meaning going out with my friends to dinner, going to movies, etc, and can only buy essentials. Are canned veggies considered processed packaged food? in the ingredients all it says is "green beans, water, salt" so i figured that is ok...i make all of my meals from scratch, (except things like pasta since I dont' know how to make pasta) and don't eat that much meat actually...I just enjoy a big steak once in a while.

I have a budget of around $30 a week for food, I work full time and attend college full time. I have deals with local organic farms (I live in southern New Jersey) that provide much lower prices because it's a guaranteed sale. If you live within a reasonable distance to a farm that provides co-op services I highly recommend it, the produce is MUCH cheaper, tastes better (you really dont know strawberries until you've picked them perfectly ripened off the bush =D... It's the most luscious concentrated flavour), and because a lot of the fruit farmers let you pick your own you have guaranteed quality and the knowledge that your food is tree or bush ripened. Try googling farms around your area, visit them and see if they provide these services. Often, you enter a deal to buy a certain amount of food per week, month or year for a set price. It's very convenient

I, personally, wouldn't recommend the canned foods. Especially not the store branded varieties as their processing methods soak out many of the water soluble vitamins they're supposed to provide as well as using very low quality, bleached salts. The produce used for canning is also generally low-quality and passed health inspections simply because it is blanched, boiled, and then canned (similar to the blanching process) thus killing any possibly harmful bacteria.

Frozen food is a much better alternative, it will have been blanched but not boiled and as such a greater portion of the nutrients will remain intact.

I have already looked for farms and farmer's markets, and they are a bit of a drive away. There are some farm stands on the way to my parent's house, perhaps i will just stop there and pick up veggies when i pass. I live just outside of DC, so driving anywhere is usually a nightmare and most of the farmers markets i know about are during the week and after work...only right now my client isn't in the city near the stop i know where one is so i can't go. Lots of excuses you see, but if it comes down to it, i will eat the canned. yours and my food budgets are about the same at this point lol. i always thought things would get better once i got out of school...

I definitely get the budget gripes, I would NEVER be able to afford a car and have to rely on the wholly unreliable bus system (oh god don't get me started...) to get anywhere. Thank God I have a nice boss, I've showed up for work late so many times I don't think I would have kept a job anywhere else ><</p> 8

You know what? I miss the bus lol. Before the gas prices were high at all I rode the bus and metro willingly because I didn't want to pay for gas and parking, but unles i have a client in the city or that is metro accessible i can't. the one I am at now technically is, but it would add about 30-45min commute time...meaning at the very least I would be commuting 3 hours a day, and that is if everything is on time. Right now I don't see it being worth it as I would have no time to do anything once i got home, but that may change soon

Thanks for this slideshow! I recently moved, and my new grocery store doesn't have nearly as much organic produce as the old place, so I'm glad to have a refresher. If only organic bell peppers weren't so astronomically expensive.

You do not need to buy everything organic, you really only need to buy items in organic if they have thin skin or porous - everything else is a waste of money and probably time.

I buy everything organic. I dont care if the USDA or FDA says non-organic food is safe and healthy...they both LIE! Anything that has been sprayed with chemicals cannot be healthy for you. Manmade chemicals should NOT be ingested. Yuck.

My mom always buys organic milk and strawberries.

I grow my own tomatoes and peppers organically. We have plenty of fruit trees in the back with no pesticides. I guess I try to buy strawberries . . .