Mount Vernon News

MOUNT VERNON — It’s not news that the economy is in a downturn, despite protestations from government officials. The price of gas, although it is fluctuating, is still high and continues to affect the price of many of the goods and services on which consumers depend. Food is high on the list of commodities that have risen in price.

While there is little one can do about the price of gas, it is possible to save money on food. Reclaimed food services, food buying clubs, group discount buying and buying in bulk are some of the relatively easy ways to save on food.

Angel Food Ministries is a national organization working through local churches to distribute quality food at affordable prices. Anyone is eligible to take advantage of the program; there are no income, church affiliation or other requirements.

“We are Living Water Ministries and we are the host site for Angel Food Ministries,” said Mike Schupbach, director of the local program. “Angel Food Ministries is based out of Monroe, Ga. Living Water is a local ministry hoping to make a difference with people and food.

“Angel Food Ministries provides a box of food, usually with 17 or 18 items of food in it. There are fresh items, frozen items and canned items.”

Shupbach said food items are always at least half the price they would be in a retail food outlet. The selection is ordered as a whole with a wide variety of food included; usually chicken, beef, fresh and frozen vegetables, and dry goods such as muffin and dry soup mixes. There are also optional menus available for an additional fee when the main menu is ordered.

“This month we have a box of fresh produce with carrots, onions, watermelon, pineapple and potatoes,” said Schupbach. “And we have other specials such as a full box of chicken tenders, steaks and things like that.”

Schupbach said the program is helpful not only to seniors on a fixed income but also single-parent families and others who need to stretch their food budget so they don’t go hungry at the end of the month. The food is affordable and will feed a family of four for about a week or 10 days, or a single person for almost a month. For more information call Schupbach at 504-0783.

Across The Track-Scratch and Dent on Pittsburgh Avenue has another option for saving money on food. Owned and run by Greg Talbot and Cindy Linkous, it offers what is known as reclaimed food — food that for one reason or another is not attractive to retailers to sell. Some of the food, as the business name suggests, consists of cans that are dented or dinged but otherwise intact. Boxes with slightly crushed corners and other packaging imperfections, usually from shipping and handling, can also be found on the shelves of Scratch and Dent. But mostly the food is short-dated; that is, it will be past the use by date in a short time, or is already slightly past the use by date.

“Canned foods will be good for two or three years after the expiration date,” explained Talbot. “What I have been told is that the food starts to lose some of its nutritional value after the date and the nutrition chart on the can is no longer a guarantee. But the food only loses about 1 or 2 percent of its nutrition each year.”

Scratch and Dent gets whatever is offered by brokers and distributors. There is usually little or no choice in what is offered because no one can predict what a manufacturer or distributor might want to get rid of.

“We try to stock up around the end of the month because a lot of seniors will be coming here around the beginning of the month when their Social Security checks come in,” said Talbot. “They will come here first before they go to [local retail food stores].”

Scratch and Dent is located at 89 Pittsburgh Ave., on the grounds of the old Pittsburgh Plate Glass site.

Buying in bulk or using a bulk food store is yet another way to save money on food. A Taste of Country in Fredericktown is a bulk food store which offers reduced prices on food repackaged from bulk. The store has many standard products, such as flour, sugar and many baking supplies. At the deli counter, cheeses and meat are sold by the pound, usually at a lower price than can be found in other local retail food outlets.

Trisha Styers, who owns Taste of Country with her husband, Doug, said customers can also order their own bulk items through the store.

“We can order large quantities for our customers as long as it is something we usually order,” she said. “We have a woman who comes in once or twice a month and orders 100 pounds of wheat kernel. She grinds it into flour and bakes her own bread.”

Food buying clubs are another way to save on the cost of food. Generally, this involves a group of people combining buying power to buy food in bulk at wholesale prices and splitting the savings.

They work together to purchase, pick up, sort, and distribute foods, as well as to maintain the group in order to secure wholesale prices on groceries.

Clubs can take different approaches to food buying. They can use the club’s buying power to get staple items at a reduced price, or they can have a much more select approach, such as buying organic products only and still save money over the cost of the same food bought through a retail outlet.

However a group may approach it, it is the combined buying power that saves money.

Elaine Silverman, owner of Apothocary’s Jar, a natural, toxin-free organic food store, also runs a food co-op in conjunction with the store.

“We have one here,” she said. “In order to make people who are really interested in living a nontoxic lifestyle, we have combined our retail store with a co-op. It’s called the MCDP, the Managed Co-op Discount Program.”

Silverman said the club buys only natural, organic, toxin-free food. Anybody can order anything and there is no limit as to the size of the order.

“For somebody to get 17 percent off from what they buy for us, they can get it in exchange for eight hours of work a month,” she said. “There are no minimums or maximums and they can come in any time of the month and order.”

Aside from financial advantages, Silverman said there are advantages and disadvantages to buying in bulk.

“Somebody should be willing to do their own cooking and make things from scratch to really take advantage of buying in bulk,” she explained. “That makes the most sense and makes the best use of the food. If someone doesn’t know how to cook or doesn’t have the time, they can buy many things by the case. That would be cans of soup, beans, things like that.”

Silverman said buying by the case still saves money, although not as much as buying in bulk.

Looking nto food buying alternatives, although it takes some time, can result in significant savings. It can also make it possible to maintain a healthy lifestyle on a limited budget.

These are by no means all the different ways to make a food budget go farther. A little research can go a long way to finding the best fit for one’s budget.