Earthfare Deals & what to do with unwanted candy

I confess I haven't made it to Earthfare in awhile, but since I was in the neighborhood today, I stopped in for a few deals. Before I go, I always check the match-ups that Hannah at Frugally Farming Family does. She's a mother of 7 and still finds it in her budget to go to Earthfare. You go, girl!

She notes the best deals at the top of the list if you want to look quickly. However, my favorite deal wasn't advertised:

• Back to Nature select crackers, including their version of Cheez-its: $2 a box! That's half price for Earthfare and much better than the typical sale at Kroger: $3. I watch this product closely because it's my kids' favorite snack. Once you taste how good these are, you'll never go back to that neon orange excuse for a cracker. Tip: If you don't see them on the shelf near the cheese, check on the end cap, where they put some of their best deals.

I also bought:

• bulk sliced almonds for $5.99 / lb (savings of $2/lb)--great for holiday cooking / topping casseroles.
• Glee Gum, 18 ct: $.75, use B1G1 coupon makes them $.38 each. This is a great stocking stuffer or donation to Christmas charities.
• bag of organic apples: $5.99 (not a great price but this is one of my dirty dozen I only buy organic)
• bag of organic potatoes: $5.99 (again, not a great price but this is one of my dirty dozen I only buy organic)
• I contemplated the Cascadian Farms and Muir Glen deals, but I think I can find them cheaper elsewhere.

Finally, they're having a promotion, Trick or Trade In, through Nov. 5 where you can turn in Halloween candy in exchange for healthier goodies. No coupon necessary. I chose the 1-50 piece option that gets you a goody bag. Inside was a huge apple, $1.50 of coupons for Earthbound Farms good for 8 months, and a coupon for one free itty bitty bites meal (value: $3.99). You can get this to-go and feed it to your kids the next day if it's not lunch or dinner time. Offer valid through mid November.

The Take the Boot Challenge is for natural ant-acids. If you have Rolaids in your medicine cabinet, you could trade those in for a better alternative.

Every Thursday night, kids eat free with at least one adult meal worth $5 or more, 4-8pm.

And if you homeschool or are an educator, you could save 5% with ID.

Go green, save green!

Canned Food Deals to help Second Harvest

By now you've probably heard the terrible news that on Monday, the warehouse for Second Harvest Food Bank was flooded. They lost all their freezers and fridges, and they expect most of their food is contaminated. Hopefully insurance will help pay for most of the damage, but there are immediate needs in our area that don't stop because they're temporarily closed.

Think of it like this. They are a like grocery store that supplies food to many other agencies that in turn serve 158,000 people a month. Without the grocery store, those agencies have to rely on what they have on hand until the grocery store reopens (which hopefully will be Monday, March 7).

I'm pleased to see some groups are already stepping up the plate to help. Bearden High School donated enough money to provide 42,000 meals for the Food for Kids program and Frontier Airlines gave $2000. See video above.

As a coupon blogger, I don't have that much to give, but I know how every little bit helps. If you and your neighbor and your friend and your mother all donate something, we could have a huge impact. Donating online is a great way to go because with their ability to buy in bulk they can turn every dollar into 3 meals. But if you prefer to give actual food, here are some ideas to save you money:

The most requested items are peanut butter, diapers, and canned food with protein. Cereal is another good item to consider.

1. Kroger:

• Honey Nut Cheerios ($2.18, use $1/2 MC and $.55 esaver from Kroger, Cellfire, or Shortcuts=$1.13 each)
• Progresso soup ($1.25 each, use $1/4 MC and 2 $.50/2 esavers=$.75 each)
• 2 Butterfingers ($.50 each, use $1/2 printable=both FREE) Think of it as a nice treat for the volunteers!

2. Ingles

• Starkist tuna pouches 5oz ($.50, use $.50 coupon in All You=FREE)
• Hunts tomato products ($1, use $.45 printable, doubled =$.10 sauce or $.45/3 doubled =$.70 each) I think to double coupons, you must spend $10 to double three.
• Peter Pan 16oz peanut butter ($1.67)
• Laura Lynn canned fruit ($1)
• Healthy Choice soups ($1)

3. Earthfare:

• Muir Glen tomatoes 28oz: $2, use $.75 printable=$1.25 each (a good price since this is the large can).
• If you have 28oz of Hunts tomato sauce to donate from previous Kroger sales (I got mine free), you could exchange them for a free Earthfare jar of sauce ($2.99 value) through Take the Boot challenge. The cans will be donated to Second Harvest.

4. Walgreen's:

• Huggies diapers or pull-ups ($8.99, use $2MC, get $2RR=$4.99 each)

5. United Grocery Outlet (Thanks to Hannah from Frugally Farming Family for this list; they do not accept coupons)

• Generic diapers: $2.29 for various sizes and quantities per package.
• Name brand diapers starting at $5.59 for various sizes and quantities.
• The peanut butter is Fischer brand for $1.49 for 16 oz.
• Canned goods were anywhere from 4/$1 to 3/$1 or 2/$1. There are also some $.69 each.
• The cheapest cereal was 1.99 each; some name brands were more expensive.

6. Your own pantry

Chances are you've gotten even better deals and stockpiled several items they could use. Consider giving from here, but make sure nothing is beyond the expiration.

Since Second Harvest can't accept physical donations now, you could drop them off at the office where the husband of another coupon blogger, Knoxville on a Dime, works:

Rocky Top Realty

4313 Ball Camp Pike

Donation hours are 9-6 weekdays, by appt on weekends.

Contact David Gibson (865)566-1216 or Dolly Smith (865)755-2201

Thank you for your generosity!

Earthfare: $44.16 of goods for $11.54

Today was a great shopping day at Earthfare! They are so generous with their freebies and willingness to work with us crazy couponers. I just got $44.16 of goods for just $11.54 (and that includes tax). For the best savings, make sure you shop TODAY, 2/14.

Here's what I bought & how I saved:

• 1 all natural whole chicken ($7.67; FREE with dinner promotion expiring 2/16)
• 1 16oz bag of baby carrots ($2.49; FREE with dinner promotion expiring 2/16)
• 1 container of mashed potatoes ($5.34; FREE with dinner promotion expiring 2/16)
• 1 box of organic chocolate truffles ($5.98; FREE with coupon expiring 2/14)
• 1 box Nature's Gate toothpaste ($4.99; on sale for $3.99; FREE with take the boot challenge coupon)
• 2 bags Cascadian Farm edamame ($2.69 each, on sale for $2.19, used 2 $.75 printables=$1.44 each)
• 2 cans Muir Glen tomatoes with chilis ($1.68 each, on sale for $1.50, used 2 $.75 printables=$.75 each)
• 2 bags Arrow Head puffed cereal ($1.99 each, on sale for $1.50, used 2 $1/1 printables=$.50 each)
• 1 16 oz container organic strawberries--our treat for tonight's chocolate fountain--$4.97

Total after coupons: $10.35; $11.54 with tax. Since you had to spend $10 to get the free dinner items, that's about as close as you get. Go green, save green!

For all the links to printable coupons, check out Hannah from Frugally Farming Family.

Christmas Feast: Local and Organic Style

As I've mentioned in previous posts, a group of local bloggers have teamed up to bring you a variety of holiday posts to save you time, money, and hassle. Even better, today's tips help you plan a delicious Christmas feast with local and organic foods. This post from Hannah from Frugally Farming Family (mother of seven!) makes buying organic a priority and still stays within a budget. She is an inspiration.

This tip may sound like a given, but it saved me lots of money and helped me share organic goods for our Thanksgiving feast:

• Before you go shopping, check your pantry, freezer, and fall garden for items on your list.

Though I did not host a Thanksgiving meal, I contributed Sister Schubert rolls bought for 75% off with sales and coupons and a squash casserole I had frozen from our vegetable garden's bounty. As a hostess gift, I brought homemade strawberry jam from berries we picked in Maryville, homemade salsa from our garden tomatoes, and a package of organic blueberries we had picked at another farm in Maryville. We enjoyed the berries for breakfast, and they were most impressed. The blueberries still tasted like we'd picked them yesterday.

Make sure you check out her other tips and recipes. Hannah has also done the leg work for the coupon match-ups with sales for December at Earth Fare. Here are the best deals she sees:

• 8 oz. Gluten Free Deboles Pasta for $1 each with coupons
• Organic Olive Oil 3 liters $19.98
• 32 ounce Muir Glen Soup $1 after coupons
• Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day 16 oz. Lavender Dish Soap $1.99 after coupons!

There are still more great holiday posts to come from these fabulous ladies: Coupon Katie, Coupon Mommie,Couponing in Critical Times,Coupons Are Money, Frugalissa Finds, Frugally Farming Family,Knoxmoms.com, Knoxville Mamabelle,Knoxville on a Dime, Sharing Savings with You.

Great Earthfare Deals (good through 11/30)

First of all, many thanks to Hannah at Frugally Farming Family for taking the time to do the monthly Earthfare match-ups. She has 7 kids and still finds time to help all of us save on healthy foods. The November deals are already up and will be good through 11/30.

Here are the deals I got today:

• 1 3lb bag of organic honeycrisp apples: $5.99--FREE with this coupon through 11/2.
• 1 tub of sliced almonds: $2.00 (receipt says I saved $5.99 but I don't think that's right; I believe they are a savings of $3/lb)
• 2 Cascadian Farms organic peas: normally $3.19, on sale for $2.00, used 2 $.75 printable=$1.25 each. Tip: If you're new to Cascadian Farms, you can print a $1/1 coupon.
• Dagoba chocolate bar: normally $2.49, on sale for $2.00, used $1/1 coupon from Mambo Sprouts mailer. Tip: Ask one of the clerks if they have any Mambo Sprouts / Earthfare coupon books. I forgot today.
• 2 Muir Glen 28 oz canned fire roasted tomatoes: normally $2.54, on sale for $2.00, used 2 $.75/1 printables=$1.25 each. Check Hannah's list for several places to print this coupon.
• 1 Green Genius bio-degradable kitchen bags 45 count: normally $8.99, on sale for $7.99 through 12/31 (this is one of the environmental products I'm willing to pay more for.)
• 1 bag of onions: $3.49 (not on sale, but I needed them).

Total Spent: $21.46

Total Saved: $20.93 (though that may be inflated with incorrect almonds savings)

If I were willing to go back later today, I could save another $5 off $20 from the stamp on my receipt, but that's just not practical for me. Go green, save green.

Great Earthfare Giveaway

Hannah at Frugally Farming Family has orchestrated an awesome give-away from Earthfare. How she does anything extra with a newborn and six other children (yep, seven kids) is beyond me! Go to her site to find out three ways to win $25 of groceries from Earthfare and a pantry make-over: total value is $40-$45! Cha ching! You have til October 1.

The winner must be local to Knoxville and available to take a tour of of the store with Mike Newman of Earthfare. Personally, I'd love a guided tour. I'm sure I'm missing all kinds of great goods.

And Hannah is also the one who does the monthly match-ups of coupons with Earthfare's sale items. So be sure to enter today! I will be.

What's for Lunch?

It's back to school time--back to early rising, back to homework, and back to packing lunches. Whether your child is in high school, grade school, or MDO, the dilemma of what to pack can be an on-going challenge. But once again, I'm here to share ideas for how you can go green and save green for school lunches.

Since my first grader has no interest in school lunches, I'm packing every day. To cut down on trash, I've bought Laptop Lunch boxes (like the traditional Japanese bento box) for all three kids. They're a little pricey ($25 at reusit.com or search online for "discount codes" before buying), but it's a worthwhile investment. Inside, there are two small and two medium size boxes (dishwasher and microwave safe). There's also a tiny box you could use for ketsup or dipping sauces, and flatware included. Most boxes don't have tops, but solid contents will not fall out, even turned upside down. I can attest that the boxes and flatware are great quality and will hold up to everyday use. They also fit into most standard insulated cases.

For a ton of ideas of what to pack in your laptop lunches, it comes with a handy book. Melissa at Frugalissa Finds has some great pictures and ideas too; here's another of her posts about how to actually get your kids to eat these healthy lunches.. If your school allows them the use a microwave, that opens up loads of possibilities. I send cooked pasta, lunch meat rolled up since they don't like sandwiches (aka: turkey or ham roll-ups), slices of cheese, cut-up fruit, Chex mix, popcorn, goldfish, cheezits, Annie's bunny snacks, raisons, mini carrots, and pretzyls. I stay away from anything already prepackaged, including Capri Suns and juice boxes. I send ice water in a Klean Kanteen instead; look for the sport caps for younger children. You can often pick them up for half price on babysteals.com.

The most important detail is follow your program's guidelines on nuts. If peanuts are out but other nuts are allowed, I recommend fresh almond butter at Ingles for sandwiches. Since Devin has a classmate highly allergic to all nuts, I'll be careful of that.

For more ideas, sign up for Earthfare's Healthy Lunch Challenge. You'll get a coupon for a free insulated bag (value: $2.99) through 8/31 or while supplies last. Now through 8/24, you can get one pound of organic grapes (red or white) for FREE with this coupon. Remember grapes are one of the "dirty dozen" that you want to buy organic or at least grown in the USA. For other sale items at Earthfare and printable coupons, go here. And don't forget to check out Iheartearthfare.com.

If you haven't made it to Kroger's mega sale the past two weeks, get there by Saturday for some great deals on lunch items. For fresh produce, there was a $4 off $20 or $1 off $5 coupon in the Kroger home mailer. I also had two store coupons for $.50 off mini carrots. Note: these do NOT double, but with the sale this week, each pack was only $.50. There's also a $.55 off Earthgrains bread; never underestimate the importance of good quality bread! Finally, there was a $1 off Hefty storage bags, which makes one box free this week. The gallon freezer bags are great for making freezer meals to save you time during the busy school year. If you don't get Kroger home mailer coupons, call customer service; they're great!

As for lunch meats, I prefer Hormel Natural Choice meats. They have NO nitrates, NO artificial ingredients, are minimally processed, have NO MSG added, are raised without added hormones, and are gluten free. You can also find coupons in the paper, online, or in blinkies near the meat. This week they're on sale for $2.50 each, and I used 2 $.55/1 and 2 $1/2 to make each pack about $2. The expiration is still a few months out; so I could stock up.

Thanks to creative couponing, you can get Fiber One bars, Nature Valley bars, Nature Valley clusters, Chex Mix, and Gardetto's Snack Mix for FREE this week. They're not as healthy or green in terms of packaging, but they sure are handy. You might also consider donating them to a food pantry. For details on how to get the best deals this week, go to Southern Savers. Coupon Katie and Gabrielle at Couponing in Critical Times also posted their trips to Kroger for guidance. I saved 53% today (a high percentage for me).

What tips do you have for making school lunches more green?

New Dirty Dozen

Here's the dilemma: do I buy what's healthier or do I save money? I get it. There's some resistance out there to spending the extra money on organic because most of us don't want to be suckers. What if organic isn't all that special and we're throwing our money away?

I, for one, do NOT feel this way. I've read enough to know the herbicides, pesticides, antibiotics, and growth hormones used in much of mass produced, conventional farming is horrendous. However, I'm not an organic purist. My first choice is to buy locally farmed, non-certified organic foods at our wonderful farmers' markets. Most are responsible farmers and want to produce food they would serve to their families. If you really want a label, look for "certified naturally grown." I hear 4 or 5 of them are at the Market Square farmers' market weekly.

That said, there are other vegetables and fruits I want to buy that can't be grown locally or aren't always in season. That's where I start trying to decide which foods are most important to me to buy organic.

The best place to start is the New Dirty Dozen: 12 Foods to Eat Organic. By choosing organic for these foods, you can reduce the amount of pesticides you ingest by 80%! The list has been around for 15 years, but it changes somewhat from year to year. Here's the list for 2010:

1. Celery: I'm stunned to read that 64 pesticides were detected on celery. Who knew there were 64 pesticides they could use?! I haven't bought organic before, but I'll be looking for that now.

2. Peaches: Peaches didn't fare much better with 62 pesticides. Having grown up with a peach tree, I've seen how quickly they turn from ripe to rotten. I'm thankful we now have two peach trees in the backyard. I'll let you know about July how they taste and how I preserve them.

3. Strawberries: I know it's hard to pay sometimes twice the price for organic vs conventional strawberries, but I think that's money well spent. However, if you're willing to pick them yourself, now is the perfect time to pick your own. We went to Rutherford's Strawberries in Maryville 5/7/10 and the plants are dripping with berries! Look for a post on that soon. Rutherford's is not organic but they use minimal pesticides and the cost is just $1.25 / pound.

4. Apples: Since scrubbing apples doesn't remove all chemical residue and many of the nutrients are in the skin, this is a good food to go organic. Head to Earthfare for these. They've had deals for free apples in the past and most recently they were 3 pounds for $5--a reasonable price. If they have them at Kroger, look for bags in bulk.

5. Blueberries: This is one of those "super foods" loaded with antioxidants, but they can be very expensive. I have found a coupon from Driscoll's before to use at Kroger. Consider buying them frozen to put in smoothies. Cascadian Farm often has coupons; paired with a sale, they're a good buy. We planted blueberry and blackberry bushes this year; I'm just hoping we get them before the birds do.

6. Nectarines: Since I never buy nectarines, I can cross this one off my list. If you're looking for alternatives, consider mangoes and papaya.

7. Bell Peppers: Now I admit I rarely look for organic when buying peppers, but maybe I'll start. I have read that red peppers have loads more nutrition than green (that may explain why they cost three times as much); so if you see a deal on red, get those.

8. Spinach: This is a fairly easy vegetable to buy organic. Last week I bought organic spinach at Sam's Club for $3.97 / pound. Most grocery chains carry organic spinach and often put it on sale. Or I saw a few people selling locally grown spinach at the farmers' market.

9. Kale: Again, I rarely buy kale but I'm trying to muster the courage to try it. Safer alternatives are broccoli and asparagus. I bought beautiful broccoli and asparagus at the farmers' market on Thursday.

10. Cherries: I was surprised to learn that one survey found three times the number of pesticides on U.S. grown cherries than those imported. Good thing I rarely buy them.

11. Potatoes: When I read this article, what struck me was that most potato farmers would never eat the potatoes they grow (which require so many pesticides). They usually plant a separate plot without all the treatments for themselves. That's why I buy our organic potatoes at Earthfare. They have had specials for free potatoes and most recently a 5 pound bag of red cost $6 and russet cost $4.

12. Grapes: They warn imported grapes can be much more contaminated than local alternatives. I'll be trying to buy American grapes from now on. Keep that in mind for wine as well.

Other fruits and vegetables to consider buying organic when possible are leafy greens, carrots, pears, and tomatoes. The article also discusses the importance of buying organic meat and milk. Here are my two cents on those.

Meat: This one is tough for me because organic meat is so much more expensive. However, we've begun buying 1/4 of a cow from a former colleague of my husband's. He does it as a hobby and is experimenting with grass-fed beef. Yes, I have to store a lot of meat in my freezer at once, but the price works out to much cheaper than anything in the store, and we know he uses minimal antibiotics. There are several local resources you might consider; start at the farmers' market or contact Hannah at Frugally Farming Family.

After reading about The Seven Foods Experts Won't Eat, we stopped buying farm-raised salmon. A few weeks back I found wild salmon on sale at Kroger and stocked up. I'll let you know when I see that again.

I admit I haven't researched local pork or chicken. If you have suggestions for where I can find affordable meat locally, please leave a comment.

Milk: Again, this one is tough to do financially for us for the sheer volume of milk we buy a week: 2-3 gallons. Maybe I'm fooling myself, but at least I feel better that the milk we buy states: "Our farmers pledge not to teat their cows with rbST."

Finally, the good news. Here is the list of the Clean 15: foods that don't need to be organic. These fruit and vegetables typically have a protective skin you don't eat: onions, avocados, corn, pineapple, mangoes, asparagus, sweet peas, kiwi, cabbage, eggplant, papaya, watermelon, broccoli, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes.

Where do you stand on organic vs conventional?

Earthfare Online Coupons

Last week I reported the new spring coupon books for Earthfare are now in stores. They have $85 of savings in them. Some of my favorite companies with coupons are: the Earthfare line of foods, Seventh Generation, Kashi, Cascadian Farms, Ben & Jerry's, Organic Valley, and Pirate Booty.

But here's something even better. You can now print just your favorite coupons from that book here. I don't know how the coupons compare in expiration dates; so it's still worth picking up a book the next time you're in the store. I'm also unsure if Earthfare has a limit of two printables per product per visit like Kroger and Ingles. I don't think so. If you know, leave a comment.

For the latest fare deals, go here. They may be a bit slow getting May's deals up. And remember to check here for coupon match-ups the next few days.

Organic Deals for Earth Week-UPDATED

In celebration of Earth Week, I've been scouring the ads and online blogs for the best organic and eco-friendly deals this week. Here's what I found.

Kroger disappointed me big time. Other than marginal deals on Seventh Generation, I didn't see anything to celebrate there.

Ingles is my neighborhood store, but I've been shopping more at Kroger the past few months to save money. I was happy to be one of their patrons today. Through sales and coupons, I spent $31.35 and saved $34.87.

They have excellent prices on Muir Glen products (all organic). You can buy the 15oz cans for $1.25 or the 28oz cans of tomatoes for $1.84. Many of the cans have stickies on them that will save you $1/2. I used 2 $1/1 printables here and will save those for another visit. I also bought 4 jars of MG red sauce for $2.50 each and used 2 $1/2 stickies on those jars.

Cascadian Farms frozen vegetables (all organic) were on sale for $2 each. I picked up 2 16oz bags of peas and used 2 $1/1 printables found here. Organic raisons were $1.50 for 6 boxes; those will be good for lunches. Tip: I save the boxes and fill them with raisons again from a larger box. And Greenworks detergent was on sale for $3.99 (B1G1 but you don't have to buy two). I still had a $3/1 coupon I'd printed months ago, but the paper had a $1.50/1 coupon recently.

Lots of Seventh Generation products were also on sale and you can find $1/1 coupons for lots of their products here. There was a rebate form for 3 products but that seems to have disappeared. Let me know if it's still available.

Finally they're also running a special with Muir Glen and Cascadian Farms: Buy 2 products, get a free Ingles bag (value: $1; limit 1). However, I asked the manager since I was buying 8 qualifying products, would he consider giving me one of their insulated bags instead (value: $2). That I could really use! He agreed and I was thrilled. Now that's good customer service!

So my final costs on organic or eco-friendly products were:

2 28oz cans tomatoes: $1.68

4 jars red sauce: $8

2 bags of peas: $2

6 mini boxes of raisons: $1.50

1 30 load detergent: $.99

1 insulated reusable bag: FREE

Update 4/22 (deals good through 4/27): I just returned from Earthfare, where I spent $39.13 and saved $20.38. I can't say the deals are amazing this week, but I'm glad I went. With this coupon, I got a new cloth bag with snaps (a nice feature) and because I was one of the first 200 customers today, I got another one as well (value: $2). I chose for my bulk item dark chocolate covered almonds (which I will be hiding from the kids--seriously ;-). They are a little bit of heaven on earth that I'll take as my reward for couponing. They are on sale for $6.99/lb (regularly $9.99/lb), and the coupon took another 20% off. Tip: Although this product is already pre-packaged, it qualifies for the discount. My final cost for a container was $4.30.

Though I don't usually buy sausage, I decided to try the Organic Prairie pork links in the freezer section. They were $1 off and I had a $1 coupon from some newsletter. Stonyfield yogurts are on sale for 5/$4 ($.80 each, normally $.86). Apparently you have to buy 5 to get the discount because I only bought 3. Using a $.50/3 printable found here, I saved at least that and I'm not one to squabble over $.18. I also got a free Honest Tea with a coupon I think I picked up at the coupon fair.

I spent most of my money on organic produce:

2lbs strawberries: $3 each (phenomenal price for organic and they looked great!)

3lbs apples: $4.97

5lbs carrots: $4.99

5 Valencia oranges: $5

5lbs red potatoes: $5.99

5lbs russet potatoes: $3.97

Since my total was over $35, I used the $10 off $35 coupon I got at Earthfest. Tip: It's good through May if you want to save it for another trip.

And don't forget to pick up the new Earthfare Spring Savings coupon booklet with coupons worth $85. They had arrived just as I was checking out. Some of my favorite companies with coupons are: the Earthfare line of foods, Seventh Generation, Kashi, Cascadian Farms, Ben & Jerry's, Organic Valley, and Pirate Booty. Tip: Pirate Booty (a yummy snack) is currently on sale and there's a $1 coupon in the book.

I hope you can take advantage of some of these deals and realize once again, you can go green and save green.

Top 8 for Earthfest

Call me a crunchy chic, call me an earthy geek, but I had a GREAT time at Earthfest yesterday. If you missed it, too bad, but Oak Ridge is having its Earth Day next Saturday, April 24, 11am-3pm. Many of the same vendors will be there with the addition of lots more based in Oak Ridge. Check it out!

Due to our busy schedule, I actually went to Earthfest twice: once with the kids and once without. Here are the Top 8 Reasons I'm glad I went:

• Kids Tent: They had several eco-friendly crafts which Bobby loved. I'll be repeating some of these for them during the summer. They turned toilet paper rolls into bugs, made art with seeds and glue, and painted their own canvas bag with vegetables. Bobby painted his initials with a carrot, stamped shapes with potatoes, and made interesting effects with broccoli and artichokes.

• Thank you, Earthfare, for that $10 off $30 purchase coupon. I'll probably be using mine on 4/22 to get one of your free reusable bags along with organic apples, potatoes, and strawberries--on sale for $3--zowie! (Kroger had organic strawberries for $6.25 last week).

• All the major solar installers in Knoxville were there. In no particular order: EETN, Green Earth Solar, and Sustainable Future. If you own a business and are interested in solar, this is a particularly good time to pursue that technology. A system could pay for itself within 5-7 years!

• Alcoa was selling their very sturdy recycling bins for $5 each (a great value). Since we've loved the one we got last year, we picked up another one. Tip: If you don't yet recycle, start with aluminum and steel. I'll be posting about the many reasons why in the future.

• The Green Living Tent was filled with expert farmers. I learned there is not a single certified organic farmer in all of Tennessee, largely because of the expense and red tape involved. However, dedicated farmers to sustainable farming practices have created a comparable certification: Certified Naturally Grown. There are 15 CNG farms within 100 miles of Knoxville and 5 or 6 of them--including Organicism Farms and Colvin Family Farm--regularly sell at our farmers' markets. Look for them on your next visit.

• Farmer's Market tip: Off the record, some of the farmers I spoke with preferred the Market Square Farmer's Market to the others. Starting May 1, I'll probably be making that part of my routine: Saturdays 9am - 2pm, Wednesdays 11am - 2pm. We're also partial to the New Harvest Market because the kids can play on the playground and splash pad during the summer.

• I stopped to chat with the police in charge of the medication disposal program. I learned that they dispose of them through incineration. In a special giant oven with enormous heat, an entire batch of unwanted medication is evaporated within 30 seconds. Cool! This program is important to keep powerful medicines out of our water supply. So NEVER throw away extra antibiotics. Take them to the police department downtown instead.

• Finally, I was SO EXCITED to learn there is now a way to recycle styrofoam--what I call "the scourge of the earth." I bought a massive plastic bag from the Knoxville Recycling Coalition for $5. Once I fill that with as much styrofoam as I can fit, I drop it off at their Bearden location, take my bag home and fill it up again as many times as I need--no additional costs. With special machines, they compress an entire bag into a dense block you can hold. They in turn sell this to a company that uses it in their products. I encourage you to buy a bag to do the same. I'm going to offer to accept styrofoam for my entire neighborhood. Think about all the electronics, kids' toys, etc. that are shipped with styrofoam that now will never see landfill! Gives me the warm and fuzzies just thinking about it! ;-)

Coupon Mania: The Bad Kind

Today I was checking out Gabe's blog and saw at the top this video from Earthfare. You know how much I love Earthfare and organic in general, you know how much I've loved saving money there. So it was with great sadness to learn they are having issues, especially the last few weeks, with people committing COUPON FRAUD.

They have multiple cases of people trying to take advantage of the weekly freebies 4, 6, even 8 times! Some have even purchased the item, changed clothes in the parking lot, and returned "in disguise." Really?! Who does that? I'll admit the free pizza and cheese deal was so tempting, I dragged a sick child into the store to get it. It's actually kindof a funny story if you need a laugh. But try to redeem more than one free offer? Never!

The coupons clearly state one coupon per person. Get your deal, say thank-you, and go home! Hopefully you'll value the freshness or quality enough that you'll return another time to purchase it again. But don't abuse the system. When you do, we all suffer.

According to this recent Wall Street Journal article, fraudulent coupons are not a big portion of coupons redeemed but they have increased 14% in the past year. Additionally 198 faulty coupons have been identified since late December--more than the previous decade combined! And if you're ever tempted to use bogus coupons, beware of these guys: the CIC, a non-profit fighting coupon fraud. They haven't lost a single case. You go!

Now I don't think Earthfare is battling fraudulent coupons. The coupons they email weekly CAN be printed multiple times and are often shared on lots of local coupon blogger sites. But just because you CAN print them multiple times doesn't mean you SHOULD. What Earthfare is dealing with is people abusing the system. And the more people who do that, the less likely they will share wonderful deals in the future. It's not worth a couple of extra pizzas--really!

While we're on the subject of coupon ethics, Katie had some great suggestions for making sure we all remain ethical when the dollar signs of savings are in our eyes. I'll admit I've been greedy with taking a few extra peelies off products in the past, but I've vowed to change my ways. Thanks for reading and being one of the good guys.