A parent looking to buy a $1.49 pint of berries came home with an unexpected bargain. The clearance shelf landed them eight pints of the hot commodity for kids for the same price.
The find was part of a $37 produce haul that drew enthusiastic reactions online, along with questions about grocery prices and how long the food would last.
Here’s what to know
In a post on Reddit’s Frugal forum, the parent explained how they keep food spending down by combining local produce deals, shopping at Kroger and Costco, and meal prepping.
They explained that their household generally turns to Kroger and Costco for meat and specialty items but that a nearby produce store is their reliable source of inexpensive fruits and vegetables.
“Best deal this time is I went in to get a pint of blackberries for $1.49 but the reduced shelf said it was the whole case for $1.49,” the parent shared. “This got me 6 pints of blackberries and 2 pints of blueberries.”
They laid out their plans for the haul and their typical food budget.
“This will last my family a couple weeks,” they shared. “This combined with finding deals at Kroger/Costco and meal prepping let’s me feed my family of 5 for under $350/month.”
Commenters expressed some jealousy over the berry bargain in particular.
“Literally crying over that $1.49 case deal,” one wrote.
More background
Not everyone was convinced that the $37 haul was a steal, though.
“Is it just me or is $37 still insane for this amount of food?” one commenter asked.
According to the parent, $9 of the bill went toward an eight-pound bag of oranges. That translates to roughly a quarter of the total spent.
What’s next?
The discounted berries needed some sorting. In a follow-up reply, the original poster said that each tray had three or four berries they had to throw away.
One commenter suggested making jam, questioning whether all eight pints would last long enough to eat fresh.
“You can actually easily make fresh berries last for 2 weeks,” one responder noted. “Then there is also popping them in the freezer.”
The parent described preparing dishes to serve over rice, connecting their meal-prepping habit to their Filipino roots.
Where can I learn more?
Finding cheap produce and planning meals around it can help families keep grocery costs down:
• In the U.K., the 6-to-1 grocery method aims to lower food bills but isn’t foolproof.
• In Australia, three bargain produce boxes for $8.99 become pantry staples, pie, and stock.
• A California SNAP shopper buys $36 in produce and gets every dollar back on EBT.
• A U.K. prepper’s annual £200 food purchase creates a month-long buffer for a family of four.
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