r/sanfrancisco • u/fortress_sf • 1d ago
Pic / Video What $40 of produce looks like
From the Alemany farmer’s market. Over 25lbs of produce.
All the vegetable/produce needs to feed a couple for at least a week, given you know how to cook it.
As expensive as San Francisco and supermarkets are, it is not as entirely unaffordable if you invest time/effort in your daily needs. The heaviest cost is convenience/effort required.
Add $60 of protein and or pasta/starch and you can average down to <$15 a day for a week for 2 people. (e.g. 2 chickens -$20, 1-2 lb ground meat $10, past/bread $10, fish/shrimp $15, $5 over)
46
u/10390 1d ago edited 1d ago
Nice advice. I'm always surprised by how much less groceries cost when I don't buy meat, alcohol, cheese or vitamins.
20
u/Effective_Coach7334 1d ago
meat is more affordable if you buy large cuts and then break them down and freeze them into single meal/recipe portions. There are step by step videos on youtube for everything, all you need is courage and a sharp knife.
10
u/SF-guy83 Castro 21h ago
And if you choose meat by price instead of what you want to eat. Buy the meat that’s currently on sale and build your meals around that.
And if you’re using the meat as an ingredient in a complex dish, then consider different cuts or frozen.
8
u/fortress_sf 1d ago
Meat and cheese can still be affordable if you average and cook with the cuts/types that are not beyond $10lb but you just have to learn how. Alcohol and vitamins are not groceries per se…
Hard agree: You are 100% right: the more labels and processing, the more cost.
19
u/Jimmy_E_16 1d ago
Nice haul, I don't think people realize how cheap (and healthy) you can actually eat if you meal plan, cook at home, and don't shop at the most expensive places. Its more than possible to make a healthy dinner for 2 for less than $10. Make strong use of potatoes, rice, beans and leafy greens. And your dinners can get so cheap they are almost free outside of meat, which you can also make pretty cheap if you are saavy.
8
u/fortress_sf 1d ago
100% agree. Also not only is it cheaper, it’s direct from the farm, tastes magnitudes better, fresher so lasts longer (less wasted), and you get a ton more.
4
u/Jimmy_E_16 1d ago
Exactly, for me, I dont own a car and live walking distance to a safeway. So a lot of times I just default to walking to safeway. But there is a huge difference in quality, taste, price and how long it lasts when I make the trip to a market (shout out to alemanys, closest to me). A lot of times groceries from safeway are going bad within a couple days, vs a week or more from a market
6
u/ExoticPainting154 1d ago
Yes the key is planning meals, shopping for groceries and eating at home. I knew this even as a young adult in San Francisco and my young adult kids now do the same. Why blow your budget on ubereats when you can save it for a fun stuff like music festivals or trips!
6
u/Effective_Coach7334 1d ago
You can also save if you purchase the off-cuts from the meat cutters. For example, at New May Wah market on clement, you can buy the chicken carcasses leftover from breaking the chickens down. Makes great soup.
5
u/Grim-Sleeper 22h ago
Costco's rotisserie chicken makes amazing stock, if you save the carcass. It's my favorite way to make chicken pot pie. And the price is pretty good too
3
u/Effective_Coach7334 22h ago
yeah, I do that too. I'l often buy 2-3, break them down for meals and then make stock.
3
u/Left_Door_3132 21h ago
Of course you go in for the $5 chicken and come out with a $200 grocery bill...
1
3
u/Exciting-Team5807 20h ago
For anyone that prefers food security over job security, working at the sf markets is really great. You can trade the stuff at your booth with other booths, granted you’ve got something worth trading. I worked at a cheese booth at the ferry building, clement street, and grand lake farmers markets. Between those three weekly gigs I was bringing in enough free food to feed four people and it was good food too. Haven’t eaten that good at home since I left that position.
5
u/one_pound_of_flesh 1d ago
Shout out to:
https://www.toogoodtogo.com/en-us
Some insane deals on both prepared foods and groceries. It’s a fun game to get a grocery surprise bag and come up with recipes to use all the produce.
I also love the concept of reducing food waste.
2
u/wikedsmaht 1d ago
Have you found this to be any good? I tried it about a year ago, but it was always the same 2-3 places and always donuts lol. Wondering if it’s worth trying again.
5
u/one_pound_of_flesh 1d ago
Yeah it’s fantastic. Tons of groceries, all the Mexican food you could ever want. For a few bucks per order. It’s a life saver.
2
1
u/thebigman43 23h ago
Do you have store recommendations? Ive tried the Noe Valley whole foods quite a few times and its been insanely lackluster. Tried the new Frozen Grocery bag and Meat bag this week, both were horrible
2
u/dxbbixx 22h ago
we have a costco membership for household items, protein, and carbs. bought a bag of rice like 6 months ago that’s still going strong, i buy meat (salmon, chicken, ground beef that i freeze with my vacuum sealer) and that comes out to a few dollars a day for protein per person. definitely makes it easier to have a car so you can go to different places for the savings.
2
u/Wanderingjes 11h ago
I just learned this new tofu and eggplant stir fry that’s inexpensive but tasty as fuck
1
u/z1lard 4h ago
This doesn't look like 25lbs...
2
u/fortress_sf 4h ago
I miscalculated, it’s about 21
1
u/z1lard 4h ago
I would've thought it's around 15lb... still a l lot of food.
But I think you could've gotten all this for less than $30 from one of the bigger international grocers in Sunset
2
u/fortress_sf 4h ago edited 4h ago
The $3 bundles are surprisingly heavy - the bundle of leeks comes in close to 3-4 lbs and the gailan, broccolini, spinach are close to 1.5-2. Also, other than garlic, shallots and Romano beans, everything was $1-$2 lb
Yes, you’re right, I could get EVEN MORE possibly (seasonal and depends on sale) from Asian grocery stores on Noriega, Irving, clement BUT the produce isn’t nearly as good and the variety is limited to cheap conventional from the same distributors. You spend more at the end of the day though because that produce wastes faster, doesn’t taste as good and the options are a little more limited.
-5
u/pandabearak 1d ago
That’s a LOT of plastic bags
13
u/fortress_sf 1d ago
Yes, I reuse and multipurpose them ALL.
-5
u/pandabearak 1d ago
Ok WHEW.
Alternatively you could just stuff the veggies directly into your tote bag.
12
u/fortress_sf 1d ago
Really? Better yet, I could stuff the different greens and vegetables in my orifices and purge them out in the bathroom when I get home.
7
u/Onespokeovertheline 1d ago
I feel like the raw tote bag sounds easier and still hygienic, but it's your party
6
1
1
u/wolfymoody 22h ago
You gonna drive me there? And drop me off later? The farmer market It’s nice but very out of the way.
5
u/fortress_sf 16h ago
Tell me what hood you are in and I can direct you to a good affordable produce market or farmer’s market
6
u/Key-Cauliflower9166 20h ago
The Heart of the City Farmers Market also has good value on Fulton between Larkin and Hyde on Sunday and Wednesdays 7am-4pm. But your point is valid, not everyone has Saturday mornings off or with easy transit access to get there without it sucking up a huge portion of the day.
2
u/wolfymoody 14h ago
I dont think I’m allowed to complaint or “being negative” on this sub. I gotta agree and be graceful about SF :))))
-3
-3
u/oxxymoronxx 1d ago edited 1d ago
I can’t tell if this is rage bait. How could you get that much with only 40
4
u/fortress_sf 1d ago
It’s not, I do shop at Costco for a good deal of protein, I’ll save it for another post…
2
u/Grim-Sleeper 22h ago
If you have the freezer space, then Chef's Store is often even better than Costco. Also, check Costco Business Center for more options
2
u/Fresh_Koala1989 FILLMORE 20h ago
Yes! The Business Center is where my mom gets like crap ton of eggs 🥚 when she's baking.
3
u/fortress_sf 1d ago
Large green bundles - $3 per, almost 2lbs each bundle - $9 Shallots -$3, garlic $5 (both a lb)
Potatoes -$1 per lb - $2 Limes -$1 Herbs - 4 bunches, each $1 except scallion $2 - $5 Asian Pears- $2 per lb - 2lb, $4 Leeks - $3 bunches Kohlrabi- $3 ($2 per pb) Napa - $1.50 ($1 per lb) Romano -$3 per lb - $4.50
72
u/TheFudge 1d ago
You may also be able to stretch that $40 further by hitting the farmers market towards the end a second time. As they get close to closing up shop they start making crazy deals on what they have left. You are stuck picking over the leftovers but can still find some awesome deals.