One of our missions here at Whole Foods Market® is to not only provide our shoppers with tasty, good-for-you grub (though that’s certainly a big part of it!) — but we also aim to make eating the high quality, healthy foods affordable. To help prove our point, we approached bloggers all around the country with a challenge. They had to come up with a meal plan for their family that included breakfast, lunch and dinner for a week with a budget of $100*.Eating great for less is actually pretty easy; you just need to know how to do it. So we made sure to arm these bloggers with the resources they needed to succeed. Each was given a “value tour” at their nearest Whole Foods Market, where they learned about buying in bulk, value options throughout each department, using the coupons and savings tips in The Whole Deal value guide opens in a new tab and much more! If this sounds like a tour you’d like to take, you can set one up through your local store’s Customer Service desk opens in a new tab.
Here are some of our favorite highlights from the first group of bloggers who took on the challenge. Take a look at their posts to learn more about how you can save too!
“Keep a Price Book…You may find the best deals are with the store brands, such as Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value opens in a new tab Products. I’ve actually found quite a few that were close to conventional prices for the organic versions!”
- Jaycie Tallon, Coupon Geek opens in a new tab
“When shopping at any grocery store it’s important to know how they work, and Whole Foods has built-in ways to save you money on foods you can trust. They provide multiple sales flyers and seasonal coupon booklets, as well as meal planning advice and recipes.”
- Shaina Olmanson, Food For My Family opens in a new tab
“…In-season produce is always the cheapest. Whole Foods designates its sale items with bright yellow and red tags; in the produce section, those tags almost always adorn the veggies and fruit that are most local and most in-season. This week, there were sales on apples, acorn squash, baby bok choy, and more.”
- Laura Tepper, The Shopping Mama opens in a new tab
“You can buy in bulk and buy cases of items, and save 10%. This includes produce! To purchase something buy the case, it is recommended to call your store ahead of time, and speak to the department’s specialist to ensure the product is available when needed.”
- Lisa Douglas, Crazy Adventures in Parenting opens in a new tab
“You have to be a smart shopper. First thing? Check the sales. Seriously. Shop the sales. Whole Foods even has these cool fliers found in a few different places in the store that give you menu ideas for your family in certain price amounts. They tell you what to buy. Now, if you are like me and hate planning meals — this is for you.”
- Brett Martin, This Mama Loves Her Bargains opens in a new tab
What’s your favorite way to eat great for less?
*$100 was given to families of 4-5 people. Those with larger families were given adjusted amounts to work with. Bloggers shopped at single Whole Foods Market stores; not all locations offer the same money-saving fliers and programs.
