Picking your own produce could save you money and there are many 'You Pick" farms in Middle Tennessee.


 We have a lot of variety of vegetables

At Stoney Brook Farm in Franklin, the tomatoes are ripe for picking...

Leigh Funderburk/ Stoney Brook Farms  The tomatoes are  $1.50 a lb and you can pick those yourself 

That's about 20 cents less than one local grocer we checked.... and the same price as another grocer running a sale.

People
that come out here tell us  that #1 our food tastes much better than
what they're getting at the grocery store,  but in addition to that they
do feel like it's saving them money.

And here--- they'll even drop the price to $1.00 per pound if you buy  in bulk.


The
'Pick Tennessee' campaign is designed to support local farmers ----  
but the upside is it's usually cheaper than going to the store.

Take blueberries for example

Tina DeBoer / Golden Bell Farm
 The last time I checked a grocery store it was $1.99 a pint. and 3 pints make a pound. 

Stacy Case   Blueberries  here cost  $2.50 a lb.. At the typical grocer,  theyr'e nearly $6 dollars a pound

Tina
DeBoer says:   A lot of people will come and pick many pounds so they
can put them in the freezer and eat them throughout the year.  If you
tried to buy a bag of frozen blueberries in the middle of December,  it
would be far more expensive than $2.50 a pound.

 Lots of farms
use little to no pesticides... so if you compare their price to the
organic price at the grocery....  it's an even bigger savings.

We
have not had to use any pesticides on the tomatoes with the buckwheat
in between. It's attracted enough beneficial insects with the buckwheat
in between.

And there's one more money saving concept blossoming at Stoney Brook...  People can rent a plot to grow their own food.

Michelle
Hallock / Gardener  We're a family of 6  I spend between $30 and $40 on
produce a week..  Hoping if it's fresher my children will eat more of
it... Then I'd be saving more than the $30 - $40 dollars

For a list of farms near you, visit Fox17.com click on foxlinks and look for Pick Tennessee. SAVING YOU MONEY: Pick Your Produce