Combine a Saturday drive around the country with some shopping. Visit your local farmers markets to get fresh produce. You would be surprised the things you find. A lot of the markets also have homemade items like jams and syrups.
To find farmers’ markets in Georgia, go to N-georgia. They have a list of farmers markets in the state, along with a brief description.
If you stumble upon a really good deal, you can always freeze things. There are a number of sites that have information on freezing or even canning.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a comprehensive list of things to do to freeze foods safely. The National Center for Home Food Preservation tells you how to freeze specific items.
The National Center for Home Food Preservation also has some good information on canning. Canning is trickier than freezing. You have to make sure your jars seal correctly, you use the appropriate items to preserve and kill germs, and that jars are cooked long enough (to name a few!). Another portion of their site provides information on canning specific foods.
I’ve done both, canning and freezing and there are some things that are better canned (tomatoes, pickles and jams) and other than are better frozen (corn, peas, strawberries). And it’s a lot of trial and error on some things.
