from my post at WeUseCoupons: When you can't grow it to can it, dry it, or freeze it.... Buy it or Wild Harvest it!
Keep your eyes and ears open for deals you can get on produce and meats to can, dry or freeze.
Check local farms, farmstands, fruit and veggie distributors, etc. and don't be afraid to harvest from the wild.... blackberries, chokecherries, raspberries, wild grapes, nuts, and more.
Examples:
Where we live, local farmers here offer U-Pick and open their fields up. You can buy 5 gallon buckets of tomatoes and green peppers for $6 (this is just about 5 miles from where I live).
I can travel about and hour into the big city and get boxes of seconds on peaches for $5 a tomato box full (about 1/2 bushel). I lucked up and got a box full of mixed fruit for $5 one time as well... apples, oranges, pears, and more.
We have apple orchards here too... one place offers seconds for $12 while another offers them for $14 for a bushel box. Yet the one with the $14 bushel box will allow you to pick up off the ground, apples for $3 a bushel box. May take you a little longer but with me having 6 children still at home to help out ... we make quick work of it.
We have a vacant home near us that we are able to go pick pears at (well this year was very slim pickings) and chestnuts. We have been gathering chestnuts for a couple of weeks now. I roast them in the oven.
Don't turn away your friend or neighbor who wants to share zucchini with you.... they may just bring you other items later too.
What about the marked down fruit and produce in the grocery stores? Make fruit leather with the fruit! Peel, pit, core, or whatever, puree and make one kind or make a mixed fruit type fruit leather. Veggies can be used immediately or froze for later depending on what it is and what you need to do to it to freeze it (blanch, etc.)
What about meats? hmmm.... ever see marked down meats in the store? Why not make beef jerky with that marked down ground beef.
We recently learned that we could get boneless skinless, chicken breasts via a friend for $40.00 for 40lbs.... 4 (10lb bags) -- I think that is the total weight. I have them still frozen for now (just got them about week or two ago and haven't had time to thaw to work with them yet.).
I hope that gives you some ideas on where to look for produce, etc. that you can preserve at home when you can't grow it yourself.