Coupons - At What Cost?

I came across the show Extreme Couponing last night, and I have to say that I got pretty sucked into it.  At first, I was fascinated.  Then I was horrified.  I will be the first to admit that I love coupons (though not nearly as much as the people on the show).  However, I try to make sure that I only use coupons to buy things that I would have bought anyway, or that I have been wanting to try.  And I buy one or two of the product, not forty.  The people featured on the show, however, have some pretty crazy couponing skills, and make a serious effort to buy hundreds of dollars of groceries for close to nothing.  They build stockpiles.  Their organizational skills and their patience are pretty incredible.  The fairly extended check-out scenes, however, are what led to my horror.  Pallets of toothpaste, cases of soda, and piles of canned goods came down the conveyor belts.  But there was not a single fresh fruit or vegetable in sight.

I would absolutely not claim that I shun canned and boxed foods, though I do think they need to be accompanied by a hearty supply of fresh foods (or frozen - frozen vegetables are definitely a staple in my kitchen).  I mean, if you are building stockpiles of food that could last for years, wouldn't you wonder what is in the food that allows it to last for years? 

I also had to wonder how much money they were really saving.  Some of them spent thousands of dollars each year on newspapers, and printing coupons off the internet can't be cheap, considering the cost of ink.  I realize they may relish the thrill of saving, but if your food budget is just a few dollars and your newspaper budget is thousands of dollars - doesn't that seem a bit backwards?

Here is what really got me, however: the people featured last night claimed to spend between 30 and 60 hours "couponing" each week.  With that much time, you could pretty easily grow a garden, which would produce lots of food for just the cost of seeds and some gardening supplies.  Plus, you would have tons of time left to cook from scratch, can your own fruits and vegetables, etc.

I have a brilliant idea for a reality show mashup.  I think Jamie Oliver should bring his Food Revolution to Extreme Couponing.