Produce Co-Op!

I have been working on cutting down our grocery bill while trying making sure that we are eating healthy.  One day while blog surfing I ran onto someone talking about the produce co-op she was part of – “We get TONS of fresh fruits and vegetables for so cheap!” she said. BINGO! I thought – whatever this is – I want in!

So I started asking around and searching online and I found impressive things! A produce co-op is a group of people who put a set amount of money into a “pool”. They then take that pool of money and go to the same stores that supply places like Macey’s and Smith’s with their produce and buy bulk quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables – at grocery store quality and super cheap prices (because foods are bought in bulk). They buy the most they possibly can with the pooled money – and the produce is divided equally between the contributing members!

This week I ordered from a Co-Op called Bountiful Baskets. For $16.50 this is what we got:

1 Pineapple
1 head of califlower
1 head of green leaf lettuce
1 giant Jicima
6 ears corn
1 bunch asparagus
9 bananas
6 garlics
7 Murcott tangerines
5 Asian Pears
4 Mexican Squash
7 Pink Lady Apples

I was really impressed that everything was in good shape and so far really delicious. What you get varies by what is available, so you will always be getting a good variety. I looked at a lot of different Co-Ops, but chose Bountiful Baskets because you only order when you need to. There are not fees or contacts to force you to contribute every week or month. I just wanted to try it before being tied into something! I was also really impressed to find out that all of the people to work with Bountiful Baskets are volunteers - so that every cent of the money you contribute goes straight to getting more food.

If you are looking for a better way to buy fruits and veggies I totally suggest ordering with Bountiful Baskets! You can read more about them at www.bountifulbaskets.org. You can order Monday mornings through Tuesday nights and then you pick it up on the following Saturday. They have a huge list of pick up spots so I'm sure that there will be one near you! We are thinking about splitting an order with someone as it is almost too much food for us! (So if you are interested in splitting with us let me know!)