Cheap, FRESH Produce

I don't know about you, but I like my produce to be as fresh as possible. Yes, sometimes I'll buy frozen and for a couple of items, I'll even go with canned, but my preference is always fresh.

So, when I heard about Bountiful Baskets I had to give it a try!

Bountiful Baskets is a food Co-op. I know what you're thinking. "That sounds complicated. What does it mean exactly?"

The basics are that it's an entirely volunteer-run way for a bunch of people to pool their resources and buy at great discounts.

And with this particular co-op, there's no commitment involved. No monthly fee. No number of times a year you must participate to remain active. There's a small first-timer's fee ($3) and that's about it for "dues."

So what does this cost?

Well, that depends on what basket you're ordering. The regular basket costs $15. The organic basket costs $25. Then, there's a $1.50 fee per transaction. Then there are other items that are sometimes available (breads, specific types of produce, etc.) which are priced separately.

And what do I get for that price?

Two HUGE baskets of produce. Last time we went, my hubby loaded our baskets into boxes to take home (you don't get to take the baskets themselves, they're reused each week). The boxes he used were 12" x 18" x 8". He needed three of them to fit it all in. Your selections will always be 50% fruit, 50% veggies. You never really know exactly what will be in there, but it's always a good variety and for that price, I'm fine with giving away a few items that we won't use. And they try to buy as much of the produce as possible from local farmers, which is a huge plus in my book.

So how does it work?

For most sites, orders are placed between noon Monday and 10pm Tuesday. Then, Saturday morning, bright and early, you go pick up your baskets. Couldn't be easier!

Where do I sign up?

www.bountifulbaskets.org

Enjoy!