my first fresh food co-op experience

I have heard so many good things about food co-ops over the past few years. 

 I wish I would have done it sooner.  I finally took the plunge on Saturday.

I got all these goodies for less than $30.  

This is how it works:

I went to Bountifulbaskets.org. at around noon on last Monday.  I registered for a Saturday morning pick-up of half fruits and half veggies.  There are so many choices.  You can get extras like bread, citrus bundles, and granola to name a few.  You also have the option to do all organic baskets.

Bright and early on Saturday morning I grabbed my Thirty-One large utility tote and drove to the elementary school.  When I arrived I saw the parking lot full of cars and a long line of people!   I had no idea this was so popular.  I was sad I have been missing out! There were volunteers working hard putting food into laundry baskets and there were volunteers at a table set up for the extra options.

It was really painless and it all went pretty quickly.  While standing in line I visited with veteran co-opers and I got tons of ideas of new things to get in two weeks when I get our next Bountiful basket!

Since it was my first time I got a regular basket and I added 2 pounds of granola.  

We love granola and this granola is good!

As you can see we got apples, bananas, mangoes, and kiwi.

We got butter lettuce, peppers, broccoli and bell peppers.  

See the granola?

We got a pineapple, cantaloupe, potatoes, cucumbers and brussel sprouts.

My neighbor got bread and so she shared a loaf with us.  It is really good 100% whole wheat bread.  The bread comes bundled so you get 5 loaves for $10.  That is a ton of bread, and it is all homemade.  Most of the people I talked to rave about the bread and typically they freeze it until they are read to use it.

I am excited to eat these peppers!  

So far everything we received in our basket tastes amazing.  The one thing I really like about this co-op thing is the variety of foods we received.  I wouldn't normally purchase butter lettuce or brussel sprouts in a weekly shopping visit.  Getting these in our basket is fun because we get to eat new and different things.  I found a few recipes I'm planning to make.  I already toasted the granola and I made homemade apple sauce in the slow cooker.  Tonight we are stuffing the peppers and we added mango to our smoothies this morning.  I never think to buy mangoes and kiwi at the grocery store.  I ate two kiwis all by myself.  I forget how good they are.  

All in all I love this co-op and I would highly recommend it to all my friends.  If you are interested you can go to the website to see if it is available in your area!  

www.bountifulbaskets.org

Oh and I must add, the large utility tote was the perfect size for all my goodies.  I got so many compliments while standing in line waiting for pickup.   There was a ton of food and it all fit perfectly.    There was a little bit of water in the bottom of the bag after I emptied the produce onto the kitchen counter.  I wiped the large utility tote clean and it is ready for my next pick up!  

  Visit my website to get yours today.