Bountiful Baskets

While Kenneth and I were without work, we had to really look for ways to save money and not spend what we didn't have. We came across a really neat opportunity to save money on fresh produce and baked goods and even though we are now both working, we are still participating.

It is a food co-op called Bountiful Baskets. Each week, you can sign up online to participate and for $16.50, you receive a laundry basket full of fresh fruits and vegetables. Each week, you can also add fresh baked goods, like 9-grain bread (yummy, yummy!!), fresh-made tortillas, cakes and crackers, breakfast bars and tropical granola. The prices are all very reasonable.

Each week, in the baskets, there are usually 5-6 fruits and 5-6 vegetables. We have had all kinds of neat things and are even learning to eat fruits and vegetables we never would have bought on our own and because of this, we are eating new and different foods so that we don't waste the food.

We have enjoyed apples, bananas, oranges, strawberries, kumquat, coconut, blueberries, blackberries, lemons, limes, nectarines, plums, peaches, pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe, honey dew melons, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, bok choy, sweet potatoes. brown and red potatoes, corn, broccoli, onions (green, white, yellow, and red), celery, chard, spinach, green and red peppers, and the list goes on and on. We love the 9-grain bread and the tortillas remind me of the ones I ate daily on my mission. The crackers are really quite interesting but taste pretty good with melted cheese over them.

After participating for a few weeks, one of my girlfriends, Haley, and I decided to start a sight of our own. We co-coordinate the receipt and distribution of the fruits and vegetables and for doing it, we get a free basket on our week. It is a pretty cool thing that happens.

A truck drops off the produce at 6:30am each Saturday morning at a local park near our home. We distribute the produce into baskets (thus the name, Bountiful Baskets) and then wait for those who participated to pick up their offerings at 7:30am. We have a bunch of people who arrive early each week to volunteer of their time to help us get the baskets prepared. I am amazed each week at the willingness of the volunteers to show up early and stay until the last basket is picked up, the last basket and box are loaded and all are headed home for another week.

I love the produce and the quality of the fruits and vegetables. Most will last several weeks in my fridge before going bad and that gives me plenty of time to eat it all without have to throw it out because it has gotten moldy or gone bad. The produce seems to be fresher then what we usually get from the store and my grocery bill has decreased by $50 - 60 each week. What a find and one that I am glad we found when we did.