Bountiful Baskets Food Cooperative

When we first moved to Bountiful, UT and people heard that we were vegetarian they almost always asked, "Oh have you heard of Bountiful Baskets?"  People tried to explain it and for the most part it made sense but I had to look it up.  Was is for just people in Bountiful? Was it for low income families?  Is it food that is past expiration or about to expire? Was is it???  I went to their website, bountifulbaskets.org and finally learned how wonderful this program is!  Here is a little blurb from their homepage:

"BBFC (Bountiful Baskets Food Co-op) is a group of people who work together for mutual benefit. This is a grassroots, all volunteer, no contracts, no catch co-operative. Since there are no employees at Bountiful Baskets, we as a group pay rock bottom prices on your food. This also means the co-op would not happen without volunteers. If you are interested in the co-op continuing, please volunteer occasionally. All it takes is a little time, energy and a smile. Volunteer opportunities include helping prepare the baskets, breaking down boxes, assisting with the distribution, and packing up. To help out, simply arrive an hour early dressed and ready to work with water to drink."

They also quote a press release from a city where the program is running, "Bountiful Baskets Food Co-op is a participatory experience. Participants all save a substantial amount of money on healthy food. In exchange there are no employees to guide participants through the experience.”

I found that this is not just for people in Bountiful, UT and it's not just for poor folks like me it's for anyone who wants to participate!  You can go HERE and see where the nearest pick-up location is and if there isn't one close enough to you, you can go HERE and see about starting up a new location where you are!

We got our first Bountiful Basket this morning and I was giddy with excitement as I unloaded my "baskets" (as you can see above - they are really just boxes) of produce to see what we got.  With BB you don't get to pick what you get...you just get what you get.  I think this is great because it forces you {in a great way} to get out of your comfort zone, try new things and add variety to your diet which is crucial for good health.  This time I got the standard produce basket which is $15 unless it's your first ever basket and then it's $18.  I also couldn't resist the tropical basket for $10.50 because the description said it might contain 2 vanilla beans!!! (THOSE COST ALMOST $10 AT THE REGULAR GROCERY STORE!!!! (there is always $1.50 handling fee - so keep that in mind)

So are you dying to know what I got with my $30?  We got:

1 head of romaine
a bunch of mint
2 big beets
a HUGE bag of beautiful green beans
1 large jicama
5 tomatoes
2 artichokes
5 green apples
10 red potatoes
a carton of strawberries
a big bunch of bananas
4 mangos
2 pineapples
1 plantain
6 limes
6 kiwis
1 coconut and....
2 VANILLA BEANS!

If I were to have bought all of this at the regular grocery store it would have cost me somewhere between $60-65!  That's at least a 50% savings my friend!  I could never afford to buy such fun food if it weren't for this amazing co-op.  All I have to do is volunteer my time to help out every so often?  No problem.  I think we'll probably go through 2-3 baskets per month and we'll volunteer one of those weeks.  It's just one hour...for 50% discount on awesome produce...no brainer!

I took lots of pictures so you can see they don't fill these baskets with fruits and vegetables that are on their deathbed.  These are beautiful, fresh, lovely fruits and vegetables living with healing nutrients!  Are you wondering if I will really be able to use all of this produce before it goes bad?  You can bet your bottom dollar!  The BBFC website has a page that explains how to store your produce so it doesn't go bad quickly.

Did I mention that they have 100% Organic Baskets for I think $10 more?  Seriously - you can't get a better deal!  I hope you'll look into this fun and frugal way of buy produce!  It's my new best friend.