Bountiful Baskets

http://bountifulbaskets.org/
This is how I save a ton of money on produce! Bountiful Baskets is a co-op and is run by volunteers. On Mondays (check the site to see the time your state signs up) I go to their web site to put my order in and pay with a credit card. The basket pictured below is just the basic basket. It is 15 dollars and I pay a $1.50 to help with shipping costs. I have actually gone to the grocery store and checked out the prices for everything I got, in my basket, one week to compare. I checked 4 different stores and picked the best price of the produce I received. It would have been close to 50 dollars plus the cost of gas driving around to 4 different stores! Why do you save that much money? Some may be skeptical about the condition of the produce... honestly, it is usually in better shape than what you find at the store. "Why?" you might say. I was just as skeptical about this at first! When you go on the website and make your purchase, on Mondays, they pool everyones money in your area, and buy produce at whole sale price straight from the farmer. Every week it is a different selection and I never now what I am getting. This week most of the stuff I received I would normally buy, but there were a couple wild cards that will be fun to experiment with.  Even if I chose not to experiment with the 2 items I don't normally buy, I still saved money. There is a truck that brings the locally grown produce to your area (you sign up for the place you pick up and the time) As I mentioned, it is run by volunteers so I try to go earlier to help distribute the produce when I can. The produce you receive is what is in season and there are other basket you can get as well. If you are interested check to see if they are established in your area. They have been branching out and they are getting to new places all the time!  If they aren't in your area, contact them to see if they could bring the co-op to your area!

Hazel