Better and Cheaper by the Basket

For those of you who haven’t heard, there’s a trend in groceries that is literally sweeping the nation.

A few months ago I was turned on to a website for a group I’d heard tidbits about for a year or so called Bountiful Baskets. It’s a food co-op that operates in a variety of states and is growing literally every day with new sites, new states, and new offerings.

To find out more about them you can go to their website http://www.bountifulbaskets.org.

The site is sparse and doesn’t really give you an appreciation for what you’re getting for your money, so here’s how it works. You make a ‘contribution’ per order of between $15 and $25. You show up at a site you select near where you live at a designated time, usually very early, on the next Saturday morning. When you pick up your order you get one laundry basket of fruit and one laundry basket of vegetables. These things are usually pretty full to the brim, and there’s often surplus that you can get as well.

You'll get an assortment of each - a head of lettuce, probably some tomatoes, onions, garlic, potatoes, zucchini, yams... who knows what you'll end up with, but you are sure to get some staples and some unusual treats thrown in. This week we got a box of Champagne Grapes included in the mix. Those are the tiny little ones with explosive flavour.

The co-op uses your contribution to order directly from farms and growers to get you the freshest food possible.

You can also order what are called specialty packs and cases, depending on what’s offered at the time. Right now it’s things like pears and an Italian Pack, but they also offer 5-packs of specialty breads, boxes of specialty cookies, granola bars, and other things.

You won’t know the exact contents of your main contribution order or the specialty packs, but the value is always undeniable. I have started to make Saturday mornings my main food shopping time and immediately compare what I got for $15 and what the stores are charging the same day for the same foods and I know I’m saving $35-60 each time I place an order.

For fresh food, straight from the farms, at amazing prices, check out http://www.bountifulbaskets.org and see what I mean.