August 28th Bountiful Basket Produce Co-op – $25 for Basket of Organic Produce

It was Bountiful Basket Saturday! Thrifty Al picked up our Bountiful Basket early this morning!  As usual, we order the organic basket for $25.  You can also get a conventional basket for $15 through this particular co-op – Bountiful Baskets, which is in many western states. You can see previous examples of what we have received in our baskets before.

Also, being a part of a produce co op or grocery co op means that you never know what you are going to get! Each time it is something different, which we happen to love! They are usually 50% fruit and 50% veggies. This time the quality did not seem to be there like in previous weeks.  One of the white peaches was rotten and the tomatoes are super soft and the green peppers have funny colors.  But…. that is how it works, some weeks are better than others, but overall it is still a great value.

Here’s what we got this week:

• 1 bunch of organic Red Chard
• 3 organic tomatoes
• 3 organic Green Bell Peppers
• 2 organic onions
• 1 3 lb. bag of organic apples
• 1 bunch of organic celery
• 6 organic White Peaches
• 9 organic plums (we have received these several weeks in a row, they must be in season 🙂 Good thing we love them!)
• 1 bag organic red grapes (We were super excited about these.  We got them last time and they were tasted soooo good and nice and crispy)
• 1 head of organic Romaine lettuce
• 6 organic bananas
• 1 organic cantaloupe
• 1 5 lb. bag of organic potatoes

We would love to hear if anyone else participates in a produce co-op or community garden. What are your thoughts on this way to save and have healthier eating options for your family?  Is it worth it? For us, we really feel like this has been a key for us to be able to stick in our budget and to receive great quality fresh organic produce.

As usual, we did want to mention a few words about how to get involved in a produce co-op.

There are many produce co-ops and grocery co op groups and it’s various forms across the nation that you can join and be a part of.  A good place to start looking is at a the site localharvest.org (which id going to help you get organic local food) or coopdirectory.org (I am not sure how updated this site is as our area’s listings were old and many not listed, but at least worth a shot!) or search produce co-op your state under google and see what listings come up. Also, Money Saving Mom posted an article on how to start your own produce co-op, especially if you could not find one in your area.