Bountiful Baskets

I had my first experience with "co-ops" this last weekend. I participated in Bountiful Baskets.

A lot of people on PinchingYourPennies have talked about this, and it always looked appealing, but had never tried it out. Since I had a few grocery dollars to spend, and a very empty produce drawer I signed up.

The program is set up where you pay $15 for a basket of miscellaneous fruits and vegetables. This weeks basket included: 8 bananas, 7 Braeburn apples, 1 lb strawberries, 8 tangelos(?), 5 large grapefruits, 3 lbs pears, 7 red peppers, 3 zucchinis, 2 cucumbers, 10 roma tomatoes, broccoli, and a head of green leaf lettuce.

You can also purchase additional add ons. They had a "mexican basket" for $7.50 that ended up having tomatillos, onions, avocadoes, tortillas and a few other things. Also a granola packet that looked delicious and some 9 grain bread (which I ordered).

Some things I learned is that there is a one-time $3 fee and a $1.50 handling fee each time you order. No sales tax though. There are a limited amount of baskets available and you don't know what items will be included in your basket. You are also asked to occasionally volunteer. It was interesting showing up at the pick-up site, which for me was Reagan Elementary. There were a ton of people there.

Overall I was pleased with my first time experience and will sign up again in a couple weeks. Utah Deal Diva has a post on her blog about another co-op that I hope to try sometime. Check it out here: Crossroads Urban Center Co-op