Bountiful Baskets

Early Saturday morning after getting off the Noc shift, I went with one of the nurses, Alyssa, to volunteer at 6:30 in the morning for Bountiful Baskets.  Now you might be asking what Bountiful Baskets is.  Bountiful Baskets is a food co-op that gets locally grown produce within the state and connecting states from where you are located.  It is also volunteer-operated.

So after getting off work (and it was snowing!), we headed down the street to volunteer.  We helped to off load the truck and then to separate everything into individual baskets for people to pick up later.  Some of the boxes were really heavy, especially the celery and cabbages!  Others were pretty light, like the berries and peppers.  For $15, you get tons of produce at a price you could not get at the grocery store.  To get the variety and amount of produce you get in 1 basket from Bountiful Baskets, you would pay approximately $35 at the grocery store.  Plus, if nothing else, you get to expand your food horizons :)

Even though it was super early in the morning, it was snowing, and I had just worked 12 hours, I had a blast volunteering for them.  It was also very gratifying to be involved in something like that and to see how many other people showed up to volunteer also.

Afterwards, before we distributed the extra produce, all the volunteers got a free piece of produce.  So I got a free cantaloupe out of it!  (I'm going to try and dehydrate it.)  Since I helped Alyssa pull her order and her mother-in-law's huge order, she gave me a carton of strawberries and 2 mangoes!  (I'm going to make a strawberry-mango jam from them.)

I have heard of them previously but just never looked into.  Now I wish I had!  However, that will be changing.  I probably will not order something every week (especially since I am single and only cook for myself) but I will definitely look each week as to see what the offering is each week.  I also want to do a lot of canning and dehydrating this summer and if I can do it cheaper this way, then sign me up!

If there is not a Bountiful Baskets location near you, I am sure that there is some form of a food co-op near you.  It might not be economical for you or your family, but for some it might be.  It also could be a way to make sure you are getting your fruits and veggies in and eat healthier.