Bountiful Basket - Produce - Idaho

Looking for a way to enjoy fresh produce without spending an arm and a leg at the supermarket? Bountiful Baskets is where it's at. If you haven't heard about this great co-op program yet, you are missing out. The Bountiful Basket Food Co-op is a volunteer ran operation that buys produce at rock-bottom prices and distributes them to participants in a 50% fruit, 50% vegetable basket. All you have to do to be a participant is to make a contribution each week on Monday or Tuesday before the noon deadline, pick the location in which you will pick up your basket and simply show up on Saturday at the designated time and get your goods!

The BB program is now happening in 20 different states with a whole list of pick-up locations in Idaho. There is a one time fee for the first basket you buy of $3.00 to cover the cost of the actual basket that is needed to organize the produce at your pick-up location. The basket stays at the location so don't forget to take your own box or grocery bags to haul your produce home in. After that your contribution is only $15.00 to get a great variety of produce. There is no sign up fee and no contract so if you feel like skipping a week or you decide fruit just really isn't for you, you don't have to participate any longer.

For the most part these baskets include the usual seasonal produce like bananas, oranges, apples, ect but sometimes you will receive something you have never even heard of before. This requires a bit of creative cooking on your part but fear not! The Bountiful Baskets Facebook page has some great recipes and ideas from other participants about how to use the kale or brussel sprouts in this weeks basket. As I mention before, the basic 50/50 basket is $15.00 but if you want to go all organic you can upgrade for $10.00. You can also add on to your baskets. For example this week you can add an assorted bread pack that comes with 5 loaves of bread for $10.00, 8 lbs of strawberries for $14.00 and a juicer pack for $8.00, among other packs. There is nothing better than unloading 8 pounds of fresh strawberries from your car in the middle of winter knowing that you only $1.75/pound for sweet, little, red reminders of summer. I like to wash, chop, slice and dice all of my produce when I first get home and store them in large mason jars in the fridge, that way we have a healthy snack to grab without the fuss of cutting up a whole pineapple when you need a sweet fix.

In order to pick up your basket you will need to present your contribution confirmation number to the tenant. I like to either print off my receipt or have the email confirmation ready to view on my smartphone. Remember, the reason Bountiful Baskets can provide such low prices is because of the volunteers that help organize and distribute all of the produce so if you have a free weekend sometime, sign up to help one Saturday morning!

Have you participated in a co-op like Bountiful Baskets? What did you think?