Produce

I had heard of these co-op things before, but never really understood what to do or how to order. I'd always been interested in trying it out, but then was faced with the daunting question of what to buy and was it worth it. This past week, I finally tried one out.

I was told to order a Produce Basket. It consists of 50/50 fruits and veggies, supposedly enough to feed a family of 4 for 2 weeks. It cost $23.50 and the only kicker is that you don't know what you'll get because it is based on availability and season.

Ordering was easy - completely online. I picked a drop-off spot about 2 miles away and I had a 15 minute time frame to pick it up. If I was late, I lost out on my produce and my money. Pretty great incentive to not forget. The only extra cost to take into account was that you have to buy a bag the first time you go for $1.

After I ordered, I was pretty nervous. What would we get? Was it worth it? We don't have a ton of any extra funds if this was a horrible flop. But, Hubs has been eating smoothies almost every morning of the week and we both want to eat lots of fruits and veggies.

Wednesday came and I went to pick up my order. The co-op is run completely by volunteers and they had it running smoothly. I walked in, gave my name, picked up my bag, and left. Here is what I got:

4 apples
1 pineapple
5 bananas
2 oranges
5 mineolas
6 kiwi
1 pound strawberries
3 broccoli crowns
1 bunch asparagus
1 bag spinach
1 head romaine
2 green peppers
1 zucchini
1 eggplant
2 tomatoes

Besides the eggplant, we will eat everything. Richard has fruit and spinach galore for smoothies, I froze the broccoli, and everything else can be eaten before it rots. Neither of us prefer zucchini, but I've heard it is really good in bread so I'm going to try that.

Plus, pineapples, asparagus and strawberries are too pricey for me to actually buy at the grocery store, so I really do think that we got a great deal. All those fresh vegetables and fruits for $23.50. I can't wait to see what kinds of goodies we get in the summer!

If you have every wanted to try something like this, I'd suggest getting the produce basket, if they have it. The one I ordered from was: www.communityhelpingscoop.com.