Something New Saturday - Bountiful Baskets

Through one of Justin's friends, we discovered a little Cache Valley secret called Bountiful Baskets. Actually, it is a 4 State co-op that purchases fresh fruit and vegetables at a discount and then distributes them to those that participate. This was the first week that our family participated and it was wonderful!

On Tuesday, I registered on their website and ordered a conventional basket. I paid $15 + a one time $3 fee for joining the co-op. There were several other baskets that I could have ordered in addition for another $10/basket like: 20# fruit basket, Italian basket (spices), Valentine basket (cookies made with natural ingredients, no corn syrup, etc), bread basket (5 loaves of honey wheat or 5 loaves of ciabatta), but I decided I wanted to see what it was like first. Even though I had no idea what would be in my basket, I was pleasantly surprised on a couple of levels. I couldn't believe how many people there were picking up their produce this morning and I couldn't believe what I got for only $15. If I priced this stuff at the grocery store, I would have paid twice as much or more. Here is what I got:

1 mini pineapple
9 bananas
8 fuji apples
1 honeydew melon
16 oz pack of strawberries
3 lg grapefruit

1 10 oz bag of spinach leaves
3 lg tomatoes
2 cucumbers
7 sm yams
1 butternut squash
7 ears of corn

I have been trying to keep healthy foods in my house for my family to snack on and this will help and cost half of what I have been paying at Walmart. I can't wait for next week to see what other baskets are being offered and to see what goodies are in the conventional one. I have heard they have a salsa basket filled with tomatoes, onions, jalapenos and spices... It's like Christmas every weekend!

Check out this website for more details:
http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/