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SAVING ON PRODUCE – BOUNTIFUL BASKETS PART TWO

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Yesterday I shared information about Bountiful Baskets, the co-op I use for produce basket purchases.  You can find Part One HERE.  

Today I am sharing a little more detailed information on the actual produce baskets and the participation level that works best for me at this time.  Keep in mind you can select your own participation level – you can contribute on whatever level works for your family or even contribute once then never again.

What’s in the Bountiful Baskets Produce Basket?

Most of the year, I typically contribute for one Conventional basket and will usually select an add-on (or 2 or 3). Now that summer is here, the kids are out of school and I have a pack of wolves (AKA what seems like a couple hundred hungry kids) running through my house on a daily basis I’ve had to change my game plan.

I am currently getting 2 produce baskets – one Conventional ($15) and one Organic ($25), in addition to add-on items.  You may be wondering why I just don’t get 2 Conventional baskets and save a little money.  If I get two Conventional baskets, I receive the same items but double the quantities.

While I have done that in the past, I prefer to get one of each basket type for the variety of produce I receive.  Life is more interesting with variety, right?!   The flexibility of the Bountiful Basket model allows me to select what works best for my family each time I contribute.

As an example, here’s a breakdown of my May 26 contribution.  I spent a total of $92.25 for this distribution, including the $3.50 handling & fuel charges.  I usually try to stay in the $50-75 range, but the add-ons were spectacular and I couldn’t pass them up.  

While the total seems pretty high, keep in mind my family eats a lot of produce (especially fruit) and this produce will typically last us 2 weeks.  I am also able to freeze quite a bit for later use and/or share my bounty with friends.

Conventional Basket
Conventional Basket

$15.00 – Conventional produce basket.  As you can see, it’s a LOT of produce – 6 bananas, 1 bag green grapes, 12 Gala apples, 1 clamshell blackberries, 5 Organic tomatoes, 1 bundle asparagus, 2 heads red leaf lettuce (1 was a “thank you” for volunteering), 3 orange peppers, 3 heads broccoli, 2 heads celery, 3 yellow squash and 5 white onions.  All this for $15 (yes, $15!!!!).

$17.00 – Flat of blueberries – (12) 6 oz containers = $1.42 per container.  I flash froze about half of these for later use in smoothies & baking.

$19.25 – Case of Donut nectarines – 11 lbs. = $1.75 per pound.

Grill Pack.
Grill Pack.

$12.50 – Grill Pack – 1 pineapple, 4 ears of corn, 2 bundles green onion, asparagus, button mushrooms, Portabella mushrooms, 2 orange peppers, 1 red pepper, 4 green chile peppers.

2 Salad Packs
2 Salad Packs

$25.00 – Salad Pack (I ordered 2) – 2 personal-sized watermelons, 2 strawberries, 2 blackberries, 2 blueberries, 4 organic tomatoes, 2 red onions, 2 heads cabbage, 2 heads iceberg lettuce, 12 red potatoes

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Grocery Store Price Comparison:

While I rarely purchase produce at the grocery store, I ran out of most fruit last week (remember the wolves I mentioned earlier?) and had to replenish.  Here’s what I purchased at the store for $17.32 – (ouch!), and each of these items were on sale. Hopefully this will tide us over until I pick-up my baskets this weekend.

$4.99 – Watermelon

$1.99 – Nectarines (3), 1 pound

$1.45 – Bananas, 1.96 pounds

$5.86 – Cherries, 1.96 pounds

$2.03 – Plums (3), .68 pounds

$1.00 – Limes (3)

Every time I purchase produce at the grocery store, it reminds me how thankful I am that I have a Bountiful Basket site near me.  I wouldn’t be able to purchase all the produce we love/want if I had to pay grocery store prices.

So, what do you think?  Are you ready to give Bountiful Baskets a try?

I shared this post at Flashback Friday at New Mrs. Adventures.

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