Bountiful Baskets - My First One

Several of my friends on FB just rave about Bountiful Baskets Food Co-Op, a group of people that work together to distribute healthy food like produce and fruit.  Until this last week I never remembered to order in time and now that I've experienced it I see what all the buzz is about.  It's a short order window, then they take the money and go out and buy fruit and veggies that are as local as possible.  You have the option of upgrading to organic, plus great extra baskets like artisan bread, stir-fry veggie mix, etc.  Pick-up time for most places is 7:00 in the morning and you only have 20 minutes to get your order picked up or it is donated.

Here we are all lined up while the volunteer checks our receipt against his list.  See how dark that sky is?  The line moved fast though and it was fun to chat with everybody.

Lots of baskets lined up ready to be taken home.

After my order was verified a volunteer pulled a veggie basket and fruit basket for me.  The blue laundry basket is what I brought from home to transport my goods.

Look at all that fresh produce goodness!  Oh I didn't mention before - this basket cost $15 plus a "first timer" fee of $3.

And here it is once I got home.  It turned out to be far more than what the two of us could eat, especially because I had just stocked up on lettuce and salad extras two days before.  Fortunately Lynne' and Alicia, her maid of honor and BFF, came over a bit later to head off for some fun with me and some friends.  After we enjoyed time together I sent both girls home with a bag of produce.

Would you believe that Keith and I have never cooked fresh asparagus at home?  I headed to Pinterest and found a great recipe for grilled asparagus and we had it that night.  Now I see what all the talk is about and asparagus will now be part of our normal rotatation.  :)

I'm extremely pleased with the amount of food I got for the money and the quality was phenomenal.  If this is something you're interested in check the site to see if your city has one - they are all over the nation!