Bountiful Baskets

Last week I had asked my friends for some suggestions to help trim down our grocery bill. Several of them mentioned this organization called Bountiful Baskets. I had never heard anything about Bountiful Baskets before. I was given their website info and told about how the system works. (Go here to check it out.)

That night I went to their site and placed my first order. Today I got there 5 minutes early and was flabbergasted at how many people were there! I'm guessing that there had to have been over 200 people standing in line - in the FREEZING cold to pick up their orders. And that was just when I got there. When it was my turn, I looked behind me and was surprised again by how many others had joined the line. Granted there were lots of couples/families there - but still!

I waited probably 20 minutes for my turn. You have to order and pay online 4-5 days before pick-up day. I saw the brilliance in this when it was my turn. I was simply asked my name, initialed the paper so they knew I picked up my order, given a number, and then moved along. They gave me a hostess box and a bag of bread. I found 2 baskets with my number on them, 1 full of fruit and the other full of vegetables. I had to empty my baskets into my own reusable shopping bags and was on my way.

It was that easy. The price you're wondering? Well, that was very nice. Yes, very nice in deed. I took home all of these wonderful and healthy foods for just $43.50. And $3 of that was a one-time fee for the baskets they kept my order in. How sweet is that! Outside of a couple of things, I definitely don't think I'll be needing to go to the produce department for the next 2 weeks. If you knew how much produce our family eats every 2 weeks, you could see that Bountiful Baskets probably just saved us $100 a month.

What exactly did that $43.50 buy us? Glad you asked! Here it is:

-5 loaves of yummy 9-grain bread. (No preservatives)

-Green Beans

-about a 1/2 dozen red potatoes

-a 10 pound bag of traditional potatoes

-6 tomatoes

-a bag of carrots

-2 HUGE bundles of celery

-about 6 pounds of onions

-2 large yams

-a bag of cranberries

-a pineapple

-2 parsnips

-15 turnips

-*fresh rosemary

-*fresh parsley

-*fresh thyme

-*fresh sage

-8 green apples

-3 green bell peppers

-6 pears

-a yellow melon

-9 bananas

-8 oranges

-6 clementines

-A bunch of lettuce

*We're not talking about a tiny amount - it was 2 bags full of herbs!

Bountiful Baskets, I love you. I'll see you again next time.