food co-op

So I think that everyone should belong to the food co-op. Where ever you happen to live, I'm sure there's one already in existence. If you happen to live in Utah, you can take advantage of the Utah Community Food Co-Op. That's what I do. What you do is once a month you order your groceries through them and then go pick them up. They have different order options, like Full Share, Half Share or Harvest Share which each offer different amenities. For example, the Full Share gives you 4 different kinds of meat, 7 different kinds of vegetables, 4 different kinds of fruit, a loaf of bread and bag of rice, all for $21. Because I am only one person, not a whole family, I usually get the Half or Harvest Share which give you less for $14. It is really a ridiculously good deal. The fruits and veggies vary depending on what is in season and a lot of it is obtained locally.

Let me give you a specific example of how awesome it is. This month I ordered the Harvest Share, which means no meat and extra veggies. For $14 I got a head of broccoli, a head of cauliflower, a head of lettuce, 6 tomatoes, 4 cucumbers, 10 bananas, 6 oranges, a bag of red potatoes, a loaf of bread and a bag of rice. I know you are jealous.

So let's review: it's only $21 or $14, you get TONS of delicious food. The only catch is that 1) you have to pick it up yourself (which you would be doing anyway if you were grocery shopping) and 2) you are expected to do 2 hours of volunteer work at some point during the month. I fulfill my hours by going early on pick up days to help set up and distribute the food. It's a great way to help out this awesome organization and fulfill that part of the deal. I really wish I had known about it sooner.