Local / Organic Produce vs Bountiful Baskets

So, last Saturday was the first farmers market of the season here.  I was super excited.  Partly for the donuts from King Oliver's Donuts.  They are super fresh, delicious, and the young people who sell them are hilarious.  I'll be stuffing a donut in my face and the young man is telling me to enjoy it and have a good day.  Don't talk to me...I'm eating.

ALSO excited for fresh local produce!  Got some good deals and a few treats.  Then I supplemented with a few things from the Food Coop which is handily less than a block away. I tried to get roughly the same amount of fruit and veg as was in the Organic Bountiful Basket.  Partly because it was plenty but  wasted none, so not too much.  Partly to make for a decent comparison.  

So, here's what I got:

Farmers Market  (local and all "organic" even if not certified as such)

Greens                                7oz         $3.50

Kale                                    8oz         2.00

Spaghetti Squash               7lb 9oz    4.00  (that was just 2 squash!)

Potatoes                             2lb8oz      2.50

Garlic                                 7oz         1.00

Farmers Market Total:  11lb 7oz   $13.00   $1.14/lb

Co-op  (not local, but organic)

Carrots                 5lb                          4.99

Onion                   1lb 13oz                3.54

Tangerines          14oz                       1.28

Grapefruit           2lb8oz                   3.43

Co-op Total:       10lb 3oz                $13.24                   $1.30/lb

The overall TOTAL:  21lb1oz of fruit/veg for $26.24            $1.21/lb

That is pretty good!   I did learn from the Bountiful Baskets to get a better variety than I would have previously.  One disappointment with the Organic BB was the lack of aromatics (onions and garlic).  I eat those everyday so I had to go buy those in addition to the BB.  Since I can't get organic locally, that was a challenge.  I do have garlic powder and dried onion, but to make a decent soup or omelet or stirfry or etc I really need the fresh product.

The Organic BB cost me $1.76 per pound (assuming no "first basket fee")

The Conventional BB cost me $0.78 per pound

This cost me $1.21 per pound and allowed me to support local producers and a local business. 

Obviously it is appropriate to compare it to the Organic BB so it saved me $0.54/lb.  That's pretty good.    (It is $0.43/lb more than the conventional BB.)  

So far the quality of everything has been amazingly good.  Comparable to the quality of the food in the Organic BB.  Granted there are no strawberries or asparagus, but those aren't ready locally yet so there you are.  I still have some strawberry shrub that I made last year and I put that in some gelatin.  Not as good as fresh strawberries but oh well.  Sometimes I also have it in some stevia-based ginger ale or water.  It's still delicious and since it's made with my own home-brewed honey vinegar (from local honey), it's full of probiotics.

Anyway, I guess the upshot is: I can indeed do better with the local/organic when the farmers market is going.   It may not be possible to do better, or get local, in the middle of winter so I may still do the occasional Organic BB in the winter months.

Additional savings:  Since I have not needed to go to the store for onions/garlic, I have not had the opportunity to impulse shop. 

One challenge I'm having is that I'm out of my freezer stash of meat.  I got lovely local eggs at the farmers market (jumbo size...truly huge) so I'm not lacking protein, but I suspect I'll be tempted to have more lunches out just to get a burger or BLT or something.   I also like some decent meat in my soups.  I got a bit of chicken at the co-op, but it's already gone.  Tried to make bone broth with the bones...but it tastes like crap so won't be eating that.  I wanted to buy some local meat from the vendors, but 6-12$/lb for ground or other low rent cuts is just too damn much for my blood.  Nothing but the chicken was on a decent sale at the co-op.  Oh well.  I have plenty of nuts, beans, lentils, seeds and eggs that I'm not lacking protein, it's just that the soups are not as delicious as with a nice bit of beef or pork or chicken.

Second Bountiful Basket Assessment

So, I tried the conventional basket on April 19 from Bountiful Baskets.

Below is the breakdown and my evaluation.

　

Here's how the cost breaks down:

Basic Basket: 15$

Fuel Surcharge: 4$

TOTAL: $19

Here's what I got for that 19$. I haven't been to a store to compare prices. I know half of the selections aren't available at my local store and I just haven't needed a grocery store so haven't been to one. We'll just work with the average cost for now and the latest grocery store flyer.

Scotch Kale 1lb 2oz

7 Large Bananas (VERY green) 3lb 1oz

1 Small Seedless Watermelon 3lb 5oz

3 Roma Tomatoes 12oz

3 d'Anjou Pears 1lb 6oz

6 Seckel Pears (tiny) 1lb 4oz

3 Ambrosia Apples 1lb 8oz

2 cucumbers 1lb 12oz

Rainbow Carrots, no tops 1lb 13oz

2 Lemons, large 1lb 2 oz

1 Spaghetti Squash 4lb 5oz

4 Ears Sweet Corn 3lb 1oz

Total weight: 24lb 7oz

My cost per pound: $ 0.78

That's an excellent average cost especially given the treats like early season sweet corn, excellent apples, and rainbow carrots.

The quality of the corn, apples, carrots and lemons has been excellent. The kale is also very very good, and it is storing well in a plastic bag in the fridge. I ate the sweet corn immediately. It doesn't store that well, and it's delicious fresh so that went first. The apples went pretty quickly since they were at their peak upon arrival. The cucumbers were put in some refrigerator pickle-juice (left over from a previous batch of refrigerator pickles) and I still have a pint jar waiting to be eaten. 1 lemon went into my first attempt at a lemon meringue pie (the result was a visual and textural disaster, but delicious).

Of course I ate the watermelon pretty quickly as well. I diced it up right away and was happy that the skin was so thin, since that means more of the poundage is actual immediate food. I ate some and put the rest in jars for breakfasts and lunches.

I haven't eaten the tomatoes yet. They will go into a mixed veg sauce thing over the spaghetti squash today. So, I also haven't tried the squash. The pears I have eaten, the d'Anjou and half of the seckels, have been disappointing. Virtually flavorless. I sliced a seckel up and cooked it in a bit of butter as the base of a pancake for breakfast and that was better, but anything fried in butter is better.

The bananas are just now getting ripe. That is nice to continue to have something fresh a week after getting it in the house. They will be going into bread or perhaps some into dried banana chips since I loathe bananas in their original form. I'll try to get them all processed or in the freezer today.

I still have one bunch of kale to eat. Some of that will go in the mix over the squash.

So, overall, based on the sale flyers from the local small town grocery store here in Plummer, I think I could have matched or done better per pound if I bought the lower cost vegies in the store, but NOT if I matched item for item from the basket. I did truly enjoy the excellent sweet corn and apples. The pears have been a disappointment. The lemons would have been costly so I would not have gotten any.

Was it frugal? I think so. If I stuck with this I would be getting enough fruit and veg for 2 weeks at a time, with only one trip to get them. No multiple trips to the store with the tendency to impulse buy. And the treats of items I would not have bought are appreciated and enjoyed.

Was it the most frugal? No. Ripe bananas at the local market end up in the "overripe" basket for $ 0.25/lb and are just fine for bread/muffins which is all I do with them. I can get cabbage for $ 0.49/lb right now and several fruit items for under $1/lb. If I based the diet on potatoes ($ 0.20/lb), cabbage, ripe bananas and the other low cost fruit and veg, I could come in at a lower price, but I would not have the variety and deliciousness, yet I'd still be healthy.

And, it wasn't organic. I normally wouldn't buy some of these items unless they were organic. I follow the "Clean 15" and "Dirty Dozen" guides from the __________________. The item in this basket on the most current "Clean 15" list, and hence I would buy if the price was right: Sweet Corn. The "Dirty Dozen" list includes Apples, Cucumber, and Kale. The other items are on neither list...you're on your own with those choices.

None of the fruit or veg in the basket was labeled "organic." A few had those 4-digit codes that began with the number "4" and I've heard that that could mean they are organic, but wouldn't the sticker say "organic" if it was? I'll try to look into that. If it turns out some items were organic, that would increase the value of the basket to me.

Compared to the organic basket: I paid $10 less (ignoring the first time basket fee which will never be charged again), and got 7lb 15oz more food. That's a lot of food. Most of it very good quality (just those pesky disappointing pears marring the impression).

With both baskets I've found that my food waste approaches zero. This adds to the frugality and general value of the baskets. When I'm buying at the store, I tend to end up with some going bad. The variety of items in type, and "treat" value, and ripeness tends to naturally spread consumption out and I have had the whole basket at once, come home and sorted and packaged for storage or processed/ate immediately so I had a picture and inventory of the lot in my head from the start. Each time I think about what to make for the day, I am automatically working in what I have on hand and what I can do with it. This is parallel to the system that I've been using with my monthly boxes of canned goods and in fact I've been working the canned goods into the bountiful basket system too. I've rehydrated tomatoes to have with the kale and other vegies in a lentil soup. I've kept the canned applesauce back until I ran out of fresh fruit from the previous basket, and now will work in some dried apples as I run out of fresh apples/pears from this basket. The dried onion is going in to today's veggie mix over the squash.

That element is very frugal and probably generally healthy. It makes me think I may get one basket a month, perhaps organic or try a few more of each over the coming year. I may also try some of the add-on options that look thrifty or perhaps I could split them with people. For example on the 19th, there was an "Easter" add-on that had cookies, veggies for naturally dying eggs, and some other fancy items. I would not need that. BUT the box of mangoes for under $1/lb was very tempting. The issue was that I can't personally get through 15 or 20lbs of mangoes before they go off. I have a freezer right now so I could have stored them, but I don't need them. If I had 4 people to split it with, then maybe. The half gallon of coconut oil was a great deal. I just didn't need any right now. There are always bread options, but I don't eat enough and would rather make my own or buy from a local baker for the little I do eat. For a family that ate a great deal of bread, it might be a deal. There are often additional baskets like a Mexican option or Italian style option that come with a variety of veggies for making foods from those regions. To get an add-on, or a bread, you have to get a basic conventional or organic basket....by then I've got enough veggies. Again, if I could split the haul with someone it would be fine, but just for me, not so much.

I guess the conclusion of the moment is that I will maintain my membership and order as I need and care to. I think it is "worth it" to me even if it isn't the most frugal option for every item.

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

First Bountiful Basket Assessment

Bountiful Baskets. Is It Frugal?

So, as mentioned, I got a "Bountiful Basket" on Saturday April 5, 2014 . I'm VERY happy with the quality.

Here's how the cost breaks down:

Basic Basket: 15$

Organic Upgrade: 10$

Fuel Surcharge: 4$

First Basket Fee: 3$

TOTAL: $32

Future baskets will cost me 29$ for an organic basic basket or 19$ for a conventional basic basket.

I chose organic because as you know, organic is a priority for me. I may try the conventional basket as one person noted that when she got one it was about half organic anyway. I would like to get one just to compare.

So, here's what I got and how much and how much it would have cost at the Moscow Food

Co-op:

Co-op Price Cost for quanitity

Broccoli 2lb 8oz 3.29/lbs 8.23

Red Kale 7oz 2.69/bunch 2.69 (same size bunch)

1 Honeydew Melon 2lb No melon available

4 Bartlett Pears 1lb 8oz 2.79/lb 4.18

1 Turnip 10oz 2.19/lb 1.36

2 Grapefruits 1lb 8oz 1.39/lb 2.09

2 Cucumbers 1lb 1.39/lb 1.39

1 Bunch Celery 2lb 1.29/lb 2.58

1 Bunch Asparagus 14oz 4.99/lb 4.37

7 Carrots with Tops 1lb 3oz 1.99/lb 2.36

6 Bananas (1 Bunch) 1lb 14oz 0.99/lb 1.86

Strawberries 2lbs 3.99/lb 7.98

Co-op Total: 39.09 (but no melon)

Total weight: 16lbs 8oz

So my cost per pound: $1.94 Co-op Cost per Pound: $2.69

That's not bad for organic. Also not bad...but the melon would

crank that up maybe 8$ on the total.

With 8$ melon: 47.09/16.5 = $2.90/lb

If the melon is included, the Bountiful Basket was nearly 30% savings.

If the Bountiful Basket didn't include the $3 first basket fee: 29/16.5 = $1.76/lb

I also hear that the conventional basket is quite a bit more food than the organic so probably quite a good deal.

A few critiques:

While the Bountiful Basket was a 30% savings over buying those fruit and veg at the Moscow Food Co-op (where I shop), I would not have gotten the big ticket items like strawberries, pears, melon, asparagus. I would not have gotten the carrots with tops for $1.99/lb, I would have gotten the 5lb bad for $4.99 (dollar a pound...baseline for a pretty good deal on most things). I would have gotten valencia oranges (which I did in fact get despite having so much fruit and veg at the house. They were on sale for $0.99/lb. Also would not have gotten kale. Just too expensive. I probably could have come in for $1.20 or $1.30/lb

One last issue: I drove 10 miles each way to get the basket. The site is 35 miles from the trailer. I was already going to the land so I am only including the trip from the land. While the co-op is 50 miles from the house (25 from the land), I had a radio show on Sunday so would be at the co-op anyway.

The cost of gas is a factor to consider as well.

I don't know that I'll be getting Bountiful Baskets all that often. While it is a good deal for what it is, I can eat more frugally with careful shopping. Since the co-op is walking distance from the radio station, it's easy to get there and I can go on a day when I'm already driving to the radio. I'll be making those trips anyway.

On the other hand, it may be worth it next winter. If I'm in a wee cabin and don't have storage space to do my fall stock up, one week's worth of fruit/veg at a time will be a better way to go. Perhaps on the weeks I don't have radio show.

I really did enjoy the treats of strawberries and asparagus. And I definitely ate much more fruit and veg so far this week. I still have 1/2 the celery, all the bananas (they were underripe), 1/2 the melon, some left over stirfry with some of the other veg, and the turnip. I plan to fix the turnip tomorrow. The bananas are ripening...but I still hate bananas so I'll need to make muffins or bread or something.

The upshot: Really impressed with how much high quality and high value food the Bountiful Baskets folks, it's all volunteer, were able to round up and distribute at that cost. If I lived in the town where the baskets show up (boxes really...) it could be a great convenience as I could walk to get it. The town I picked up in does have a local grocery store, but not one with a great deal of organic fruit and veg. If I were planning on being in Plummer even longer, it might intrigue me to be part of a group to get a delivery here.

In the summer I'll have a conflict between Bountiful Baskets, the farmers market in Moscow, and my CSA. I prefer local so one of the last 2 will win.

So...is it frugal?

Well, that depends. But it's one excellent option.

Will report later on the conventional basket when I get one.

　
As if today, April 19, I've gone through every thing from the basket EXCEPT a bit of the celery.  The bananas were tough to go through since I loath them in all forms other than banana bread/muffins.  I made 2 sets of banana muffins and gave most of it away.  I didn't waste much of anything but hulls and the occasional skin, which went into compost.  I didn't let anything go bad.

Now I'm going to try a conventional (not organic) basket and see what the value is and if it's part organic as reported on one discussion board.
　

　

　

　

　

　

Bountiful Baskets?

I've done it.  I'm trying a Bountiful Basket this week.  I signed up for 1 organic basket.  Supposedly you get like 40 dollars worth of fruit and veggies in a basic basket (which is not an actual basket...byo bags and etc) for 15$.  For a 10$ charge you upgrade to organic.   They try to source as close to the distribution point as possible, though that can be pretty far away for things like bananas.  With a first time basket fee (3$ for the container that goes to the distribution center) and the 4$ fuel surcharge for my area, my total was $32.00.   I may not make the magical $1/lb line, but we'll see.  I don't often make that anyway right now for things like organic onions.  

In other veggie/fruit news:  I got 2lbs of bananas at the local market for 49cents and 3 or 4 lbs of sweet peppers for $2.49...not bad.  Both under the $1/lb mark.  The bananas should be fine pesticide wise...the peppers not so much but I got them anyway.  I like to have a back stock of chopped peppers in the freezer if I can.   It makes for MUCH better pasta sauce and chili than no peppers or all dried peppers.  Same with onions but I'm out of all but dried and don't care to buy inorganic onions. 

I'll keep you posted on the Bountiful Basket take and see if it's worth it.