Produce Co-op

So I have been doing some research for about two months now, looking for a good co-op in my area to join.  For those who don't know, a produce co-op is a non-profit organization that purchases fresh produce, and sometimes local meats, breads, honeys, nuts, etc. all from wholesale farmers in the area at reduced prices than what would be found in the grocery stores.  The result is cheaper, higher quality, oftentimes organic products that are sold to members of the group at the discounted rate.  I love this idea because, well first it saves us money (usually 25% - 90% discounted) and we get better quality ingredients that help support local farmers which I think is great because I am all for supporting the community and small businesses as I can.

The only downside to this method of purchasing produce is that the selection is chosen for you, and you usually don't know what you will be getting before the time that you pick up your food.  This might result in extra trips to the grocery store to supplement the items that you don't get in your "basket" that you want for the week, and it makes meal planning for the upcoming week much more difficult if you have to wait until after you receive your basket to plan the upcoming meals for the rest of the week.

My solution to this problem was to just start my own co-op by talking to the suppliers myself, organizing the shipment when it arrives, and distributing the baskets to the people within the co-op.  By having my own, I would be able to talk to the suppliers personally and send out e-mails to everyone a week before the shipment arrives so that we can still plan our meals before picking up our baskets.  The other bonus is that I would be able to talk to the others involved and take a poll on specific produce that we all wanted, instead of simply whatever we got.

The problem is that in order to make it worth the cost, there needs to be at least 12 people involved in the co-op, otherwise the cost would actually become greater, and at that point we might as well just go to the grocery store.  Well I haven't been able to find enough of my neighbors that are interested in the idea to join, but I think they may just not understand the concept, so I'm going to keep trying.

Needless to say, I was still interested in doing the co-op, but I wanted to find the right one for us.  One that would have a reasonable price, and give us the right amount of produce as often as we needed it.  I searched out those available in our area, and decided to try two different ones for the month of January.  My first basket will be picked up the first Saturday in January, and the second will be picked up the third Saturday.  I'm hoping there will be enough produce for the two of us to last through two weeks, with minimal supplementation from the grocery store.

I'm excited to see how it all works out, and there is another co-op I think I will try in February if these two don't work out as I hope, but here's crossing my fingers!  I'll keep you guys posted on what I get and what I think of the different co-ops!