I've been getting a basket from BB every few weeks for the past few months. Disclaimer: I always get the regular basket, I've never tried the organic one. \n\nWHAT IS BOUNTIFUL BASKETS?\nThey are a buying cooperative who uses the power of bulk purchasing to buy produce cheaply and distribute it out. You go on their website on Tuesday or Wednesday and make your purchase. Then you show up at a predetermined site (you choose from a list of sites & pickup times) on saturday morning and pickup your produce. Bring a lot of bags, or a laundry basket, to cart your stuff home in. And um, make sure you have room in the fridge for it all, and some plastic bags at home to store the stuff in. \n\nPros:\n1. A TON - literally, a TON of fruits & veggies for $16.50. You cannot beat the price.\n2. I go into IRON CHEF mode when I get home and figure out how to prepare my bounty of stuff!! Sorted by level of ripeness I will plan out meals. I've never received anything overripe, but some stuff needs to be used up within a day or two, and other things are far from being ripe yet. For example, this week I got about 10 completely green bananas. But I also got a swiss chard and bok choy that looked like they had to be cooked within about 2 days, so I found recipes using them and now I have lunch for all week. I still have a head of napa cabbage in the fridge, I have a yummy salad planned for that baby... \n3. I love finding new stuff in my basket. This week I got pickling cucumbers. Who what whoa?! I went and bought mason jars... I guess i'm gonna learn how to make me some pickles :) Refrigerator dills only, of course! (Disclaimer, I am a total foodie who loves to cook. I'm sure not everyone wants to go all Iron Chef in their kitchen every saturday morning. I'm just weird like that.) There are always one or two things in the basket that are completely new to me and sometimes unidentifiable... I love that! \n4. BUY THE INGREDIENT PACKS when they are offered. Plan on cooking a meal or two off of what they offer you. The monetary value is always VERY good on the ingredient packs. I think since they're more unique ingredients they're more expensive... no way you could buy them at the store for what you are paying BB. In the mexican ingredient pack, the tomatillos alone almost cover your ingredient pack cost. \n\n\nCons:\n1. Have to plan in advance and purchase your basket online 4 days before, have to make a special trip - and super early unless you are lazy like me and go to Kodiak produce at 11am on a saturday - and go to a spot at a prearranged time, and wait in a line, and pick up your stuff. It's not convenient, in fact it's a bit of a pain. But it's CHEAP and that's why it's setup that way. (I am sooo lazy though! I should work on that) \n2. I sometimes end up with a lot of something that I do not like or cannot use in time. I'm single, so the basket is way more than a single person needs, unless they are a vegetarian! Thankfully my sister lives nearby so I'll end up giving her about 1/3 of my basket when I get one. She got the mushrooms this week (eww, fungi)\n3. Sometimes the produce isn't what I'd buy for myself. They give out apples EVERY week... and this past week they were Fuji apples. Which are okay. But if I were buying them, i'd get honeycrisp or pink ladies. (God, I'm a snob. I should work on that.) \n4. Remember, this isn't a CSA. It's not organic, and it's not coming from a local farm. BB is a buying cooperative, it's like our own little Produce CostCo. So it's the exact same stuff you will find at Safeway, Fry's, Albertsons, Bashas. If what you are looking to do is support a local grower... you do not want Bountiful Baskets.\n5. Their website is horrible. \"1996 called, they want their website back\". I'm not web savvy enough, but man if I could, I would design them a new site. The one they have is extremely user un-friendly. At least it's not slow, and your purchases ARE encrypted. \n\nI volunteered last week at the Kodiak location. They are always looking for volunteers to pack the baskets beforehand. It's dirty work, you're in a warehouse unpacking cases of fruits and veggies that are on ice and leaking. Yes, as one reviewer mentioned, the veggies are dirty. This isn't a supermarket and there is no one getting paid to make it pretty.\n\nOverall - I love Bountiful Baskets but I still recognize its weaknesses. I do spot a business opportunity though. Pay an extra $5 for someone to go pick up my basket for me and deliver it to my house... it'd be worth it... (See, lazy!)
places reviews