CO-OP/Farm

[tifnglen]

Hi

I was wondering does anyone here belong to a co-op. If so what is the process of joining? Is it worth the money? I want to eat healthy but its expensive to do so. Also how about buying directly from the farms? Is that even possible? Any info will be helpful i know nothing about co-ops/farms.

[anonymous_saver]

My partner belongs to a co-op. He paid $80 to get the membership. If at any time he decided to drop his membership, he would get the $80, plus interest. Plus, when he shops at the co-op he gets deals on a lot of items. Additionally, at the end of the year, the co-op gives him a refund check. The average member got $37 back, my partner goes less often as he shops at the regular grocery store as well, but he was still able to get back something.

Also, I have used the membership benefits as well since it really is just a household membership, since you only give them your membership # when you checkout.

I love co-op's, but I understand being worried about the costs. It can be cheaper than you may think, especially if you buy items that are on sale (sometimes there are pretty big discounts).

[fairy74]

check out your local coops there are many good websites directly linking you to them. Also a coop is cheaper if you go in with neighbors/friends to buy in bulk. Keep an eye out for overstock flyers and get friendly with the checkout people.

Regarding buying directly from a farm, if you live in a rural area many farms have stands where they sell produce at great rates. Or if you live further away you can join a farm share (usually $600) to join and then you get a box of whatever is in season on that farm each month. Personally, farm share is a great idea but a little pricey for me and DH. Also try contacting individual farmers...

[scfr]

Some farms offer CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) programs where you pay a fixed amount and you get a box of produce weekly or bi-weekly from the farm.

We subscribed for several years and thought it was great: fresh produce, wide variety of products in season, most of it organically grown, and much of it locally grown.

You could do a web search by typing in CSA (or Community Supported Agriculture) and your city or state to see what is available and how much it costs.

[lgslgs]

You can do a search at Local Harvest to see what there is in your area: Local Harvest / Farmers Markets / Family Farms / CSA / Organic Food

Lynda