The Community Food Co-op of Utah

Joseph and I LOVE to eat healthy, minus the occational bowl of ice-cream and desserts (OK, so it is a little more than occational, but still...). We also like to stay within a decent grocery budget every month and, lets face it, healthy food isn't always cheap. We just discovered a great way to save some money on a few healthy groceries every month! Just thought it would be fun to share this great discovery with all of you. It is called The Community Food Co-op of Utah and is a volunteer based organization that provides nutritious food at 30 to 50% savings through collective purchasing. So, basically, the more people that order through them, the less the food costs.

Here is how it works: At the beginning of the month you put in your order and then, on an appointed date towards the end of the month, you pick it up. There are several team sites throughout the Wasatch front. Our team site is at the Saint Barnabas Church in Tooele.

All the food is very fresh and much of it is locally grown or produced, so, even though there is just one time you can get the food every month, it lasts a while (2 to 3 weeks) because it is so fresh. The only draw back is that you can't choose what specific food you want to order, you have to go with what they have. They break up what you can order into shares. There is a basic Standard Share that is only $23, which comes with 3 to 4 kinds of meats, fruits, vegetables, a loaf of really yummy Stone Ground's Artisan Wheat Bread, and a grain (like pasta or rice). Every month the specific foods, like the exact types of fruits, vegetables and meats, changes. You could order as many shares as you like, too. There is also a Half Share for $14 that comes with just a little less than the Standard Share and a Harvest Share that is $14 that comes with everything but the meats. You can also do Add-Ons, like a nut add-on that comes with about 4 pounds of different types of nuts for $12. There is an extra Meat-Only add-on that is $13 and there are a few other things you could add-on too.

The order we picked up last weekend, which was just one Standard Share costing us only $23, included the following:

2 8oz. top sirloin steaks
4 5oz. pork chops

2 lbs. chicken legs and thighs
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 lb. rice (white or brown)
1 loaf Stoneground's artisan wheat bread
3 lbs. yellow onions
6 lemons
8 apples
1 cantaloupe
3 red bell peppers
1 romaine lettuce
2 avocados
6 tomatoes

We decided that this month we are going to get a Standard Share with one nut add-on, a meat add-on, and an extra loaf of Sourdough Bread.

You may be wondering what else you have to do to be involved in such a great deal like this?? Well, all they ask is that you do at least two hours of community service each month, and they also encourage you to volunteer with the Co-op at least once a year. The two hours a month is easy. It can be anything you do to serve in your community. You can even count church service. Last month we counted some time that Joseph spent helping a neighbor move, plus our church service.

For anyone living in the Wasatch Front area of Utah and are interested in this, the web site is: http://www.foodco-op.net/. It is definitely not a way to buy ALL of your groceries, but it is a great way to save on a few healthy items every month!!