Have any of you used Bountiful Baskets? If so, were you happy with the quality? Always? Half the time?
There are several locations within two hours from me (different directions). Comanche County is a Friday evening pickup (5-is) which would kinda interfere with dinner and our evening, which I’d rather not interrupt. We don’t get enough time together as it is. Also, this time of year, I’d be getting home at dusk . . prime deer on the highway time.
Cisco is about an hour from me and Saturday pickup is mid afternoon so if we work around the house in the morning, we’d be ready for a break by afternoon.
Abilene is a couple of hours away.
I guess I’m trying to figure out:
- Is the quality always good?
- For me, is it worth it to drive a total of two hours (gas and time)?
We get decent produce in the grocery store but it’s darned expensive this time of year and though I’m saying “decent”, sometimes it borders on not quite so decent.
By the time I pay for gas, drive 2 to 4 hours round trip, I guess I know the answer – money and time wise, it probably isn’t worth it but if the quality is garden fresh . . maybe it is worth it.
Thank you for any experiences you feel like sharing. Feel free to email me if you don’t want to share your comments here.
Moneik says
We LOVE Bountiful Baskets, when we can get them. They usually sell out before we can order or we don’t have the right schedule for it to work. The baskets are always 100% awesome. I love the variety and we get to try fruits and veggies we don’t normally buy in the store. The price can’t be beat. However, the drive time and gas might be a detriment for you. Ours comes at 7AM on every other Saturday, so if it works and I remember to order we do it. Maybe once every two months. Otherwise its a bit too much and we waste it.
Jen says
I think it will depend on the area you live in. Ours were awesome in ND during the summer…but winter months could sometimes leave something to be desired. I’m sure with your location being Texas, your baskets will be awesome all the time. You’ll want to go to a site, that has great participation. The money goes back into that site…so a site with 100 participants may have better baskets than a site with only 50. It’s fun to get a variety of veggies and fruits that you may not have tried otherwise. Can Vince plan a shopping trip on one of those times, so you aren’t driving for just the basket. 🙂
Elaine says
We do Bountiful Baskets in Tulsa, and are able to get weekly if we want. We have not had any trouble with any of the fruits or veggies. Sometimes after getting the baskets week after week, and getting radishes every week, that is hard for us. We like them, but not that much, so give some away. Love their sourdough bread when it is available. I usually volunteer to help so get any extra veggie or fruit for doing so. Try it and see what you think. You should always check over your baskets before you leave, they will help you get replacements or reimbursed. The cases of strawberries, and blueberries, and apples and tomatoes are good for canning or freezing.
Margie says
I like BB. In the spring I get them so I can add on cases of stuff like asparagus, apricots and strawberries. Since you can this might make it worth the trip. I don’t think the regular basket would be worth that long a trip. The quality has always been good except for bananas. Our pick up is ten minutes from my house.
Sherrill says
I’ve been doing BB for a few years and also pick up for a friend or two (you can get up to 3 baskets per email AND pay a little extra to get all organic). Sometimes there are surprises (I’ve had a daikon, bok choy, varieties of squash or melon I wasn’t familiar with) and need to get creative with those. The baskets are pretty much 1/2 veggie, 1/2 fruit. The key is to look over everything well and trade out if there are mushy, dented, yucky areas and you can trade if there’s something you don’t want. They usually divvy up what’s left among the baskets and you HAVE to pick up during the time allotted or that’s usually donated (fire stations, etc). I love going and working and there are always people who walk up wanting to know if the stuff is for sale. They also have occasional meat sales (chicken, ham, bacon) and I’ve had the chicken breasts once–they were fantastic. And have ordered the extras a time or two (like 40 lb box of apples, clams of strawberries, etc) and those are good if you want to do some canning. But not sure I’d drive an hr or more to get it (but 3 baskets, $45, might make it worth it).
Glenda says
We used to get BB, but eventually stopped because we had to stand in line for so long (hard on my back). You could try it once to see how you like it. You don’t have to commit to taking it every week. The produce was always excellent and the variety was great. We got things we had never tried before, always something new. But we’re both diabetic and there was more fruit than it is safe for us to eat, and there’s no option to customise the basic basket. The extras are wonderful. You can get whatever they have that week, like a box of six clamshells of strawberries or blueberries, at a great price.
You have to be able to check the website very frequently on the day they put up the sign-up page as there will be a certain number of baskets available and they sell out quickly.
You might like it during the winter when you don’t have so much produce from your garden, but maybe not when your garden is in full swing. And if you’d be driving at least two hours, that might wash out your savings. We used to pay less than $20 for a basket which would have sold for maybe twice that at the supermarket. Depending on the supermarket, of course. And you don’t get to choose what you get.
You might see about starting up BB in Brownwood. I think there’s a way to get on a waiting list or volunteer to get it organized.
Glenda says
And by the way, if you do it, take a little red wagon or some kind of wheeled cart, because there was always a lot, enough to fill up three or four reusable shopping bags, too much for one person to carry at once. For just $15!
Janna says
I tried BB one summer season in Montana–I felt the produce came from Costco or Wal Mart and was repackaged into the BB boxes. Honestly it wasn’t anything better than what I could get at Costco. That may be because we live in Montana–not much produce grows in our neck of the woods! Even our mid-summer farmers markets are slim pickings from what I am used to having grown up in the south.
Anita/Idaho says
I don’t personally do Bountiful Basket here in Idaho, but have several friends who do and they love them. We’ve thought about trying them but so far we haven’t done so.