Bountiful Baskets!

I realize I haven't posted in forever. I'll catch up soon. For now, for my own record-keeping ...

I've been on and off getting Bountiful Baskets. For awhile the produce wasn't as good and I felt the value was poor. However, the last two I have gotten have been fantastic! Here's the price breakdown:

Basket received 9/21/14:
7 granny smith apples
5 plums
1 lb carrots
2 bunches kale
2 bunches celery
4 pomegranates
2 x 10.5 oz cherry tomatoes
1 head green leaf lettuce
6 oz blueberries
1 honeydew melon
4 red peppers

Priced out at Beartooth IGA for $41.16 and Walmart for $40.41. Considering I paid $19.50 including the processing fee, this is a great value! Nothing went to waste from this basket either; it was all eaten or frozen rapidly.

Basket received 10/4/14:
1 head green leaf lettuce
5 large tomatoes
1 large cucumber
3 bunches spinach
6 lemons
11 small mandarin oranges
1 canteloupe
3 heads broccoli
2 artichokes
1 package strawberries
4 orange peppers
3 bananas

Priced out at Beartooth IGA for $38.67 and Walmart for $37.76. Again, a great value. Unfortunately I only managed to eat 1/2 of the cucumber before it went bad. The rest of it was eaten or frozen.

I think the most surprising thing I learned was that produce at the Beartooth IGA is actually not a bad value! Considering that I have to drive 45 miles to reach Walmart (each way), I would be spending about $15 in gas in addition to the price of the food. I think that some dairy products and a lot of the canned / boxed food at the IGA tends to be more expensive, but I can also purchase canned/boxed food from Walmart and have it shipped for free if the purchase is over $50. That will be something to consider in the winter especially when the roads are bad.

Overall I am very pleased with the Bountiful Baskets program! Keep it going! I also purchased a 40 lb box of Honeycrisp apples for $32 and made a crisp, a bunch of applesauce, and I plan to split the remaining 20 or so apples into apple chips and frozen sliced apples for pies.