Monday, February 23, 2009

Find a food co-op near you

Derek over at Natural Papa had a post on Friday about joining a food co-op so you can buy your natural foods in bulk. Here's what he has to say:
Join a co-op and buy your natural foods in bulk. Order ahead and get what you’d need for a month. You’ll always have the staples at hand, and you’ll save some cash at the same time.

Most whole foods are available by the bag or box, with 10, 25, and 50 pound sizes being the usual sizes. Rice, lentils, beans, oats, wheat, pasta, nuts and seeds are all available for much less than you’d pay for the fancy box with the cool colors, and you’ve contributed less waste to the landfill. Produce, grocery products, and personal care items are all great candidates for bulk purchases.
A co-op doesn't necessarily have local foods (but I'm sure at certain times of the year one might), but they are a way of buying healthier, natural, sometimes organic, whole foods for less money and with less waste because there is less packaging. 

In his post, Derek points to the Food Co-Op Directory where you can put your zip code in and find a co-op near you. There are a few co-ops within a 45 min to an hour drive of me, and I think I may check one out to see if it would be beneficial for my family to shop there once a month. 

Image: mcmorgan08
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1 comment:

Ally J. said...

Great info(I always wondered how to go about locating a local food co-op).

Another great way to enjoy local food in an effort to be greener is through community-supported farms. I just posted about my experience with it at www.greenandfrugalliving.com.