Co-ops: The Adventurous Way to Get Food

The second co-op pick-up

So… co-ops are pretty cool. I had heard about them before (mostly online resources), and people made them sound like a good way to get a lot of product (local, organic, or both) for a better deal. Well it costs me $30 each pick-up, and I get about 15 lbs of produce in my half-share. So that’s an average of $2/lb price for my produce — but it’s all organic. So I guess that is an okay deal. But the thing I appreciate most is that this is forcing me to be more adventurous and creative with my food. I have never tried beets… and I got some in this last pick-up. I will channel my inner Dwight Schrute and make some beet chips using this recipe I found online. I also got some of these weird purple potatoes in my pick-up, which I guess I will eat even though I try to limit my starchy carbs.

It’s a fun adventure, this co-op thing. And it supports local agriculture/farms, so that’s nice.

 

Oh and I thought I would post this funny Portlandia snippet where a couple who gets produce from a co-op get an alien-fruit (durian, ew smelly!). I’m still waiting for the day I find a durian in my pick-up. If that happens, I will be both excited and horrified.