Ever since I first heard about bountiful baskets I’ve wondered if it really is a money saver and if so, just how much am I saving? So I conducted an experiment to see. I wrote down everything that was in my bountiful basket a couple of weeks ago and headed to the produce section of Wal-Mart. I calculated the prices for the produce. As you’ll see in my calculations below some of the produce I had to do some guessing and substituting.
- Broccoli $1.48
- 3 heads of garlic $1.34
- Tomatoes $3.48
- Strawberries $1.88 – They were on sale that week.
- Bananas $1.44
- Melon $1.50 – The type of melon we got seemed to be a mix of honeydew and cantaloupe, they didn’t have that at Wal-Mart, so this is just the price of a regular one.
- Pineapple $2.78
- Oranges $4.06
- Nectarines – $4.47 – I couldn’t find a price on these, so I looked at the price of peaches and plums and decided $2.98 a pound seemed reasonable.
- Avocado 68 cents
- Lettuce $1.54
Grand total: $24.65
A bountiful basket costs: $16.50
That leaves me with at savings of $8.15
So, yes, it does save, however I thought it would be more. I also have to keep in mind that this was just one week’s totals, to get a really accurate idea of the savings I would have to do this same thing for multiple baskets and figure out the average savings.
Bountiful basket #2!! Gracia couldn't wait to dig into those black berries!
I think you could probably save more money if you only bought produce that was on a really good sale. For example, if you only bought the cheapest produce (say you fill your basket with sale apples, carrots, and potatoes) then you could probably get the same volume of produce for a lot cheaper, but you wouldn’t have the variety that comes in a basket.
Other Benefits of Bountiful Baskets:
- It’s just plain old fun!
- It can help you branch out and get more variety in your diet.
- Get to know others. I often end up chatting while waiting in line. It’s a great place to get recipe ideas and ask about cooking some of the more unusual things in the basket.
One final note: I did show up an hour early last week to volunteer and because of that was able to snag a few of the leftover produce. That would definitely add to the savings, the only extra cost is the time cost. I don’t know if all locations offer the extras to volunteers, or if there even are extras every time.
In the UK we have fruit and veg box delivery schemes as an equivalent to Bountiful Baskets. They typically only offer organic produce, so it’s much more expensive. I recently signed-up for a scheme and do find a lot of the produce to be more expensice than supermarket organics, but I’m supporting local farmers. Great idea to volunteer. I may look into that with our provider.
You can pay $10 extra to have your Bountiful Basket upgraded to organic, but I haven’t tried it.
They taste better, too, right?
The cucumbers are definitely better than the ones I’ve gotten in the store, however I have received some very bruised fruit before, but it’s only been a couple of times.
I was so excited when I first read about Bountiful Baskets. We don’t have them here in the Ozarks. My families diet is mainly vegetables and fruit. My DH & I love our veggies. We rescue and adopt lots of furbabies who eat veggies. Right now we have a large turtle and rabbit that keep our veggie and fruit expenses up.
I went to Aldi’s with a Bountiful Basket price list to see what the savings were. I love to do price books and lists. Aldi’s came out $5.00 cheaper than Bountiful Baskets. There were a few factors I added too like produce that would not get eaten in our home and the quantities we buy.
I do think Bountiful Baskets is a very frugal deal. I agree you get a more varied diet, get to try things new & get to meet lots of new people. Plus, the volunteering would be worth it and so much fun. I know I would enjoy that. If the Ozarks ever gets Bountiful Baskets I will sign up in a heartbeat. What I can’t use I can give away to the elderly in my Mom’s neighborhood. I love to spoil them any chance I can get.
It’s nice to see someone else’s calculations too!