Last week, our family got a produce box from SHARE Colorado. Their goal is to help families save money on their groceries while encouraging the building of relationships with their neighbors in the community. You don’t have to be in any particular income category to participate. The minimal profits of the program go to provide food for families who can’t afford them. They also encourage families to volunteer.
My main goal was to save a little money. Feeding three growing boys is getting very expensive. My husband and I call them “the locusts” because it seems like they breeze through the kitchen and leave empty cartons, empty bottles, banana peels, and apple cores behind. Being able to buy twenty to thirty pounds of produce for fifteen dollars sounded great.
Eating through the produce box has been fun though, not just economical. I was a little nervous about what we’d get. I was a bit afraid we’d end up with twenty pounds of cabbage or turnips or something that I didn’t even know the name of. What we did get was a nice variety including avocados, pears, apples, baby carrots, onions, new potatoes, zucchini, and a head of lettuce. Not a cabbage or turnip in sight. The box was really a nice surprise.
The best part has been figuring out what to do with the produce. We made guacamole with the avocados. The boys were suspicious at first of zucchini bread but decided it was good after all. We’ve enjoyed salads and fresh fruit.
When I went to pick up the box, I got to visit with a woman I worked with last year. Other people were trading recipes and menu suggestions. Several volunteers offered to carry my box to the car. I left with a smile on my face, thinking how different this experience was from shopping at the grocery store.
I love that we are saving money and helping other families, too. And I can’t wait to see what is in next month’s box.
Also See:
One on One Time at the Grocery Store