Just a reminder to folks, that the December deadline for orders to the Crossroads co-op is Friday the 5th. What’s the co-op you might ask? Well, in their own words:
IT’S A SIMPLE IDEA, REALLY – provide quality, healthy food at a substantial savings through cooperative purchasing; and build a sense of community by bringing people together and promoting volunteer service.
The Community Food Co-op is for EVERYONE. Whether you are struggling to meet your basic food needs or are just looking for a way to share in community, you can be part of this simple exchange: giving and receiving.
So the Co-op is just individuals, and community groups working together to buy the best quality food, directly, at the best price for the group. Costs are kept as low as possible by buying only a select set of items, at the best negotiated price point, then distributed via donated resources of the co-op members.
To join, you simply give a one-time voluntary donation of your choice of amount, then place an order. It is also requested that you donate some time to help in distributing the food in some way. Usually this means getting together with a local team (Find one near you) to help divvy up items, or maybe help in dropping off individual order to those who need more help. You can place the orders via phone, fax, or mail, and can check out the order form here: Food Co-op order form.
There really are some amazing prices there, and each month you just order as you can. It’s a great opportunity to get a good price on great quality food, usually locally supplied. With the rising costs of food, we can all use a break on the budget with that, and even better, by participating in the co-op you can help others in your community who desperately need access to programs like this. Add to that, the discussions of an oncoming depression, and it gives even more reason to get used to shopping with a co-op, that will allow our community to support local food producers. Plus by getting more members, the co-op has even greater buying power, thereby negotiating better prices for the whole group. Adding in an extra share or two each month if you can also gives you a known amount that you can use to practice learning how to do canning. An easy way to augment your food storage each month, at a low cost.
Given that you have about a month to get your food, this also helps in budgeting your families food bill, as well as planning out very nutritious menus.
Of course if this Friday is too late for you, you can always look to January. There is a new order, with new products every month. Whether you are planning for a depression, trying to find a better deal for your grocery bill, interesting in just buying local food, or any of many other good reasons, check out the co-op.