I was introduced to co-op by a dear friend and neighbor back in August of 2009. I fell in love with it immediately. I was not a raw foodist at the time, but as a mother of two children, I strive to feed my family healthy, home cooked meals. I was amazed by how much beautiful produce I got in a half share box for only $40! I compared pricing to that at Whole Foods, Central MArket and Kroger. And co-op was a significant savings. We were averaging $950 per month at Kroger with the Kroger card, and I was a coupon queen :) So it began that ALL of my produce came from co-op, leaving only meats, breads, dairy, etc to buy at the grocery store. As I got to know our co-op family more, I began really reading the articles attached to the Rawfully Organic website. And, my curiosity got me to start researching more about store bought food. Soon, I learned the affects of GMO's and other toxins that contaminate our store bought food. The more I read, the more I was motivated to change...IMMEDIATELY! After all, the health of my children were in jeopardy, as well as me and my husband! I decided I would only feed my family organic food. I now spend less than $75 per week on meat, bread, and dairy for my husband and kids (I mostly shop at Whole Foods). And,I spend about $110 a week on all my co-op produce. Since I eat raw, all of meals come from co-op. I get a half share, and then add on 1/4 cases of whatever my taste buds crave that week. Now if you do the math, I went from spending $950/month to feed a family of four all non-organic food to $800/month feeding the same four family members ALL organic. Plus, since I am raw, the co-op feeds all 28 of my meals per week. Now, as far as my conversion to being a raw-foodist... that is another story. But I can tell you this: I still prepare traditional meals for my family. We sit down each night and have dinner together. My plate look slightly different that theirs since I do not eat cooked food. They don't mind and neither do I. It only took me a few weeks to learn how to prepare two different meals at the same time to accommodate everyone. I have two businesses, so I am as busy as every other working mom out there. It can be done. You can save money and you can feed your family healthy. And when I lay my head down at night, I thank GOD I am able to do this and help out local farmers at the same time. God Bless you, Kristina, for starting this co-op and helping me transition into a Raw food lifestyle.
I'm amazed to read your story about saving money. My issue is, I don't see how I can possibly save any more money. I buy SOME organic produce, like lettuce and celery, and very rarely anything else organic unless I happen to see it at WFM. My food budget is $225 a month at most, and this month, I'm on track to spend only $200 because I'm eating a lot of watermelons while they are on sale. I only eat what's on sale at any of the grocery stores in my area and VERY RARELY splurge for a "special meal" for myself.
I have looked at the prices of the co-op shares and have to consider them a luxury item for myself at this time. I'm kind of surprised that you were able to save money even though you started off from what I consider for myself a high food budget even for a family of four. That is nearly half my monthly income! :surprised smiley: