Volunteering at the Co-op

I love picking up my Bountiful Basket each week.  You never know what will be waiting for you, so it is always a fun surprise.  Because the program is a co-op and entirely run by volunteers, they encourage everyone to volunteer as they are able.  This past Saturday, I was able to arrive at my pick-up site one hour early to help out.  I wasn’t sure what to expect when I got there.  Not only did the experience turn out to be fun, it was a great workout too!  The site coordinator was helpful and kind, and the other volunteers worked really hard.  We were actually pretty short on helpers last week, so we all had a lot to do.  I want to share my experience with you through photos so that you will know what to expect when you have a chance to volunteer.  I also want to show everyone that it takes hard work to get all of your baskets together each week!

First, we set out all of the white baskets in rows of two.  We had 63 sets of baskets to fill.  For those of you who haven’t participated yet, each person gets one basket of fruit and one basket of vegetables to transfer into their own containers (baskets or grocery bags).  The white baskets stay with the site coordinator.

Everything comes to the site in large cases which is why volunteers are needed to distribute the produce among the baskets.  Unfortunately, the driver did not drop the cases off close enough to the baskets, so we had to carry them over.  This is where I got a lot of heavy lifting in!

There is a list posted telling us how many of each item to put in each basket.  They are listed in order so that the heavy items are placed on the bottom of the basket and the fragile items are placed on top.

This is where the rest of the workout comes in.  I can’t tell you how many squats I did to place the items in the baskets, but my legs were very sore for a few days!  Make sure when you volunteer to use good form and bend at the knees so you don’t hurt your back.  I also want to point out that anyone can help.  Among our volunteers was a woman who was 8 months pregnant, a grandmother, and kids as young as 3 years old.  This would be a great family activity too!

Now that we have distributed all of the produce, each volunteer gets to choose one large item or two small items as “extras” for helping out.  I chose two avocados.

Then we take all of the extra produce and evenly distribute it among the baskets.  We made sure to follow each other so that each basket got something extra.

Some received an extra bag of carrots, some an extra head of romaine, some an extra bunch of swiss chard, and on and on.

By the time everyone is showing up to pick up their baskets, I already have mine packed away in my crate and I’m ready to go!

Overall, I truly enjoyed the experience and will look forward to volunteering again when I can.  I definitely recommend it to anyone who participates in this program.  If you want to help out at your site, look on the website at your pick-up location and it will have two times listed.  The earlier time listed is when to show up to volunteer.

And for anyone who is still wondering what to do with their swiss chard, I posted my recipe on our Facebook site.  Not only is the swiss chard beautiful and tasty, but packed with nutrients!  If you have other recipes, please share them below!