Co-op Produce Box

When we moved into our house we debated whether we I should plant a vegetable garden or just suck it up and buy our produce at the commissary like I have done in the past. While I was debating, a friend of mine mentioned that she was going to sign up for a local co-op farm box.

This solution seemed to be perfect for us! Not only will we get our fresh produce, but we'll be able to support local farmers. This past week we got our first box.

Our box!

We got sweet green onions!

And fresh strawberries...

Some tomatoes, a white sweet potato, and a sweet potato.

Lettuce.

And finally, spinach!

For some reason, I finally feel free to make this duty station our home. I think its because I know we will be here for more than a year (which is more that I can say about any of our previous duty stations), but it also stems from the fact that we bought a house here and even if we PCS at some point, we'll most likely return here.

Settling down means that I am open to exploring the local resources and small businesses. That's not to say that I haven't in the past, but I was always hesitant to fall in love with a place knowing that we'd probably leave sooner rather than later, plus I was afraid to commit to something and then get orders. Since we have the freedom of spending an entire year here (plus a few months) at the very least, we're open to experiencing all that our area has to offer!

I think that in the next few weeks we're going to start getting some random fruits and veggies in our boxes and I'm considering posting new recipes that I try that feature seasonal produce.

All in all, I definitely recommend checking into co-ops in your area. My mom was inspired by our box and subscribed to one in Hometown, USA last week. Her box was totally different from ours, as the climates are very different, but it is still fresh and local, so that's a win right there! The prices for ours are very reasonable and we got quite a bit more food than I was expecting!