Idaho's Bounty Co-op Group Buy
As per discussed in the meeting today, Josh and I would be willing to pay our share of the $75 membership fee for Idaho's Bounty local organic food co-op (idahosbounty.org) as well as provide assistance with the procurement of the group's food order if needed. We selected the following items from the Jan 2008 Products sheet for our first order:
Qty 2 item #234 -Two 5lb bags of dry organic pinto beans ($4/bag)$8.
Qty 2 item #107 -Two 3lb bags of organic yellow onions ($1.80/bag)$3.60.
Qty 1 item #109 -One 3lb bag of organic white onions $2.10.
Qty 1 item #129 -One 25lb box of organic russet potatoes $18.75.
Qty 6 item #117 -Six organic kabocha squash ($2.50/each)$15.
Qty 2 item #118 -Two organic butternut squash ($2.50/each)$5.
Just let us know if we are able to do this for Feb (or if we need to order more food to meet minimum order requirements), and we can get the money to where it needs to go. We understand they charge additional fees for handling (15%) plus tax and that is fine. I can't wait for some delicious local kabocha squash.
Thanks everybody!
Justin (& Josh)
Boise Sustainable Living Community
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February 28th, 2008
Our trip to Haggerman
We had a very nice day going to pick up all the goods from Idahos Bounty! We spent the morning soaking at Miracle hotsprings and walking around some neighboring property that my mom has been interested in buying for the last several years. Then we ate our picnic lunch and went to Cloverleaf Creamery in Buhl. The actual dairy is further away but the processing plant is there in Buhl and has a small store front selling the milk products and 14 flavors of thier own ice cream, which was fantastic! They also sell Ballard cheeses and local raised trout and some of the meat products from Parrot Farms. It was a very cute little place. James from Idahos Bounty also confirmed that Cloverleaf raises the Dairy cows on pasture and although they do not have the USDAs Organic label, thier milk is the closest to organic and sustainable as we can get. He also said that the Horizon Organic Milk dairy is really bad (which anyone who read the Omnivores Deliemma remembers). So, Cloverleaf was the only place we visited before picking up the food and coming home.
Meeting James and Leslie from Idahos Bounty was great and they are really excited to have us on board. They will be willing to work with us in delivering if we get about 15-20 people ordering and we do all the splitting ect. They have thier own greenhouse operation and are currently growing spinach and arugula. I bought 2 bags of the spinach and it was fantastic. He threw in a little bag of arugula for us too. Delicious! So now we want to go back out there soon and visit thier place and some neighboring greenhouses that they were telling us about that are growing lemons, limes, papayas, figs! It sounds incredible.
So, tonight we cooked up some of the Delicata squash that we bought and the pepper onion sausages from Parrot Farm. Everything was super good. I am very happy with all of our stuff. What does everyone else think about thier orders?
February 18th, 2008
Order placed
I placed the order first thing this morning.
Carrots and Hagerman produce baskets were sold out (Amy - look for a refund later today), but everything else has been ordered.
Ann
February 26th, 2008
Picking up Idahos Bounty Order
Hi Everyone,
I am excited that we are about to get our first order from Idahos Bounty! I will be picking it up in Haggerman this Thursday Feb. 28th at about 4:00 pm. Then I will drive directly back to my house with the goods. I expect to be back home at around 6:00 pm. It would be great if everyone could plan on picking up thier order Thursday night sometime. I just want to try and have everything wrapped up with the food order that evening. If you are splitting food with others then please bring a container to put it in. I have a scale to measure out portions. I live at 2222 Colorado Ave. (North on Broadway, right on Iowa, right on Colorado).
See you then!
February 27th, 2008
Co OP
I am from Carey Idaho and am interested in finding out about the co op program. I have my own garden each year and do a lot of canning, but there are some things I would be interested in getting. Can someone please contact me (thewarmglow@hotmail.com) and let me know who to call or contact concerning the program.
Thank you! Carolyn
February 27th, 2008
Co-op close to Carey
Hi Carolyn,
Welcome to Boise Sustainable Living Community!
You are in luck as you are very close to the Idaho's Bounty. They are based out of Ketchum. Here is their web address: http://www.idahosbounty.org/index.php
Let us know how it works out for you - several of our group have just started purchasing from this organization but currently someone has to drive out to Hagerman to pick up the produce.
Scott
February 18th, 2008
Great, thanks Anne. I called
Great, thanks Anne.
I called Jeannie about picking up and got her daughter Laura instead (due to Jeannies being in surgery) she said that when we order you can choose delivery/pickup and under pickup you can select Haggerman. Did you happen to notice that or select anything when placing the order? When Jeannie is out of surgery I will give her a call again but just wanted to see what we have entered already. Thanks, Amy
February 13th, 2008
Reminder -
Please edit your order today if you want to make any changes.
J and J - The squash you were so anxious for is no longer available. (Insert sad face here.) I'm sorry about that. There was some at BCCoop last time I checked, but it was from California I think. On the other hand, it looks like some fresh greens are now available. I don't know how they'd travel but I thought you'd like to know.
I don't think any of the other orders are affected by changes.
So make any needed changes. I'll get invoices out tomorrow. You can paypal like before or drop funds off via Kevin at BSU.
One other thing - I'm hearing from Jeannie that delivering to the Boise market may end up happening a lot earlier than the previously anticipated "year from now." Yay!
February 13th, 2008
I still want everything on
I still want everything on our original order and I added a couple of bags of spinach to our order, so add $8.00 to our total.
Thanks!
February 13th, 2008
I think we'll stand pat.
I think we'll stand pat. Thanks!
February 6th, 2008
Idaho's Bounty
Idaho's Bounty update:
Jeannie reiterated that the fee is a one-time event and apologized for the confusion. She has also since sustained an injury and the producer's meeting was canceled. She's hoping to take care of pricing issues via email but hasn't mentioned a timeframe for implementing any changes. I think we should go ahead and join. I'm really interested in supporting the local food web and local choices, and this is exactly one of those choices. While Boise Consumer Coop does carry some stuff from Heath farms, they actually get it via United Natural Foods (used to be Mountain People's Warehouse) which is a huge, publicly-traded food distribution corporation based in California. (Here's the link: http://www.unfi.com/Default.aspx) I'm not sure if the food goes from Buhl to CA and back to Boise, but that's not inconceivable. In any case, Idaho's Bounty brings us one more avenue of support for our local farmers that is much more direct than Boise Consumer Coop.
Let's set a new deadline for the Idaho's Bounty order. Next open order date is Monday, February 18th.
Let's make the order deadline Wednesday February 13th. I'll use a day to get the invoices out which then leaves a few days for payments to be made. Sound good? Amy are you still interested in doing the pickup for us? Pickup would be the 27th (or 28th, depending). (Hopefully the snows will have subsided by then!)
On a related note, a couple folks in our group are also interested in a Boise's Bounty, if you will. While we all aspire to supply ourselves, I think we all still have some gaps we'd like to fill. We are already 150 miles from Wood River Valley and I think for many things we can try to do even better than 150 miles. Each of us probably knows some of these pieces of the local food-puzzle. Why not open up a thread or subforum on local (Treasure Valley) sources? I know that some of the information can be found at Local Harvest, but some of it seems a bit obscure or out of date. In a subforum we could review sources for each other or we could arrange to go in on a pig or cow together, for example, and potentially save on food miles by combining orders or trips to outlying suppliers. Why not work together to map a web of local Treasure Valley food? If you have an interest in this, start a thread and let's get going (or would that be staying?).
February 10th, 2008
Yes, I will still go to do
Yes, I will still go to do the pick up! So lets do place our order this next round and I will talk with Jeannie about picking up.
Thanks Anne!
February 2nd, 2008
I've got the fees worked
I've got the fees worked out. 15% is applied to the initial subtotal. 6% is applied to the same initial subtotal. Those two percentages are added to the subtotal. So in essence we are looking at 21% beyond list price.
When we started adding up the fees I was kind of surprised. So we made a quick trip to Boise Consumption Coop and put a data sheet together of the price differences between BCC and IDBounty. IDB was actually not privy to BCC prices but they are very much interested in trying to be competitive with them and asked me to send them the data. A restructuring in pricing for IDB is actually in the works and the data list I sent to Jeannie will likely have an impact on what we'd pay. We may want to hold off on our group order until two weeks from Monday (the next order period). Please comment on this if you feel strongly one way or another. As for The Sarsens, we're happy to hold off as the items we're getting are things we're not in a hurry for. The larger quantities (25lb) are already below BCC so waiting is not likely to make an economic difference for this family's order. But they might impact you.
(By the way, FYI Idaho's Bounty is marking up 30% above what the farmer is getting. I'm really happy to know the markup is this transparent. Wild guess here: I'm guessing Boise Consumer Coop wouldn't ever divulge these numbers to us.)
Meanwhile, I've got a spreadsheet created for each of us to help track our orders and a master-list for the online order/pickup. It was easy to do and will help keep things organized. I'll go ahead and list your current totals here:
Justin/Josh -
subtotal 48.20
fees 10.12
membership due 20
total 78.32
Casey O'Connell
subtotal 34.35
fees 7.21
membership due 20
total 61.56
Amy/Jay
subtotal 40.30
fees 8.46
membership due 20
total 68.77
Sarsens
subtotal 57.65
tax/fees 12.11
membership due 20
total 89.76
(waiting on JohnW)
Also, there's some concern about delivery compensation. For those of you volunteering to delivery, how would you most like to be compensated? (I know that I'll likely never be able to do a pickup, but I can do the ordering and record-keeping. I can also help store, sort and unload. I hope this helps.)
And actually how many folks do we have who would be available to do the pickup? We're out because our vehicle is completely unreliable (unless someone wants to loan their car for us to take - but it's got to be a safe one. I'm freaky that way.) People with regular work hours are probably not available. So who does that leave? Show of hands, please. This is an important consideration.
So - a few things I need you to comment on...
1 - wait two weeks for potentially more competitive prices or go ahead?
2 - who is actually available to volunteer for pick-up?
3 - if you find an error in your totals let me know. I'll try to email invoices to you for your records tomorrow.
G'night.
Ann
February 3rd, 2008
My Thoughts
1. I think I would vote to go ahead with this order. I thought about it a fair amount last night, and for the potential difference in prices (we may be talking about a difference of $1.00 or less on some order totals), we might as well go ahead. I don't have any problem with waiting if that is the consensus of the rest of the group; I'll always need potatoes and onions and the cheese is a treat.
2. I would not be available for pick up, as both my husband and I work full time and our weekends are booked up with toddler activities and regrouping from the work-week. However, Ann and Kevin, I'd consider loaning you guys the Matrix to make the run sometimes, should you decide you wanted to make the drive.
3. Send me my invoice whenever you know that we're ready to order. I'll check my e-mail several times today and tomorrow to make sure I don't miss it and leave you hanging.
February 3rd, 2008
Hi Anne, 1. Is it difinitive
Hi Anne,
1. Is it difinitive that these price changes will be worked out by the next order date? If so...I vote that we wait. I am fine to order now too if that is what others want.
2. Jay and I are available to pick up but don't want to be the only ones. I would be fine with going every other month.
3. I checked our order and it is correct.
Thanks for doing the spreadsheet..you are so organized!
Amy
February 3rd, 2008
Hello Everyone.
Hello Everyone.
About the price changes.... Apparently the producers are meeting this Wednesday and Jeannie will be taking along some price data, including what we provided for her. She anticipates some updates, but hasn't promised anything. I'm curious to see how the prices might shift.
Moreover, an additional issue just arose: A few minutes ago I went to purchase our institutional membership and received this message:
"Welcome to Idaho's Bounty's online ordering service.
Once we are able to review your application, you will receive a welcome e-mail from Idaho's Bounty. Save this information, it will be your personal login.
You joined as a Institution. The annual fee will be counted from the date of the first order or delivery."
The phrase "Annual fee" caught my eye. I'm certain that when I spoke with Jeannie earlier she assured me it was a one-time charge with nothing to be renewed and I'm sure that's what I communicated to the rest of the group. So I have an email in to her for clarification. I haven't actually purchased the membership yet and I won't proceed until the terms are cleared up.
Let's wait for the next order date. That'll make things much much easier on me, as I won't have to babysit the computer tonight/tomorrow waiting for a clarification and then rush to get the order out.
I'm going to go ahead and reverse the PayPal funds people sent me. This will make price changes and order changes easier to manage for next time. I appreciate your patience.
February 4th, 2008
That sounds fine Anne. There
That sounds fine Anne. There is absolutely no reason to rush this. Thanks for doing so much with this already. It is greatly appreciated!
Amy
January 31st, 2008
We've got the all-clear from
We've got the all-clear from Idaho's Bounty on a $100 institutional membership. The name on our membership is Boise Sustainable Living Community.
Order/payment deadline:
If you are wanting to participate in this first buy, please have your order finalized in this thread by Saturday midnight. If you can, please make a payment via funded PayPal by that deadline. The email address is pulchramulier at nomenarcanum dot com. If you don't have access to paypal, you can send it snailmail or drop it by.
On Sunday I'll get the order organized ready to place first thing Monday morning. I'll know by then how many participants we have and we can split the membership fee among us. If all who have expressed interest already step up it'll be $20/family, but if others get onboard in time it'll be less. I'll update final membership fees on Sunday.
I'll also be tracking membership payments. If/when others want to join they'll buy in at a lower rate and the existing members will get credit.
Daughter calls - will post more details in a bit.
No accidents are happening here. -Rumi
January 31st, 2008
Here's more - It looks like
Here's more -
It looks like a Fairfield pickup will be available to us. This means not traveling as far. (Fairfield is 100 miles, Hailey is 159 miles.) It also may mean some flexibility in the pickup date/time. Fairfield is the last delivery stop and there is likely a place to store it there. So rather than Wednesday pickup we're looking at Thursday, time to be arranged with folks holding the order.
Jeannie is very excited to have us coming on board. She's looking forward to working with us and hopes to be learning a bit about the Boise market through our group. She is quite interested in expanding delivery service to Boise. So hopefully our delivery issue won't be around for too long.
Amy - let me know what your plans are regarding pickup (5-6:30 Wednesday - Hailey or Ketchum. Or Fairfield sometime on Thursday) You should be able to tell via this thread approximate weight/size of the order. If you see a need for a second vehicle/volunteer let us know. I'm willing and available to help you when you get back with splitting the order and storage if need be.
No accidents are happening here. -Rumi
February 13th, 2008
This is very exciting! I am
This is very exciting! I am looking forward to receiving our first Local Bounty! I will look over all the orders more closely once everything is placed and will determine how many vehicles we will need. I was hoping however to pick it up directly in Hagerman, where they are located. This will help two things...Jay and I already need and want to take a trip there to look at some property with my mom and Idahos Bounty will not have to drive our stuff anywhere. Do you want to contact Jeannie and ask her if I can pick up in Hagermand instead? I can contact her too I just dont want to double up on contact and make things confusing. Please let me know. I am happy to go pick it up either Wed. or Thurs. whatever works best for them, but I guess if I had my choice it would be Thursday.
Below is the order from Jay and I:
1 x 176 Idaho White Cheddar $5.00/1/2 lb. item
4 links x 67 Pepper onion pork sausage $6.50/pound
2 x 1 sweet carrots $2.50/bunch
1 x 107 Yellow onions $1.80/3 pound bag
1 x 364 Basket of produce 5 pounds $20.00/basket
2 x 113 Delicata squash $1.00/pound
2 x #372 Spinach $ 4.00 a bag/1/4 lb.
January 28th, 2008
We're in for a big order of
We're in for a big order of beans, some potatoes, carrots and onions.
We'd like to split some 25 lb bags/boxes from M&M Heath Farms-
108 Yellow Onions - 1, 25lb bag. $15.00 (Josh/Justin- want to split this 25lb bag with us???)
233 Red Beans - 1, 25 lb bag. $18.75 (5lbs to CaseyOc)
236 Pinto Beans - 1, 25 lb bag. $18.75 (10 lbs to Josh/Justin)
253 Russet Potatoes - 50 lbs - $30.00 (25lbs to J/J)
Prairie Sun Farm-
1 Carrots - 2 bunches@2.50/ea = $5.
(I'll update my order when I hear back about the splits.)
I'll reconnect with Jeannie (sp?) and let her know we're getting an order up. I'll clarify the institutional membership charges and time-frame. And I'll ask about the milk bottle deposits. I think it will help us if we update our orders by editing our original posts.
No accidents are happening here. -RumiNo accidents are happening here. -Rumi
January 27th, 2008
Idaho's Bounty
Ready to pay my share and I'm interested in: a bunch of carrots, a dozen eggs, about 10 tomatoes, and about 10 potatoes of any variety. Thanks!
January 28th, 2008
Co-Op
My family would be in. I do have a couple of questions. I'd love to get milk from Cloverfield, but the deposit per bottle makes the total cost a little prohibitive. Would we as a group be collecting our empty containers and returning them somehow to the dairy to recoup that deposit cost? (Not like we wouldn't be recycling anyway, but I'm thinking along the lines of $2.50/bottle, plus the cost of the milk really adds up fast.) Also, does anyone have a guess as to how often we may be ordering? Monthly? More or less?
Anyway, here's my order. Let me know what payment method would work (PayPal is definitely an easy option, if interested).
176 Idaho White Cheddar 1 ea. at $5.00
178 Jersey Gem cheese, 1 ea. at $5.00
13 Dry beans, red, 2 ea. at $2.00*, $4.00
203 Dry beans, white, 2 ea. at $2.00*, $4.00
105 Red onions, 2 ea. at $1.80, $3.60
22 Potatoes, klondike gold, 2 ea. at $5.00, $10.00
122 Sweet dumpling squash, 2 ea. at $1.50, $3.00
I'd also like to add some milk to the order, pending discussion on the bottle deposits.
* I know the larger sacks of beans are quite inexpensive, but don't have storage room for that many beans. If someone wants to go in on the big sacks with me and share the costs, that would be a great option!
Thanks! Casey
February 1st, 2008
Final Order
I can't figure out how to edit my original post, so I'll mark this one FINAL.
176 Idaho White Cheddar 1 ea. at $5.00
178 Jersey Gem cheese, 1 ea. at $5.00
13 Dry beans, red, 2 ea. at $2.00*, $4.00**Will share 1/5 of Ann's red bean order for a total of $3.75
203 Dry beans, white, 2 ea. at $2.00*, $4.00
105 Red onions, 2 ea. at $1.80, $3.60
22 Potatoes, klondike gold, 2 ea. at $5.00, $10.00
122 Sweet dumpling squash, 2 ea. at $1.50, $3.00
Mdse total: $34.35
Co-Op Share: $20.00
Total: $54.35
Now. If one of you organizers wants to check over my total and confirm that amount for me, I will send PayPal today. Thanks a million!
Casey
February 1st, 2008
Thanks, Casey. We're
Thanks, Casey. We're responsible for sales tax and a 15% order fee, too. Is that going to work? I can figure that for you if you'd like.
No accidents are happening here. -Rumi
January 28th, 2008
Boise Consumer Coop carries
Boise Consumer Coop carries Cloverleaf milk at roughly the same price as Idaho's Bounty. I don't know if ordering through IdBounty gets more of that money to the farmer...? But getting it from the consumer coop might be an easier way to handle the deposit issue.
No accidents are happening here. -Rumi
January 28th, 2008
Big Order! Ok...so I will
Big Order!
Ok...so I will email Idahos Bounty and figure out how all of this will work and will post here again with info!
Amy
January 28th, 2008
Amy - I just emailed Jeannie
Amy - I just emailed Jeannie (Idaho's Bounty) this afternoon. I haven't heard back yet, but if you do contact her you can let her know we;re in the same group.
No accidents are happening here. -Rumi
January 28th, 2008
Oh...ok that is awesome. I
Oh...ok that is awesome. I won't email them then if you have already. I will be happy to go get the stuff. Do you want me to make an account for us and place the order on the website?
January 29th, 2008
Thanks for volunteering Amy.
Thanks for volunteering Amy. I'll touch base with Jeannie and iron out some details and get back with you and the group.
No accidents are happening here. -Rumi
January 30th, 2008
Anne, Yes, I am happy to
Anne, Yes, I am happy to drive there and pick everything up. Do you want me to place the order on the website and make the account? Or do we need to wait to do that depending on the information you get from Jeannie?
January 30th, 2008
I've been in touch with
I've been in touch with Jeannie and we've got a few things to work out yet. Once those are sorted out we can set up an account and get started.
To clarify: It looks like the fee for us will be at least $100. It never expires. It's an institutional "share" in the coop, as long as it's functional.
Here are some of other details we might want to consider:
Because of our potential impact on their resources, Jeannie sees a need to limit the number of participating families in our group. I'll speak with her more tomorrow about what kind of number she's thinking about. I also think the group will be allowed a single vote on CoOp issues - so we probably want to consider how we'll handle that. Also, there is potential for migration of folks in and out of our group. I'm not sure if we'll be allowed to migrate people out of and into the buying group or whether they'll want our members to be fixed. But this is an issue worth considering. If our numbers dwindle we might not have the resources to continue to participate (e.g. no one available to get to the pickup on time) and that would hinder us.
The question of delivery is one I think we should also consider. Beyond this first trip that Amy and Jay have volunteered to make, how do we see ourselves getting the goods? There is a potential delivery method Jeannie and I are talking about but it would likely mean a delivery charge - yet to be determined - but it would be the greenest carbon-wise and probably the easiest on the group in the long run. (The trucks are already making the trip to Boise.) Please let me know how you'd feel about this option, in case it does become available.
Jeannie says she sees Idaho's Bounty expanding to the Treasure Valley, but not really for another year or so. She's taking us on as simply a test run, so to speak. If they do in fact start delivering here our delivery issue will be solved.
I am not able to make the trip up there, but I would really like to participate in placing the order and doing the dividing this time around. I'd like to not only gain the experience but I'd also like to offer it as a service to the folks who have helped us out so much since we started down this path.
For those people who are interested in participating please do share your thoughts on any of this that interests you.
No accidents are happening here. -Rumi
January 31st, 2008
No Problem
Hi Anneliese & Amy,
Josh and I are willing to split cases as described and pay the extra costs for the group membership fee of $100. Also we are willing to rotate duties for picking up the group orders if needed in future months. Amy do you want us to give you cash or credit your paypal account? Just call or email us anytime. Thanks!
-Justin (& Josh)
January 31st, 2008
Hey Josh and Justin....it
Hey Josh and Justin....it looks like Anne has set up a paypal account to deposit in. Look above... and I think we will figure out who will go get the goods next time and whether they will deliver to us!
Thanks!
March 4th, 2008
Thanks again Jay and Amy for
Thanks again Jay and Amy for picking up the food! Thank you for the salad greens too!! I had some for lunch today and it was awesome to think they were grown in Boise this winter :)
Burn calories, not gasoline!