Lakes River Buying Club

Yesterday, I participated in a little miracle of cooperation-

Lakes River Buying Club.

LRBC meets two Thursdays a month at the Lindstrom Community Center to distribute food orders.

Members pay a small annual fee (like $25) and a small percentage per order (like a percent or two) to gain access to a number of natural food vendors at wholesale prices.

Vendors include UNFI, Albert's Organics, Co-op Partners Warehouse, Beeler's, Country Life, Frontier, Crystal Ball Organic Dairy, Poplar Hills Goat Farm, local CSA Community Homestead, locally roasted coffee beans from Northwoods Roasterie, and local micro-greens from Morning Sun Farm. 

Plus every member household volunteers a minimum of four hours per month.

The volunteers unload pallets, weigh and distribute produce, split cases of grocery and frozen items, weigh and bag bulk items, bring their own harvests to sell, double check order sheets to actual food on the table in teams of two, sell extras, run an on-site accounting/tracking system, and man a cash register.

The group of about 50 families set up, run, and tear down the equivalent of a natural food co-op twice a month.

All for 40-80% less than retail.

And the amazing thing is that they are not amazed.

But I am.

And grateful.

Thanks so much, good people of LRBC for making our lives richer.