I recently joined a cooking co-op at our local grocery store. It has changed my life! There are around 18 moms who meet once a month to prepare and package a month’s worth of meals. We pre-select our choices in advance. Each person is responsible for preparing the designated servings of one recipe. Think of mass production at its finest! lol! At the end of the night you leave with a cooler full of meals and recipes in hand to feed your family for the next month. You can select whatever number meals is appropriate for your needs. For my family of 3, I tend to stick to around 14 meals.
You can generally get two dinners out of each meal. The cost varies but is typically around $8-9/meal. So for about $150 (give or take) – I have all the needed ingredients for a full month. No thinking or shopping necessary. Even the dried/boxed foods that are needed for the recipe are included. The night is busy but it’s so nice to chat with other moms while solving the dinner dilemma in about 3 hours.
The rest of the month, I simply thaw and cook according to the recipe…with little preparation. And, we are able to try new recipes out each month, keeping our options exciting for everyone! It’s a time saver and money saver and I am so thankful to my friend who invited me to join the group with her!
Marlena
Check back each day in February, as we “Attack” Menu Planning and help each other win “Super” savings, money and time in the kitchen!
Sounds fantastic! How would you go about finding one?
yes, i have the same question!!! This is great but is there one in every major city? How do you find one or how do you start one?
We’re in Kansas City and there are stores that have created this scenario — you go in and they’ve pre-set menu’s with all the food chopped for you; all you do is assemble and go home. But meals are at least twice as expensive….start at $18 each (for 4 people). That’s too pricey for me so this kind of ‘co-op’ is interesting!
PLEASE SHARE about how to find one!!
This was a reader that sent this in. I have not found one in my area (kansas city). If anyone has more information we would love to hear it!!!
We started one with 12 ladies about 4 years ago. Our average price is around $7 a meal and that usually splits for smaller families. Because I only have a family of four I walk out of there with 14-18 meals for around $65-$80. We have an inventory of supplies and spices that travel around to the host of the month’s house. It has saved my life. We also post our recipes to a blog so that everyone has them. Feeding a family of 4 for around $4 a meal is amazing. Start a group up yourselves it will be more fun and way cheaper!