In answer to some of the questions on the Fruit Share:
We don’t grow the fruit here–we have made arrangements for someone to travel to Costco in Billings twice a month to pick up fruit. There is also a fruit truck from a private orchard that comes through in the fall from Utah, and our daughter will bring up peaches from Colorado (and other pears and apricots), and there are raspberries, grapes, American plums, and apples– all local.
A question was asked earlier about organic…We are going to buy organic when we can, but it may not all be organic. The fruit that comes out of Utah is not certified organic but it has been great fruit and is coming direct from a family orchard. We should be able to find organic fruit in Colorado and will check on that prior to purchasing. Costco carries a lot of organic–if not organic, it is clearly labeled.
My personal concern with fruit bought at the store is the processing they do prior to shipping it to extend the life of the fruit…gassed, waxed, and sterilized with chemicals…you hope when you buy organic you are missing that, but there is no guarantee as it is not considered part of the growing process. I’m not familiar enough with the Organic Certification program beyond the qualifications to carry the label based on growing conditions and additives.
Hope that gives more information. We only have 20 Fruit shares because of the limitation of space–while in transit and in our cooler. This is a pilot program for this year and if it works well, we can look at expanding the program…maybe even to all organic?? 2013 is our discovery journey– 🙂