New Participant Instructions

Participating New to Bountiful Baskets? Here’s how to participate!

Bountiful Baskets is a group of people who choose to pool their money and purchase produce in large quantities from resalers at deep discounts. This allows people to have more fresh produce for less money. In order to participate, you must set up a free account on the website. It is helpful to upgrade your web browser to the most current version, to ensure the website will function properly for you.

Contributions are accepted beginning Mondays roughly at Noon local time, to Tuesday at 10 pm Mountain Standard Time or Arizona Time. Making a contribution is sometimes referred to as “ordering”, but this is not accurate. We call it contributing or participating, because Bountiful Baskets is not a business that you buy from, but rather a group of people who all pool our money to buy things together.

To make your contribution, follow these steps:

• Go to the website during the contribution time period. Some sites fill up quickly, so you may want to get on early for your first time.
• Click “Get my produce basket” on the right hand side under where is says Current Offerings. There's a picture of a vegetable basket where you click. If there is no “Get my produce basket” link, it means the website is not ready for contributions. If it is during the contribution window, it's possible the website is having technical problems. Close your browser and try back in a few minutes.
• Click on the basket for your state.
• Enter your email and account password, then click "Submit".
• Choose your county from the drop-down menu. If your county is not showing in the list, it generally means that all sites in your county are full for the week. Try again earlier next week! (To make a selection in a drop-down menu, click on the little down arrow on the right- hand side of the little box. It will bring up all available options, and you can click on your desired selection.)
• Choose your pick-up site from the next drop-down menu. Again, if your site is not showing in the list, it means it is full for the week.
• Select the number of baskets you would like in the next drop-down menu. (up to 3 per participant)
• On the "First Time Basket" menu, choose Yes if it is your first time participating. This $3.00 fee is only charged your first time. The money goes into a pool that is used to buy baskets for the volunteers to sort the produce into. You don't bring those baskets home with you, they are left at the site to be used every week. So you will need to bring a container for carrying your produce home.
• After that, there are several choices that you can select in addition to your produce basket if you desire. You can also upgrade to 100% certified organic produce for an additional $10.00. In most areas, there are also add-ons such as bread, specialty packs, or cases of canning vegetables. If you would like one of those items, enter the number you would like in the box to the right of the description.
• Before you click submit, read the message at the bottom of the page, and review your selections to be sure they are correct. Then click submit.
• This brings up your "Cart" and gives you one more chance to review your selections before you finalize the transaction. Be sure you have selected the site you want and all the add- ons, as these things CAN NOT be changed once the transaction is finished. If you are sure everything is correct, click on "Check-out".
• This brings up the checkout page, where you will enter your name and payment information. Be sure to use the address that is associated with the credit or debit card you are using, or the transaction will fail. You must READ all of the bullet points and click the boxes next to them to indicate that you agree to the group policies.
• Once you click submit, wait for the transaction to complete before clicking anything else. It may take a few minutes if the website is extremely busy. A confirmation page should appear when the transaction is complete, and an email will be sent to your account.
• Print the email and bring it with you to the pick-up.
• If the website gives you an error before you receive confirmation, log back into your account in a few minutes and check the "Contribution History" link on the right hand side before you submit another transaction. If the transaction shows in the history, then your contribution went through. If it is not there, you must re-submit your contribution, but you may have to wait a few minutes for the website to re-set before it will accept your transaction.

Contribution time closes on Tuesday night, but some sites fill up quickly. Each site has an allotted number of baskets that it can accommodate. In order for more baskets to be available in a particular area, volunteers must step up, be trained, and find a location where they can open a new site.

The contribution is $18 - $22 per basket depending on the geographic location and cost of produce in that region and the amount of tax the group is charged when purchasing from resellers. In some areas Organic produce may be available for an additional amount contributed. The amount for add-ons varies depending on the item. The first time basket fee is $3.00, and the processing fee is $1.50, which must be paid every time you contribute. Your entire contribution is spent on food, so the $1.50 is necessary to cover card processing, servers, and other expenses.

When you check out, you agree to be on time to pick-up your produce. It is helpful to double-check the time on the website under “Locations” each Friday night to be sure there hasn’t been a last-minute change. You have a 20-minute window to pick up your produce. If you are late, or do not show up, your produce will be donated and will be unavailable to you.

You also agree to volunteer on occasion. This is a volunteer group. We all chip in, no one gets paid, so all of our money goes to buying great food at great prices! If you are able bodied, we ask that you volunteer at least once every 6 to 8 times you participate. If you can not, then don't worry about it.

There are no refunds or exchanges, but if you don't like it, there is no commitment to participate again. You have to contribute every week that you want a basket. If they are spoiled or damaged, or if they do not arrive on the truck (these things occasionally happen), then the volunteer site coordinator will submit a credit request for you.

When a credit request is approved, it will show up on your Bountiful Baskets account as quickly as possible (most often in 4-6 weeks) The credited amount will show as "pending" and will automatically be applied to your next contribution. If an expected credit does not appear on your account after 6 weeks, ask the volunteer site coordinator where you picked up to follow-up for you.