With nearly 300 members, Frugal Boxes food sharing co-op is sort of a like an old-fashioned farmers market with the camaraderie of a really big family tossed all together.

Longtime Superior resident Debbie Kelsey, along with her daughter Morgan Pearce, created the group 18 months ago.

Kelsey shared, “This is just something we thought we could do for our community and one little town with the Lord’s help and He gave us the ability and the time to help others feed their families.”

Up until January 2019 the two had been involved with the Bountiful Basket Co-op as drop off site managers. When they were dropped from the program unexpectedly for lack of participation one week, Kelsey was not happy.

“I was admittedly not happy with them and their lack of fulfilling their obligation to us,” Kelsey said. “I told my daughter I can do a food co-op better and be more in tune with local needs.”

With Bountiful Basket requiring members to drive to Missoula for pickups this left Mineral County residents in a bind. With Kelsey’s background in food service and delivery truck experience she received loads of encouragement to try and make a co-op of her own.

“Several friends pushed me to put my money where my mouth was,” Kelsey laughed.

She figured she could provide for five or six friends through a restaurant supply store in Missoula. But after posting Frugal Boxes Co-op page on Facebook almost immediately she had 20 people asking to participate.

“I knew my small plan was not going to work,” Kelsey said.

Her daughter helped find companies to pitch the proposal to and Pier One Produce out of Spokane agreed to give the Co-op a chance. To place an order there was a minimum purchase amount of $200. Kelsey said the group has never been below that threshold.

Rob Kraatz at Superior Color and Lumber had allowed the use of his building for the Bountiful Basket program so Kelsey asked if they could use the location again.

“He bought us a table to use, and he even has a forklift. How wonderful was that?” she said.

With baskets left from the previous co-op Kelsey was ready for business.

“On January 19, 2019 with a whim and a prayer we began Frugal Boxes Co-op as a reality and not just a lot of talk or wishful thinking,” Kelsey said.

Since then co-op members such as Superior resident Toni Collier have been reaping the benefits of the fresh produce on a bi-weekly basis.

“I just loved the idea of it,” Collier said. “My favorite part of the frugal baskets is that Debbie has made it so everyone can afford to have high quality veggies and fruit no matter the budget. It is like getting a present. One that is good for you!”

As a food-sharing co-op the group pools their money to purchase orders each drop week, every other Saturday. Anyone can become a member of Frugal Boxes Co-op through Facebook or email. There is no fee to join, simply just pay for the cost of any produce requested in the order.

“I like to get a specialty box then hunt for some new recipes. I use some boxes up faster than others. The beauty is you can just order again when you are ready for more. You are not locked in to having to buy each time,” said Collier.

On pickup Saturdays, Kelsey arrives just before 8 a.m. and awaits the delivery truck. They leave extra time to get set up with a recent uptick in membership since the pandemic.

“Since COVID-19 we have tripled in our participation numbers and gotten 60 additional members,” Kelsey said.

After the truck arrives and unloading is finished, produce is distributed into boxes.

“I have one person in charge of each box kind, we offer three different kinds each week and you can get a half box of any of those. We are little and local enough to accommodate the needs of our participants,” Kelsey said.

Members are never turned away if they’d like to volunteer with delivery day, but it is not a requirement to be a part of the group.

A quick drive through the lumber building and residents are loaded up with a colorful bounty of fruits and vegetables.

“A big thank you to Rob Kraatz, he has been so understanding to allow this during his business hours and we couldn’t do this without his support!” she said.

As Kelsey and the other co-op members finish up the drop day, she leaves feeling accomplished and happy to serve her community.

“The best part of this for me is helping people, and knowing God has his hand in this, he gave me a lifetime of experiences to give me the ability to do this, Lord be praised!” Kelsey said.

The next drop day for the Frugal Boxes Co-op is June 6 in Superior. New members have time to join before that date by contacting Debbie Kelsey via Facebook.