By Becky Lane, Guest Blogger

One of my greatest delights since moving to the Texas Hill Country has been discovering the local food scene.  I’ve been a woman on a mission, seeking out every restaurant claiming to have a seasonal menu featuring local ingredients.  I’ve visited wineries, olive growers, cheese- and tamale-makers, and I’ve alternated between farmers’ markets in Austin, Blanco, Wimberley and San Marcos.  It has been glorious!  My only concern has been the amount of fuel I’ve burned in the process.  Then came The Bountiful Sprout.

Early last fall when I heard rumors of a local food-purchasing group that was forming here in Wimberley, I decided to attend a meeting and check it out.  One hour later, I was their newest board member.  Though we just experienced our first order cycle in October, this project has been long in the making.  It was conceived in 2007 by several like-minded individuals in the area--people with a vision of a better way to shop and eat.  Word spread quickly, and the number of interested families grew.

The birthing process was not easy.  There were several false starts and hurdles to be overcome, but they eventually discovered two long-established role models who were willing to share advice and software: the Oklahoma and the Nebraska Food Cooperatives.  They then consulted with an attorney (who was so impressed that she became a member), chose a name, elected a board and formed The Bountiful Sprout L.L.C.

We are a member-owned and operated food buying community, committed to making quality organic food available closer to home.   We have a quickly growing selection of local producers (offering everything from eggs and veggies to biscotti and dog treats) who employ sustainable growing and production techniques, and board members who personally inspect their facilities to assure that they continue to meet our standards.  Once approved, producers log onto our site every other week to update availabilities, then members have a four-day period in which to shop from the comfort of their homes, simply by clicking on the items they desire.  On pick up day producers drop their goods off at our centrally located site, where they are sorted into individual baskets, then members come by in the afternoon to pick them up. 

We feel like it’s a win-win situation for everyone.  Members get access to safer, tastier, local foods.  Producers are able to retain their identity and be known for the quality of their product, choose their own prices, and spend less time marketing and selling their goods.  Together, we are building a community, and we hope that other communities like ours will be inspired to do something similar.

By joining the board, I personally was able to take part in the birth of something amazing.  The Bountiful Sprout is re-creating a local food system here in the Texas Hill Country, and in the process, we are discovering the taste of place.

Explore More:

• Interested in starting a similar group in your community? Visit the Oklahoma Food Coop's website for advice and free software. 

Image credit: author’s private collection

Becky T. Lane writes, gardens and forages for local foods in the Hill Country near Austin.  She blogs at Seasonality.