Fruit and veg boxes - are they good value for money?

Olliebeak

I had a veggie box delivery from Northern Harvest. The quality was great and I thought the price was fair but there was too much for us (only the 2 of us). Most of the stuff was wasted (how disgraceful of me) because I didn't think to blanche and freeze. I paid £14 plus £3 delivery charge. I could have got a smaller box but would still have had to pay the delivery charge - so that would have worked out less economical.

I'm sure for somebody with a larger family, they would be great for value and quality.

Spirit_2

I have a mixed fruit and veg box from GSfruits. This costs 11 pounds (including delivery) and is plenty for 2.

The seasonal element does mean that we had plenty of plums and currently plenty of pears and english apples.

[Deleted User]

I have used riverford for 2 years. Always superb quality and very good value for money

this week I am getting the small box for £9.50 which will contain
sugar pumpkin, onions, bunched carrots, orla potatoes, swede, leeks, swiss chard and calabrese

There is more than enough for 2 of us and I make soup 3 times a week as well as having the usual veg with meals

This week I am also having some extras: apples, pears and oranges

catznine

Lady Macbeth said it all really, I have been getting an Abel and Cole small mixed box for over a year now and the quality has been consistantly good. For £11.60 I get 5 vegetables and 3 fruits and a box of organic eggs. This also saves me going out and spending more by temptation. You can go online and find out the contents in advance and menu plan accordingly.

This weeks box contained:- carrots, onions, potatoes, swede, sweet potatoes, pears, bananas and clementines

The root veg needs using asap as the farmers have had a bad year generally but I am quite happy to sort it out and pop it into the freezer if I cannnot use it all up right away and I know I am helping support organic farmers through a difficult year.

We used to get a box from a local farm but the quality was grotty and it was more expensive, I would like to support farmers more locally but need to be able to put the food on a plate at the end of the day. Abel and Cole have been much better.

Paulie'sGirl

For anyone in the far North, I get a lovely small box (so big I have to split it with my mam!) with 1/2 dozen organic eggs for £11 from Butterby Organic. Delivered by a lovely man called Edward. Would throughly recommend them! https://www.butterby.co.uk

daisy_doughnut_2

hi all

as ive been reading through post's i notice alot of people have veg boxes delivered are they worth it? do they work out cheaper?
i have only really looked at a few sites an cant see the money saving bit am i missing something?

i generally only get the basic fruit an veg due to a fussy family

in a week i use

(i will have to put it in money im not so good with lb an ounces)

carrots loose 50p
suede 50p
brocolli 1.00
sprouts 50p
onions 30p
green beans 1.00
cabage 50p
cauli 50p
mushrooms 1.00
apples 70p
oranges 1.50
bananas 1.00

occasional

strawberries
kiwi
grapes

i buy all the frozen fruit for smoothies an home made ice cream ect

thanks

Olliebeak

I had a veggie box delivered a few weeks ago and found it not very economical for my purposes - but then again there is only myself and OH!

My stupid mistake - and I can't really believe that I allowed it to happen! - was to finish up throwing away the majority of the contents. It just did not occur to me to blanche and freeze everything that wasn't used in the first couple of days! I am so ashamed of myself for the waste because it was good stuff in there.

However, since then, I've discovered that in our area we have a not-for-profit Veggie Van run in conjunction with the local PCT (Primary Care Trust). It covers the entire borough that I live in and especially my neighbourhood because there are no fruit and veg shops locally. Have to say that this area has been designated as an NDC area (New Deal for Communities) due to much social and educational deprivation - so there are lots of grants and initiatives going on. Link below - scroll down to near the bottom of the page:

http://health.theknowsleypartnership.org.uk/eatwell_ls.html

chardonnay_2

hi, the trouble with veg boxes seems to be that you cannot specify the contents. people are always posting about random vegetables they have never tried / don't know how to cook or some don't even know what the vegetables are. some people love them and the challenge they provide but unfortunately i don't like enough veg to risk paying for stuff that i or anyone else will use.

JAMIEDODGER

hi,

ive get a veg box and a fruit box from riverford. it costs me 15.63 a week.

it is all organic and about 95% UK grown (i choose this as i have 4 kids and 3 on special diets now)

this weeks box was:

leeks
bag potatos
carrots
onions
brocolli
swiss chard

grapefruit
bananas
apples
pears
clementines



last week, i had kiwi instead of grapefruit and spinach and parsnips instead of swiss chard

i have priced this up and if i was to buy all this organic from tesco it would cost me MORE!!

the spinach from last week went in soup and am am currently deciding from a few recipes what to do with the swiss card!

i can always order extra if i want, i can change my order every week (ie, if i realy dont like the box contents) i like the flexability, the fact that they give me new recipes every week in the box, and that it is delivered to my door every wednesday morning:D

its personal choice, if organic doesnt matter to you then it would seem quite expensive....but i like it!

[Deleted User]

I get a veg box every week because I choose to buy organic food from the grower. That is my choice. It is bound to be more expensive but still incredibly good value