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

[Deleted User]

I have found this in the same county as me

http://onlyorganic.eu/default.aspx

messy site but we`ll see. I shall have to investigate. I want to get back to roots via a small enterprise

jenster

kitty same here with riverford -- im now using able and cole cos i used the free box codes posted here and have introduced 2 people and got a freebee with next box

also like the idea of being able to sustitue the veg u hate for ones that will get used

so all around im happy with them

parsonswife8

jenster wrote: »

kitty same here with riverford -- im now using able and cole cos i used the free box codes posted here and have introduced 2 people and got a freebee with next box

also like the idea of being able to sustitue the veg u hate for ones that will get used

so all around im happy with them

___________________________________________________________

I also used the free box codes. I get my fourth box free this coming Monday.
I have also bought the lamb and rosemary sausages, the fish cakes and the salmon trimmings, at the reduced prices.
Once I have taken delivery of this last order, I am going to change the frequency of my orders, as we are not getting through everything and have given some veg to MIL each week.
I am impressed with the quality though and the fact that I can sunstitute something else for something that I don't want in a particular week.
:j

katycocoa

My first ever organic veg box has just arrived and this is what I got for £11:

bag of sprouts
cavalo nero
few carrots
few parsnips
few potatoes
swede
celeriac
2 heads broccoli
few onions

this seems pretty good to me. what do you guys think? obviously haven't cooked with any of it yet but it all looks good quality and filthy, like it's just come out of the ground!

[Deleted User]

I just made my first order from this site and spoke to a lovely young man with a baby crying in the background. Obviously a small enterprise and surprisingly frequent delivery opportunities, delivered by themselves. Site is a bit messy to navigate around but shopping basket and payment was clear and confirmation was very efficient. I have told my 2 dd`s

http://onlyorganic.eu/pictureboxscheme.aspx

re very filthy veg: I always have a bottle of veggie wash under the sink, had it for years actually and use it rarely but it is very efficient when the dirt is really ingrained. Enjoy that box katycocoa, it sounds great

[Deleted User]

I have just peeled eight 2" diameter potatoes and every single one of them was below standard ie covered in black/grey patches. I had to throw 2 potatoes out and remove half the potato from the rest, so I have ended up with marbles. I am really unhappy about the latest riverford boxes to the s wales area and the sub-standard potatoes are rubbing salt into the expense. I have sent one e mail with no response and will now send another :mad:

owlet

We have a large mixed fruit & veg box from Boxfresh Organics - 8-9 veg and 4 fruit. £16.50. The quality is fab and you can change items in your box if there is anything you don't like. The flavours compared to supermarket produce is wonderful and it keeps a week no prob just stored in its box in the garage (no chance of supermarket stuff doing that). If I have veg left at the end of the week I make up a batch of soup-which has the most amazing flavours.
Another big plus is that although the organic box might be more expensive than supermarket produce, we are saving loads on housekeeping because we are not popping into the supermarket for produce and picking up lots of other junk. Quids in lol.

bravotwozero

Just thought I'd add my 2p worth to this thread as I've had experience of a number of vegbox schemes across England and Wales. My partner and myself serve with the RAF and move stations regularly due to the peculiarity of my particular rank/role. We've lived in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Hampshire, Devon and South Wales. My current posting is in Shropshire. We discovered vegboxes back in the mid 1990s when I was posted in the West Country and we discovered Riverford. They were one of first handful of box schemes that started up in the UK and have deservedly outlasted most. Since then we've had boxes from River Nene (Cambridgeshire), River Swale (Yorkshire), Riverford Norton (Hampshire) and other companies where Riverford don't deliver. Here are my thoughts on our experiences:

Abel & Cole - OK, if you like your carrots washed. Not overly impressed with their quality and feels more like a big online deli than a true boxscheme, which is what they are I suppose and they're now owned by investors (not how a vegbox scheme should be!).

Boxfresh - tried these as they seemed to have the monopoly on deliveries in Shropshire when we were first stationed here. Signed up at a show, where they had lots of lovely fresh veggies on display - in reality we found the boxes dull and repetitive, often had 'furry' items which meant lots of phone calls to sort things out. Quality soon deteriorated after 3 or 4 boxes and then we had missed deliveries (and they blamed us for living on an air base!). When they started slagging off Riverford and A&C on their website that was the final straw, no need for it and unprofessional. Luckily Riverford started delivering to Shropshire (now from neighbouring Cheshire) and we've been with them since - you really can tell the difference!

Riverford family farms - in our experience the original and best. I'm sorry that other posters feel they've had declining quality - organic boxes businesses are very hard operations to run (my brother's an organic potato grower and supplies box schemes so have some knowledge) but I've found the local Riverford distributors (who own their own patch) to be really helpful and excellent when the inevitable but rare problem arises.

From my brother's experience, this year has been an appalling year for organic growers, potatoes and caulis in particular, so if you get a dodgy spud in your box, remember the backbreaking hard work that went into its nurture and harvesting. It's very difficult to identify every slightly dodgy spud in a load and incredibly wasteful to remove the tiddlers. The boxes at the mo, might seem empty, but remember that the individual items will weigh more at this time of the year, so may not contain any less weight than in the summer. I believe they have a minimum weight.

We've tried many, local, regional and national boxes, and without fail, can always rely on Riverford to deliver us the freshest, seasonal veg. A quick note on those that let you exclude and substitute items - this pushes the cost of everyone's box up and results in more waste. As for price, station shops are overpriced and getting to a supermarket is difficult (not that we've really done supermarkets for a long time). Riverford compare their box prices monthly and they do come in cheaper than supermarket organic equivalents. We have medium and large boxes and these work out even cheaper than Tesco non-organic (not value or basic lines - they're just inedible), which I find amazing.

Hope this helps.

juliapenguin

Thanks for that bravotwozero - I used to order from Northern Harvest. They were very good but I was so busy at the time that I found coming home late and having to start scrubbing filthy veg just the last straw! I'm still too busy really but I want to support organic farmers and help them avoid being screwed by the supermarkets. You've inspired me to give it another go - I'll have a look at Riverford and see if they deliver to my area.

caroline1973lefty

i agree that box schemes are money saving for all the reasons already outlined - you stay out of the supermarkets, its cheaper than supermarket organic, and so much tastier that cheap veggie meals taste delicious (when i don't burn them that is :rotfl:)

people can also ask around locally to find out what locally based schemes are in their area, to make sure our money supports the local economy rather than the big schemes which are becoming a bit corporate. For example I now pay £9 a week for a local scheme based where i live in walthamstow, see here http://www.hornbeam.org.uk/?q=node/14

this week i got:
pears
satsumas
apples (quite a lot)
bananas
red curly kale
celeriac (yum)
chestnut mushrooms
half a savoy cabbage
carrots
swede
potatoes
and maybe some other things, i forget! anyway quite a lot for my money i feel.

i didn't find out about this on the web but by asking around my local area - some of these smaller scale schemes might only have 'drop off points' rather than deliveries but if that's the case they are often in nice friendly places (mine's a local eco-centre/cafe) where you'll meet lots of like-minded local OS-ers!

hope that helps someone,
caroline