What's in my organic fruit & veg box today!

catznine

There are only the two of us at home now with the odd visit from the now grown up kids! We do however get through more fresh produce as I am trying to improve our diet and avoid processed foods.

What I do at the moment is have the £14 box delivered every 2 weeks and use a local farm shop inbetween times to top up supplies. This does not work out cheap though, possibly spend as much again (so possible total every fortnight of £28) also not always got the energy to go out and shop so the home-delivery is the best option. I really want to avoid spending my pennies at the supermarkets (especially on fresh produce as have just read "Not on the Label" and "Shopped").

I agree that Fair Organics is good quality and yes I did get the dates last time and they were lovely. Also the apples are delicious. Maybe I could scale down and get a smaller box delivered each week. Flea72 what size box do you get? Have you tried the smaller mixed box at all?

Thanks everyone for all your replies.

flea72

i have the small mixed box (£9.50), and there is enough in there for us, which is 2 adults and 2 kids - the fruit just about lasts us the week (depending on what it is), and the veg, i usually have some left over, or i use it up making soup/stews - although we dont eat veg everyday, i would say prob only 4/5 meals a week

i tried the veg only box, but found that was smaller than the mixed box, and more expensive

it is easy to keep changing your order, until you find which box suits you best - i know wheni started ordering from them, i was getting the family box, because it said it was suitable for a family of 4 - ive no idea how anyone ever managed to eat that quantity in a month, let alone a week - so i just worked my way down through the sizes, until i found something manageable, and at a price i could afford

they are very accommodating, so some weeks if you feel you cant afford it, then just cancel the order for that week (they need 2 days notice) - you dont even have to do it over the phone, an email will suffice

like you, one reason for having the box scheme, is so i dont have to go near a supermarket - so yes i am prob paying slightly more for my fruit/veg, but im saving in the long run, by not being tempted

System

has anyone tried buying the meat from Fair Organics?

flea72

at £6 for 6 sausages, ive always given it a miss lol

catznine

flea72 wrote:

at £6 for 6 sausages, ive always given it a miss lol

Me too! My local farmshop is cheaper than that! The farmshops meat is all sourced as locally as possible and it is on the label where it came from and with the web address so you can check it out.

Murtle

flea 72, what kind of quantity to you receive of the vegetables? and what types do you get??

Thanks

Pal

1kg potatoes - in season and probably locally produced depending on type
500g carrots - out of season (imported?)
500g onions - out of season, so probably imported but fairly essential in a kitchen
1 bunch celery - way out of season in the UK - imported, probably from Spain
1 pointed cabbage - In season if locally produced
1 cauliflower - In season if locally produced
200g mushrooms - Almost certainly out of season depending on type?
600g apples - Way out of season for UK apples, so have to be imported
600g bananas - imported for obvious reasons
800g oranges[/quote] - imported for obvious reasons

While there is nothing wrong with importing where there is no locally grown alternative (e.g. bananas and oranges), I would rather get seasonal UK fruit and veg where possible as it tastes much better. So where is the celeriac? rhubarb? sea kale? English lettuce?

How do they select those vegetables? If I want to buy imported organic food then the local waitrose sells loads of it, so what is the point of using the box scheme?

(Not having a go, I just can't see how they came to select that particular box)

catznine

We have had celeriac in the past also parsnips and savoy cabbage but I would love to see some rhubarb or sea kale in the boxes. They do vary each week although we do always get potatoes, carrots and onions. A newsheet tells us that most of the produce comes from a fairly local farm called Ashlyns. I guess they have to make the rest up from somewhere! The quality is however very good, I haven't tasted produce this good since "I were a youngster!" Stuff in the supermarkets is pretty tasteless IMO and alas we no longer have a waitrose - it long ago became a wilkinsons due to lack of local interest

catznine

Also the fact that they do a home delivery on these boxes is very useful as because of the Chronic Fatigue I do not always have the energy to go to the shops. (Not while I am trying to hang on to my part time job by the skin of my teeth!)

crana999

You can keep apples in "controlled atmospheres" for months without them decaying, so the apples may well have been locally grown and then stored, rather than imported.