Fruit and Veg boxes

Conanius · 18 Mar 2012 at 10:56

Just wondering if anyone here gets those weekly Fruit and Veg boxes, and if so, where from?

Considering our options at trying them, and would welcome any personal recommendations.

LOAM · 18 Mar 2012 at 11:58

We used to get one from Able and Cole, were really good but we realised we could do it cheaper and get what we wanted by going to the local farms.

Conanius · 18 Mar 2012 at 13:28

And this is what we are trying to weigh up. Did you find you just got seasonal fruit and veg from them?

LOAM · 18 Mar 2012 at 13:32

Yeah only seasonal because its all sourced locally, ironically they were likely getting it from the same places we ended up getting it from. The reason that we stopped it was that you can't fully tailor what you get and whilst its sometimes nice to be surprised we found it harder to plan meals for and sometimes stuff was wasted.

They are good though so why not sign up for a couple of months and see how it goes, its a bit of a shock at first cause true organic fresh food is a far cry from the cherry picked perfect aesthetic of the supermarket.

Glaucus · 18 Mar 2012 at 13:33

I've used, but Bristol area only.
https://www.thecommunityfarm.co.uk/boxscheme/login.php

I gave up in the end, good service good produce. But obviously you don't get the variety you can from a shop and I like experimenting and realy like Thai type food, so if I wanted to cook that had to buy different veg, then you end up not eating the box. They do do more mixed boxes, but what's the point when the exotic veg is sourced from abroad.

I still get a meat box from http://www.fieldandflower.co.uk/ and can't see me ditching them.

DcD · 19 Mar 2012 at 02:51

Literally just ordered my weekly £12 box from Able and Cole. Spending an insane amount of money on food every month so I'm going to try basing the meals around the box, and hopefully cap what i'm spending by not making my week's meals up as I go along. Also going to try and just use veg as I'm eating too much meat.

anathi · 19 Mar 2012 at 09:01

DcD said:
Literally just ordered my weekly £12 box from Able and Cole.

I am sorely tempted to give it a go. I'm reckon I probably spend about that much a week on fruit and veg from Tesco anyway. Can't go wrong with some organics

Jolteh · 19 Mar 2012 at 10:16

They're a waste of time. If you buy into these you're just a victim of clever marketing.

Swing down your local Aldi and you'll get the same amount of fruit and veg for about a third of the price.

monkeyspank · 19 Mar 2012 at 10:17

I use these http://www.riverford.co.uk/ They grow some of the things just up the road from where I live

HeadlessChicken · 19 Mar 2012 at 11:30

I get a mini riverford one each week. It gives you enough essentials (potatoes, onions, carrots) to keep a rolling base stock going. Then you get some random stuff thrown in, which is good fun when they turn up.

I then top up anything I need weekly from my local greengrocers. Lends itself both ways, nice veg from box with seasonal stuff, and some flexibility too.

This is for 2 people btw.

Pestilence · 19 Mar 2012 at 11:42

We used to get a mini rivernene one each week. Was pretty good quality stuff, and opened our eyes on more than one occasion to something we wouldn't normally cook with.

Alas, as we were both at work during the day the delivery guy would wrap it up tight in a black bag and set it next to the bins at the back of our driveaway. One too many occasions of the local chavs catching wind and chucking the veg all over the street put paid to us getting any more. Just became a waste of money with a street full of scummers.

DcD · 19 Mar 2012 at 13:55

Pestilence said:
We used to get a mini rivernene one each week. Was pretty good quality stuff, and opened our eyes on more than one occasion to something we wouldn't normally cook with.

Alas, as we were both at work during the day the delivery guy would wrap it up tight in a black bag and set it next to the bins at the back of our driveaway. One too many occasions of the local chavs catching wind and chucking the veg all over the street put paid to us getting any more. Just became a waste of money with a street full of scummers.

*********. I'm still of the belief some people should be put down at birth! lol

neil3k · 20 Mar 2012 at 18:27

Glaucus said:
I've used, but Bristol area only.
https://www.thecommunityfarm.co.uk/boxscheme/login.php

I gave up in the end, good service good produce. But obviously you don't get the variety you can from a shop and I like experimenting and realy like Thai type food, so if I wanted to cook that had to buy different veg, then you end up not eating the box. They do do more mixed boxes, but what's the point when the exotic veg is sourced from abroad.

I still get a meat box from http://www.fieldandflower.co.uk/ and can't see me ditching them.

field and flower seems expensive. whats the quality like?

Glaucus · 20 Mar 2012 at 18:30

Very good, pay for what you get. More expensive than supermarkets but I think fairly middle of the road for a good butcher.

neil3k · 20 Mar 2012 at 18:35

I've just priced up a small box and for £55 I don't think it would last two weeks

Roasting Joints
Steaks, Chops & Fillets
1 x Rib-eye Steak
1 x Lamb Loin Chops Pack of: 4 Chops
1 x Pork Loin Steaks Size: 2 x Loin Steaks
1 x Chicken Breasts Pack of: 2 Breasts

1 x Diced Stewing Steak
1 x Coarse Cut Lamb Mince
1 x Thick Cut Back Bacon
1 x Pork Sausages

Their chicken seems very expensive

Glaucus · 20 Mar 2012 at 18:40

Depends what you get, you've got for high point cuts.

All the beef is hung for 28days things like that. So it is focused on quality rather than price.

My last box excluding the chicken wings (paid extra for them)