Should I get a veg box?

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Posted at 3:02PM, 31 August 2011 by Rejina Sabur-Cross - Food writer

Veg box schemes have been around since the eighties but the past year has seen a sudden surge. Rejina Sabur-Cross finds out what all the fuss is about...

"We're constantly trialling and tasting different varieties, and not being hung up about cosmetic perfection really helps to avoid unnecessary waste," says Vitha Shepherd of Riverford, which currently delivers around 40,000 boxes a week.

"Previously the 'trend' was for organic, but now people are keen on staying healthy and supporting small, independent farms," says Claudia Ruane from Abel and Cole. "Our customers love the excitement of opening up their boxes on their delivery day. 'It's like Christmas every week' is the popular refrain. People tell us that not always knowing what's coming makes them far more adventurous in the kitchen, and they learn to love vegetables they previously wouldn't have bought. They relish the challenge of a new ingredient."

What of the lingering veg drawer of shame? Those mouldering carrots that end up shunned and alone every week.

But what about the cost?

Elly Curshen (co-founder of Bristol's Montpelier Basement) has been blogging about her recent veg box experiences from The Walled Garden.

"It's a very reasonable £10 per week and the quality of the produce, plus the fact that there's so much variety is fantastic," she tells me. "Having said that, it's hard to say if this is necessarily more economical as I couldn't have bought the same stuff for the same price, but then I probably wouldn't have spent £10 on veg in a week either (although I probably should!) We're not that great at planning as we're far too easily tempted by thoughts of restaurants and last minute inspiration for meals. So the veg box has forced us to actually plan our week out!"

So what are the drawbacks?

For Elly, it's having to store far more vegetables than usual. "Things have to be used according to which goes off quickest, and that's not always the order in which you fancy eating them," she says.

So what about these foods that we might not naturally gravitate towards? What of the lingering veg drawer of shame? Those mouldering carrots, pointed green cabbages or celeriac that end up shunned and alone every week?

"I ended up wasting the runner beans as I just never fancied cooking with them," admits Elly. She has plenty of creative ideas for other fare though. "I love pickling cucumbers and they're really quick. Sauces freeze well but I never get round to freezing them - they just get eaten! Curries and tagines are a great way to style up 'chuck it all in' veggie stews and also freeze well. Our new food processor has helped a lot. I made an awesome slaw in about two minutes by grating loads of veg, adding lemon juice, oil, chilli and mint. I also made a vegetable tart tatin, topped it with some lovage pesto I'd been given and made some purple mash too."

"Almonds, soy sauce, a couple of different nut oils, spices and dried herbs... with the right accessories you don't need much time at all to throw something delicious together," agrees Claudia. "We heard from a nurse once, whose shift pattern made it hard to cook from scratch during the week. So, on the day of her delivery, she cooked everything up in batches - in stews and soups then froze them in meal-sized portions for the rest of the week."

There are clearly some wonderful ways to see off those stubborn veg box remnants - adding courgettes to chocolate cake, making beetroot brownies with veg-averse little ones or crushing broad beans onto bruschetta.

So how do you like to get creative with yours? Or do you prefer shop-bought veg?

Comments

RuthB

31 August 2011, 8:32PM
RuthB

I like the idea of a veg box - especially if you are new to an area. But I have found that over the last few years I am better off buying from friends and nieghbours who set up mini stalls to sell there home grown excess - Â£1 for enough new potaotes to feed 8 is a real bargain in my book! Does take more effort I suppose but then you are only buying what you want when - and I am lucky to live somewhere where a lot of people grow there own!

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LiveForFood

31 August 2011, 9:45PM
LiveForFood

Mmm I did a post recently myself about whether or not I thought having a veg box is worth it. Overall the convenience and variety of produce outweigh the odd item I don't get round to eating. http://liveforfood.co.uk/2011/07/vegetable-box-is-it-worth-it/

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Belit

1 September 2011, 7:13AM
Belit

The good things about getting a veg box, in my experience, is being forced to think more creatively in planning and cooking meals, and supporting local businesses. The downside is that in wintertime we received a lot of items we just didn't want that much of. Or at all. Such as two kohlrabis per week. I live in Norway, though, and our growing season is probably even more limited than Britain's. What I miss the most from our box are the local, organic eggs that came with it. I think it's definitely worth trying out a veg box scheme if you cook regularly and like veg.

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Claire

1 September 2011, 5:03PM
Claire

As long as you're going to be eating in, a veg box delivery is a great idea. It makes you much more aware of seasonality and encourages you to make use of veg that might not ordinarily be on your shopping list. As for receiving veg you don't like, most companies (certainly Abel & Cole who I use) allow you to 'blacklist' anything you don't like.

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dusicka

1 September 2011, 5:54PM
dusicka

why wasting, when most of the veg is freezable?

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Chris Pryke

1 September 2011, 6:09PM
Chris Pryke

I like how vegboxes can also support a movement- great way to use consumer choice to support sustainability for me. I've been using a great vegbox scheme in Nottingham run by an environmental charity called Ecoworks. Their thing is local support for smaller growers and increasing access to nutritional food for more deprived parts of the city. So i pay about Â£10 a week (for a house of 4) and that subsidises cheaper boxes to people on low incomes. Like robin hood but still cheap for me, love it!

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andycrofts

2 September 2011, 11:59AM
andycrofts

Wouldn't having an allotment plot be easier? Â£20/year, grow what you want.

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Ellie Reade

2 September 2011, 12:46PM
Ellie Reade

I tried a veg box for a while but cancelled it as it wasn't worth the money. One week there was a couple of very small potato's (not enough to do even one meal), some very small onions, some leeks, and some fennel..... Not great for a tenner. I may just chalk it up to a bad company - but when you've tasted home grown...it's a whole difference experience.

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Lorraine

3 September 2011, 10:56AM
Lorraine

We get a combined vegetable/salad/fruit box delivered every week from a local company in Sussex for Â£15! Box is ideal for a family of four, with plenty of the "staple" veg - potatoes,carrots and onions then several different exciting extras. I love to open the box and see what lettuce I have been sent! This week was a beautiful Lollo bionda! No more iceberg lettuces from the supermarket for us! we have found the quality and flavours enormously superior to supermarket veg and my teenagers are now eating far more veg than ever before. Definitely a thumbs-up from me!

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gracie

4 September 2011, 11:00AM
gracie

I had a veg box for a while, I got bored of having beetroot for about 6 weeks! Ok it did mean I got adventrous with it, making a beetroot cake, pink mash, crisps etc. A couple of times the courgettes were already going off. It could of been the company I chose, I don't know. These days I tend to go to my local market as its cheap and you can meet the growers and all the veg is in season. I takes more effort on my part, I suppose that is a pro to a veg box as it just delivered to your door.

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LouiseP

5 September 2011, 10:12AM
LouiseP

We had a veg box delivered for a while but I didn't like the fact that I kept finding spiders and caterpillars in my fridge :(

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Mammabat

5 September 2011, 7:37PM
Mammabat

I get a veg box from a local company and they are very good, nice n fresh, not had any waste yet,lots of lovely fruit and veg, I can contact them easily to ask for a certain item if they have it and to say "no thank you" when Ive had cauliflower 3 weeks in a row!!! I get the smallest box at Â£7 as there's just the 2 of us but they also do 10, 12 and 15 pound Â£ choice of box!

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shelley

5 September 2011, 10:49PM
shelley

After reading such positive comments about veg boxes I think I might give it a go.

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Stephen

9 September 2011, 10:13AM
Stephen

I use Able and Cole, and yes you can black list items, but better still, you can build your own box. I just choose what I want each week. I am not sure if it works out more expensive doing it that way, and of course you have to remember to do it ever week, but it only takes a few minutes and you get to see what else they have which is always interesting, and their 'Special Offers' are always worth checking out.

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BecciH

17 September 2011, 1:10PM
BecciH

I use Kellys Veggies, spending Â£29 a week for my family of five, (we all eat alot of fruit and veg) for all the fruit and veg we need. We all love discovering what is in our box when it comes and nothing is ever thrown away, any veg that is left at the end of the week gets made into a veg soup that the children have for a snack when they get in from school, and fruit is stewed, smoothied, or baked in cakes. Love using local seasonal produce and Kelly the owner is a pleasure to communicate with, he also includes a different recipe in the box each week as an dea for how to use the produce.

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Jess Bartlet

20 September 2011, 11:47AM
Jess Bartlet

We started cornishfoodmarket.co.uk about a year ago and amongst the meat, fish, dairy, bread and other items we also supply fruit, veg and salad boxes of varying sizes and prices to suit everyone. There is definitely a real trend in buying boxes and our customers love the variety and freshness in each box and they can also have it as often or as little as they like, so once a week or if that's too much fruit and veg, every two weeks. The phrase 'it's like Christmas arriving' is something we hear every week! Itâ��s a nice feeling knowing we are buying wonderful food whilst also supporting our Cornish farmers.

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Jane

20 September 2011, 7:14PM
Jane

I've been getting a veg box for 4 or 5 weeks now, from Riverford. The quality is great - veg is fresher, definitely lasts longer (The only thing that doesn't last a whole week in the fridge is lettuce) and the flavours are better - I am now eating and enjoying some vegetables that I wasn't particularly keen on before. You are emailed details of the boxes in advance, and there are a selection of different sizes and combinations so you can swop to a different box if you're not keen on what's in your usual box, or if circumstances mean you need a larger or smaller box that usual. You can also make up you own box but that works out more expensive - although of course the most expensive vegetable is the one that you throw away.

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Gunnhild

22 September 2011, 2:25PM
Gunnhild

In the United States, we have CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) where for different prices and volunteer work to the farm (usually small family or hobby), you get vegetables, meat, herbs, and other items that the farm/grower produces. In my neck of the woods in Western Connecticut, we have one local farm that has a waiting list for CSA support. The CSA has been expanding in the United States more and more in alignment with the expansion of farmers markets and direct roadside stands.

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MichelleRice

2 November 2011, 5:11PM
MichelleRice

I love our veg box. We get an Abel & Cole box and you can change sizes to suit your needs. It has made me a better cook as we sometimes get slightly more unusual veg and also sometimes veg needs using up sooner so creativity is required. You can check on the site to see which veg will be in your box for the coming week which helps meal planning to a certain extent. My children love seeing what we get each week in the box and sometimes grab several pieces of fruit out of it to take to school for snacks if it's delivered before the school run. The produce is excellent quality, we grow quite a bit of our own produce and the veg boxes fill the gaps between our needs and what our own garden produces. Abel & Cole also provide recipe sheets and loads of ideas on their website for cooking the veg. Cardboard boxes are recycled which is an added bonus, no ghastly plastic supermarket packaging to deal with. We find our veg box to be excellent value for money & great quality produce.

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