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Organic veg boxes - who do you use?

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Trying to cut down our supermarket shopping, we're thinking about a veg box. There seem to be lots of companies offering veg boxes out there, and I wondered which ones you all use.

 

River Swale put a (recycled, vegetable ink) flyer through the door last week - has anyone used their service?

 

 

Thanks, all you lovely people!

Helen

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we use their other "sister" Riverford - they are wonderful

 

Lots of lovely fresh veggies that last the week so you can eat everything, a good mix of different veggies and they are really lovely to deal with.

 

You can't go far wrong with them I don't think - we once used Able & Cole - it was yuck - awful veg didn't last 2-3 days and just didn't feel nice to use them if you know what I mean.

 

A

xx

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Riverford deliver round here, and my friend says they are good. However - and I'm not trying to make a point here, just wanted to mention it - I emailed them to find out where the produce came from, and it was all transported from Devon where they are based. I decided to use a local company instead.

 

River Swale may have local farms in your area, and as they pointed out in their reply, if you buy from a supermarket the veg has probably travelled many more miles.

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We use the Cambridge Organic Food Company - they are a small local firm and only deliver to the area within about 10 miles of Cambridge. Two reasons I like them:

 

1. They source as much produce as possible from local farms in their delivery area, and only include items from elsewhere in the UK and Europe when they can't get enough variety locally (usually in late winter and spring). However fruit, apart from strawberries and raspberries, tends to come from further afield because Cambs isn't orchard country!

 

2. You can choose what you have in your box, within certain limits. I find it handy because I can avoid a glut of basics such as onions, and it can make it easier when planning meals, since you can choose items that go together well. You don't always get your first choice, but I find it better than a completely random selection.

 

They also deliver fresh organic bread, free-range eggs (not that we Omleteers usually need them!) and a wide range of wholefoods and fairtrade groceries. At Christmas they do very nice locally-produced organic Christmas puds, mince pies and stollen.

 

If anyone does decide to try them, could you say that you were recommended by Anne Lyle? That way I get a thank-you treat (such as a box of biscuits) in my veg box :)

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We have just started using a local company called Good Be Here (www.goodbehere.co.uk) We've only had one box from them so far so cannot really comment.

 

Rob

 

Let me know how you get on with them Rob. I have looked at these are they are quite local to us.

 

We used to have a delivery from a company called Box Fresh, they are in Shropshire, but they joined with http://www.flightsorchardorganics.co.uk/

and Flights deliver in our area.

 

A couple of friends have Flights and they are very good. They do a lot of extras as well, pasta, jams, drinks and Ecover stuff

 

I would like to give them a go, but I really want to get my veg garden growing so I can grow my own and I have started to go to a farm shop not too far away that does meat as well.

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We use the Cambridge Organic Food Company - they are a small local firm and only deliver to the area within about 10 miles of Cambridge. Two reasons I like them:

 

 

If anyone does decide to try them, could you say that you were recommended by Anne Lyle? That way I get a thank-you treat (such as a box of biscuits) in my veg box :)

 

 

We use Rivenene at present but may give your company a try (they deliver to St Neots so a wider radius than 10 miles). Thanks for the link.

 

Not that I am unhappy with Rivernene - on the contrary very happy - just want to see what the alternatives are like. Looks like some of the suppliers overlap anyway.

 

Will mention your name if/when we order!

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River Swale are based in Northallerton, quite local to us.

 

I did notice that although as much produce as possible is from the Northallerton farm and other producers nearby, some comes up from Devon and obviously some is imported (bananas not growing very well in North Yorkshire!).

 

I have been trying to cut food miles, and as River Swale point out there would be far more with a supermarket.

 

We are lucky enough to have some good producers locally including Swillington Organic Farm http://www.swillingtonorganicfarm.co.uk, so I am looking into their prices too. They are only half a mile from us and their meat is excellent. The chickens are raised and slaughtered on site - you can't get fewer food miles than that!

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We don't get one, partly because i'm not in during the day for it to be delivered, but also because with just Rosie and I, we'd never get through it. I just get what I want from the farmers' markets.

 

The neighbours get one, but never get through it all - they end up giving half of it to me for the animals.. I wouldn't mind, but it comes from Devon!!!

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The reason we stopped our last box a couple of years ago was because we weren't getting through it. We're giving it another go but are making a conscious effort to plan meals to use what comes in the box - means we might get to try some new things as I hunt down recipes to use what's in the box :)

 

We're not in during the day but the company leave the box down the side of the house and take away the previous week's empty box which we leave for them.

 

Rob

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We use Rivenene at present but may give your company a try (they deliver to St Neots so a wider radius than 10 miles). Thanks for the link.

 

Not that I am unhappy with Rivernene - on the contrary very happy - just want to see what the alternatives are like. Looks like some of the suppliers overlap anyway.

 

Will mention your name if/when we order!

 

Thanks, Tina.

 

Cofco also do organic meat in association with Croxton Farm in St Neots, but you have to be at home when they deliver the coolpack - not terribly useful when you work full time.

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We're lucky, we have a shared drive and our neighbours are home most of the time so things tend to be safe.

 

Deliveries are often left at the back of the house and the gate closed behind them, and nothing has ever gone AWOL. We often come home to find things waiting for us.

 

Also we have Keith the world's best postman, who leaves packages with my Mum if he knows I will be out at work. He looks after us very well - he knows everyone on his round, and will go out of his way to make sure things are left safely.

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We're not in during the day but the company leave the box down the side of the house and take away the previous week's empty box which we leave for them.

 

Rob

 

Same here - except we just leave the box on the doorstep. We live at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac - the postmen here regularly leave Amazon deliveries and all sorts outside people's houses!

 

It's only the meat delivery that they want you to be at home for, so they can be sure it will go straight into a fridge.

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I've just got back from the local (very local) organic farm.

 

They no longer do a box scheme, they have a share scheme instead. you pay into a fund (£372 a year for two people, £614 for four) and then each week you collect your share of whatever is in season.

 

At this tine of year your box might only contain a few types of veg but in summer when everything is ready at once you might get twenty :shock: . I chatted with the gardener for nearly an hour - the scheme means he can be employed full-time to care for the garden, which is in the walled garden of the old estate.

 

I like the idea in principle. You can even take the kids along at the weekend and help in the walled garden, and they have pumpkin days at Halloween, scarecrow making events and barbecues. The farm shop also has fantastic meat, dairy, jams, flour etc.

 

Now to talk to OH. £614 a year equates to £11.80 per week. Not bad really!

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I use Rivernene and once they introduced a choice of box that didn't always contain carrots, onions and potatoes I have been very happy with them. I stopped for a while because I have veg-phobic children and husband but if I have the veg at home then i make sure we use it. In the early days they also used a lot of imports but now a much higher percentage is UK sourced

 

I don't find that organic stuff keeps as well as supermarket veg (probably because they choose different varieties) but it tastes better.

 

It's a bit brassica heavy this time of year (and I have to keep giving away Jerusalem artichokes) but we're sticking with 1 box a fortnight and use all of it up.

 

Jo

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