Home-delivered fruit and veges

With the growing popularity of home delivered fruit and vegetable box schemes, it’s now easy to eat seasonally by buying produce grown by local farmers. Eating locally means less fuel is used to transport your food, while at the same time you’re supporting the local economy.

Home-delivered fruit and vegetable boxes also help minimise food waste as the produce is generally picked to order. Packaging is kept to a minimum too. Few, if any, plastic bags are used and most of the schemes reuse and recycle their boxes. Many offer organic produce which doesn’t use pesticides and chemical fertilizers, which damage our environment. And the produce is often fresher, too.

As home delivery catches on the range of produce increases – keep an eye out for organic meat and egg delivery services – however for this review we stuck to fruit and vegetables, sampling six schemes servicing different parts of the country to see what they had to offer.

Auckland

The Honesty Box

www.thehonestybox.co.nz

We ordered: F&V Large – $50

The Honesty Box delivers within the central Auckland suburbs to both homes and offices. Our F&V Large box was packed to the brim with seriously fresh fruit and vegetables, including some of the best tasting apples we’ve ever eaten. The onions, carrots and pumpkin were gigantic and everything looked top quality with no marks or bruises. Other highlights were: two bunches of certified Fairtrade bananas, a fennel bulb and a selection of fresh herbs, including lemongrass.

The Honesty Box suggests that the F&V Large is, “Perfect for families, the student villa or just hungry households,” and we agree, the box would easily feed a family of four for a week. We’d like to see an organic option on offer, but all in all, The Honesty Box is an excellent choice in terms of value for money and quality.

Ooooby

www.ooooby.org

We ordered: Organic Family Box – $53

Ooooby delivers to Auckland and Waiheke Island. The variety of produce in our box felt slightly limited, but the mandarins tasted beautiful – juicy and sweet. The apples were a bit floury though. Included in the box was information on where the items came from, the name of the grower, plus suggested recipes and a newsletter.

In the Auckland region you could also try:

www.eco-organics.co.nz
www.naturallyorganic.co.nz
www.allgoodfood.co.nz
www.foodbox.co.nz
www.producedelivered.co.nz
www.holistictoolbox.co.nz

Central and North

Produce Delivered

www.producedelivered.co.nz

We ordered: Family Pack – $39.99

Servicing Hamilton and Auckland, Produce Delivered is the new kid on the block. Our box was loaded with a good, hearty combination of classic fruit and vegetables. We particularly loved how the bananas and tomatoes were nearly ripe but not quite. The tomatoes, parsnips and leeks were huge; the only items disappointing in size were the carrots. It was obvious the produce had been carefully washed and packaged and the taste was unbelievably fresh. Our box lasted a week for this family of four and we think it was great value for money.

Foodbox

www.foodbox.co.nz

We ordered: Big Bang – $45

Foodbox delivers to Tauranga, Hamilton, Waiheke Island and Auckland. Our box contained a good range of fruit and vegetables, including two types of apples and tamarillos. The cauliflower was enormous. Everything tasted really fresh and was nicely chilled. There were enough vegetables to feed a small family with young kids for a week, but we think there needed to be more fruit, especially bananas. Still, it was good value for money.

In Auckland, Foodbox takes its leftover quality produce to the City Mission, finding a good use for food that may otherwise have gone to waste.

Wellington

Organic Boxes

www.organicboxes.co.nz

We ordered: Large Mixed Box – $90

It was surprising to see the produce arrive packed in a Styrofoam box, (the website says it’s for insulating purposes) but good to know that they collect the boxes and reuse them. The produce was all organic and good quality, with no bruises. The mandarins had some spots but were very sweet and delicious; the pears were really good, too. Everything was really fresh. The Large Mixed Box is described as “ideal for the bigger household”, but there needed to be more fruit. This was the priciest of all the delivery services.

In the Wellington region you could also try:

www.urbanharvest.co.nz
www.commonsenseorganics.co.nz
www.organicconnection.co.nz

Christchurch

Just Organic

www.justorganic.co.nz

We ordered: Family Box – $59.22

Our box had an equal mix of fruit and vegetables and we were impressed at the range given that it’s all seasonal organic produce. The freshness and quality was outstanding and made us realise that the produce we normally buy from the supermarket is substandard by comparison. However, the box was lined with plastic and we wonder whether it could have been replaced with newspaper. The quantity would comfortably feed a family of four for the week.

In the Canterbury region you could also try:

www.ohokafarmersmarket.co.nz

Price check – boxes vs supermarkets

We did an item-for-item comparison shop at our local Auckland supermarket, buying the same type and quantity of fruit and vegetables that we received in our Honesty Box delivery. We bought:

• 12 bananas
• 10 mandarins
• 6 kiwifruit
• 8 apples
• 4 pears
• 1kg potatoes
• 1kg carrots
• 1kg kumara
• 2 parsnip
• 1 broccoli
• 1 cauliflower
• 1 pumpkin
• 1 garlic bulb
• 1 fennel bulb
• 3 beetroot
• 2 onions
• 1 herb medley (lemongrass, parsley, rosemary, coriander)
• 500g Brussels sprouts

The Honesty Box: $50
Supermarket: $65