Since I have been unsuccessful at getting deliveries from both Instacart and Whole Foods/Amazon Prime, I go to the supermarket when necessary. But I have been trying to limit the number of times I go to the supermarket to every 2-3 weeks. I try to think about what I’ll need that will stay fresh. I bought fresh fish from the fisherman off the dock last week, and I froze the haddock that we didn’t eat. But I run out of produce after about a week, since that doesn’t last forever. My friend Miriam suggested that I try a produce subscription box that she had signed up for last year: Misfits Market.
Their name, Misfits Market, comes from their initial business model: selling fruits and vegetables that may be imperfectly shaped but otherwise fine to eat. The produce is organic, but it is supposedly priced at 40% less than grocery store prices.
You can select the size of the box you wish to receive: I went for the smaller of the two boxes that they offer called the Mischief Box, 10-13 pounds of produce, that feeds 2 people. It is priced at $22 for $35 worth of produce. The larger box called The Madness with 18-22 pounds of produce that feeds up to 5 people. It is priced at $35 for $65 worth – that seems like a really good deal, but I couldn’t eat all that fast enough.
You can also select the time period for which you want to receive your box, and I decided on every 2 weeks.
In addition to produce, the company is also selling organic coffee and olive oil. They may be adding other items as time goes on.
When I signed up almost a month ago, there was a waiting list. My box was supposed to ship last week, the week of April 19. On Thursday, I got an email from the Misfits Market CEO saying that they were overwhelmed with new subscribers (like me) as well as having to work differently and more carefully because of COVID-19, and that shipments might be delayed. I was disappointed, but it’s that way with everything.
But on Saturday, I got an email from Misfits Market with a tracking code telling me that my box shipped out. The expected arrival was by Wednesday. That concerned me a bit, because my box was packed and shipped out on Saturday, and if it arrived on Wednesday, that would be 4 days later.
Good news! I got an email saying my box was delivered today, Monday!
UPS didn’t do the greatest job putting the plastic bag around the box, so when I went downstairs through my garage where the delivery person left the package, it was soaking wet. I was ticked off about that, but it is very windy as well as rainy today so maybe the wind did it. I brought the heavy box upstairs to the kitchen. Inside everything was completely dry and very well packed.
Inside were 2 plastic ice packs keeping the produce cold.
The stuff that needed to be the coldest were on top, and the root vegetables and other items that didn’t need to be as cold were packed in a separate layer on the bottom. Everything was in good shape.
I took the produce out and washed everything in soapy water. Because the stuff came from a farm, it really needed to be washed. Some of the veggies were dirty with dirt and sand. Plus I am being extra careful because of COVID-19.
I received 20 pieces of produce, all stuff that I can and will definitely use:
- a bunch of kale
- a head of frisée
- a head of iceberg lettuce
- a pint container of organic grape tomatoes
- 2 huge onions
- 3 Yukon Gold/yellow potatoes
- 1 squash
- 1 bunch of radishes
- 1 celeriac
- 6 apples: 3 Granny Smith and 3 Gala, I think
- 2 kiwis.
So far, I’ve eaten some of the delicious, super fresh radishes. I added some of the frisée and radishes to my salad for dinner tonight. I cubed and boiled the 3 potatoes with the celeriac (below) and two turnips I already had, drained them and mashed them with butter and salt. Yum-o!
I’ll make an apple crisp with the apples when Jeff is around. I added one of the kiwis to add color to my blueberry, blackberry and black grape fruit salad that I had for dessert. So far, I love this subscription!
I plan to keep the subscription probably till Jeff’s garden starts producing stuff to eat, probably not till July. Then I will suspend my membership for a while.
If you are a fan of fresh, organic produce, and you’re interested in subscribing so you too can stay out of the supermarket for longer, please use my referral code when you order: COOKWME-IK3FVR. It will get you 25% off your first box, and it will get me 25% off my next box. xoxo
Wow, this looks great Allison! You are a super-healthy eater, too…. no wonder your skin glows all the time.
Thank you, Kim xoxo
This is absolutely fantastic. Thank you for introducing me to this service– I may have to sign up!
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It just seemed like a good option for me so that I can stay out of the stores. In Cali, you have more options to get fresh produce from local farms all year round, so lucky!
Normally, produce that is fresh from a garden lasts much longer than grocery store produce. That alone is worth the extra price for me. I hope you find this true – fresh is the best!
I agree with you, Mary. We have no idea how long it takes for the produce to get to the supermarket from their distributors and how long from the farm to the distributor. I hope that Misfits Market is faster than that! I am looking forward to Jeff’s garden, though it has been too cold to plant vegetables other than cold weather crops that Jeff doesn’t seem so interested in. Plus I keep trying to talk him out of going to the nursery to buy plants! Do you have a garden on your farm?
One of my friends gets this and loves the service. I’m not a good veggie eater but my husband is. I don’t know that we’d use the kale or frisee though. It’s a good deal especially for 25% off the first box. And not having to go out shopping is the best.
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That’s a good sub box. I use an app (Mercato) for my fresh produce delivered straight from my vegan/health store here in Hawaii. Such a convenient service and they deliver the following day.
Mercato doesn’t service my area. Some of the farms are starting to offer curbside pickup, but because it is so much colder here, the fruits and veggies offered this early in our season are few. I will probably suspend this box once the local produce starts showing up at the farms/farmers markets if they allow them this year, and when Jeff’s garden starts producing things in July. But for now, it is an interesting addition that may keep me out of the supermarket. I was just able to add on mushrooms, Medjool dates, and coffee to my order, so I’m curious to see if I like them.