Monday, July 17, 2017

Imperfect Produce Box Review


I recently signed up for my first ever Imperfect Produce box after deciding I wanted to try a produce subscription box to save money and trips to the grocery store. I researched several services offering subscription or CSA boxes in my area, and decided upon Imperfect Produce because they are fighting food waste and supporting a more sustainable industry by offering "ugly" food at a discounted price. This "ugly" food is simply produce that would usually be discarded due to having too much of it or due to imperfections. Rather than just tossing it, Imperfect rescues it from farms and offers it to the public at discounted prices. This way less food is wasted, and people can get nutritious, delicious produce directly from farms in a subscription box for less! How could I not get behind that?

Imperfect Produce offers several sizes and varieties of boxes. You can get organic boxes, veggie-only or fruit-only boxes, or a mix of both, and a variety of sizes is offered for each category of subscription box. You can adjust your box preferences at any time, and with every box you have the option to customize the box and decide the frequency you want to receive it (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly). For my very first box I ordered the small organic box to be delivered weekly, which runs approximately $14 to $19. I was lucky enough to receive a referral discount code from a friend, so I saved money on my first box (if you want to save money, too, here is my referral link which will score you $10 off your first order!).

What I ordered comes printed right on the box I received!

You can customize your box every Monday - Wednesday (it may differ depending on your delivery day), and I really loved the option of picking and choosing what I wanted to get, plus it was fun logging on to the website and scrolling through the fruit and veggie options. I customized my box to receive only produce I thought I would use, plus some intriguing extras.

I liked that when I customized my box it told me the total as I added/subtracted items. This was super-helpful since I it kept me in check even though I wanted to add everything! After I played around with customizing my box a bit, my total came to $19.33 (plus $4.99 delivery fee). Since I customized my box and added black radishes (I am such a sucker for black food) and butterkin squash (I really wanted a mini pumpkin!), it was a little more expensive than the standard organic box would have been if I hadn't customized it (though I did remove some garlic and a few other items).

My Imperfect Produce box, plus the handy inserts that were inside

The delivery date is determined by your area, but they deliver overnight between 6PM to 6AM so your produce isn't sitting in the sun all day. My first delivery arrived between the specified time in a cardboard box and I couldn't wait to check out my goodies!

Looking through the produce I received, I never would have guessed these are "imperfect" fruits and veggies! The broccoli leaf and dino kale bunches were vibrant and lush, the shiitake mushrooms were gorgeous, the strawberries were bright and luscious, and the rest of the produce was equally impressive. The produce looked even better than the kind I usually buy in the store.

Look at all that beautiful produce, including dino kale, strawberries, black
radish, broccoli leaf, butterkin squash, tomatillos, and shiitake mushrooms.

The box also contained a printout of recommended storage conditions for produce, which I'm definitely going to put up on my refrigerator. It also had a recipe card and an information sheet about Imperfect Produce and how joining means you are fighting food waste, supporting local farmers, saving money, and eating healthier.

I am really happy I signed up for the Imperfect Produce box and can't wait to see what is in my next box! If you want to see what other goodies I get in my Imperfect box, follow me on Instagram!

I believe Imperfect is only available in the areas of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Orange County currently, but keep checking their website as they expand! And if you decide to try Imperfect Produce, you can get $10 off with my referral link!

Note: Some items in this post may contain affiliate links. By using these affiliate links, you are supporting The Spooky Vegan and keeping this website running, so many spooky thanks to you!

11 comments:

  1. What a wonderful service! I'll have to look around and see if there's anything similar currently available up here in Portland, OR.

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  2. Thanks for the referral link! Just used it! :)

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  3. My roommate (in Chicago) ordered this, unbeknownst to me. No prob. Except as I was home alone and answered the door, two guys handed me a box and then one took out a phone to photograph me holding it. He assured me he just needed a shot of the box, not me personally in the photo. After the initial shock, I set the box down and said I wasn't interested, and insisted they not take a photo of me. Then I saw my roommate's name on the box, and allowed them to photograph the box by itself. Sure it may be harmless, but the delivery/photograph ambush is so wildly inappropriate I can't believe it's legal.

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    1. That is odd! I know Amazon does this when they drop off some of their packages (just of the package, not of the person, though). I've never heard of Imperfect doing this, especially not without consent - maybe email them to see what's up?

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    2. They take a photo of the box to ensure that it was delivered, not to try and photograph you.

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    3. It was probably a new employee who didn’t know that they only need to take a pic of the box if there is no one home to receive it.

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  4. Just read about Imperfect Produce in the Seattle Times! Used your referral link; thanks!

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  5. Thank you for the referral link I used it sign up for the small organic option.

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  6. Thanks for the review and referral code!! I'm really excited to try this! I'm also excited to go check out the rest of your blog! :-)

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  7. Just used your referral link. Thank you so much.

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  8. This was very helpful-- thank you-
    Your referral link isn't working for me but I signed up anyways :)

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