Saving Supper Part 2: The Organic Box
Monday, May 28, 2012 at 6:00AM
Accessing fresh, local, organic produce in Edmonton can be a time-consuming and expensive endeavour. Visiting farmers markets is a fun activity to do with your family and it can be done year-round at the Old Strathcona and City Hall markets, but we don't always have time in our busy weekend schedules to do all of our grocery shopping this way. Organic markets are another option but they can be pricey and they don't necessarily prioritize local produce options.
Enter The Organic Box, A weekly (or bi-weekly) delivery service offering seasonal organic fruits and vegetables from local and non-local organic farms and distributors.
Founded in April 2010 by local couple Danny and Miranda Turner, the company recently celebrated its second anniversary. Our family have been members since July 2010 and we have always been incredibly pleased with the quality, variety, and value we get in the box of fruit and veg that arrives at our doorstep every two weeks.
How does it work?
Weekly or bi-weekly, members receive a delivery of seasonal organic fruits and vegetables from local and non-local organic farms and distributors. Members are notified late Friday regarding the contents of the next weekly Box and can use the company's website to customize their box contents until early Monday morning. The cycle repeats every week and every week members can plan for deliveries and manage their accounts online. You can also do things like set vacation periods, or permanently "delete" an item from your box. Can't stand broccoli? You can set your preferences to make sure you never get any.
Why we love the Organic Box
We get to spend less time shopping and still provide our family with a great selection of organic produce at a reasonable price. And our bi-weekly Organic Box delivery also forces us to try new things! Have you ever tasted a sunchoke before? A watermelon radish? How about sea asparagus? We tried all of these for the first time when they arrived in our box. Fear not, if you open your box to discover a slightly out-of-the-ordinary ingredient chances are there is also a newsletter in there with a few recipe ideas to get you started.
Try it for yourself
On the Organic Box signup page you can start with a 3-week trial membership or jump right in with a full 13 week cycle. If you do sign up, make sure to tell them that City and Baby sent you!
Have you used The Organic Box or another local food delivery service? Comment and let us know what you thought of it...
Saving Supper is a three part series on ways to make getting dinner on the table easier. Did you miss the first post in the series? Part 1: Freezer Meals is a must read. Thanks to contributor Karen Parker for these great ideas.
