Organic fruit and veg boxes

It was the mid-1990s and my expectant excitement when the box arrived quickly turned to disappointment when I opened it to find a mountain of kiwi fruits which were liberally thrown on top of a curious mixture of unidentifiable slime.

On closer inspection, the kiwi fruit weren’t in that great shape either, so the box was promptly composted (it felt wrong to just throw it away) and future orders were cancelled.

However, this experience is far from the service you can expect when ordering an organic vegetable box today.

In fact, over the past few years, the vegetable box industry has grown so much that the organic home delivery boxes can no contain all sorts, from veggies and fruit to biscuits, dairy products, beer and wine, meats, fish and ecologically-sound cleaning products.

According to the Soil Association, total retail sales through box schemes are in excess of £100m per year through several hundred certified schemes operating in the UK.

The services offered vary from company to company (including amount of choice, size, variety, cost) but all are based around the central principle of delivering fresh, locallyproduced seasonal produce direct to the customer’s door or to a central point to be picked up.

The box schemes have benefits for all parties involved.
With the increasing concerns about the globalisation of
the food industry, the media has been full of stories about food scares such as genetic modification and food production.

Box schemes are one type of food which offers consumers fresh, healthy, convenient produce – which is in season – direct to their door.

And for the producer, it allows direct contact with the consumer and provides an economical and environmentally sustainable business while reducing wastage by enabling them to sell what’s in season.