Riverford Organic Vegetable Box scheme

Many people have heard of the Riverford Organic Vegetable Box scheme and, being lucky enough to live in Devon, I have had the opportunity to try their products out for myself. They do now also deliver more widely and have partner co-operatives in other parts of the country.

The Riverford Organic Vegetable Box is perhaps the core item from Riverford, although even this is available in different sizes, and they also offer a wide variety of other organic products from fruit through to store cupboard items. I have tried various bits and pieces but mainly go for their vegetable boxes. The Riverford Organic Vegetable Boxes vary in size from Mini to Large and the contents change every week. Having said that, you are pretty much guaranteed some potatoes, carrots and onions in most of their boxes along with a selection of other seasonal produce. My main worry when I first started buying the boxes a few years ago was that the produce might not last very well, but actually I have found the opposite to be the case. Compared to supermarket-bought produce, the Riverford vegetables tend to last longer, and, as is often the case with organic, it is a safe bet that the flavour of the products will be excellent.

You can expect there to be a reasonable amount of mud on the vegetables but this is nothing a good wash won’t get rid of! Some people are also not keen on the fact that you don’t have a choice about what goes into the boxes. Personally, I have found this to lead me to cook with items I might not otherwise have tried, but Riverford now do offer the option of simply selecting individual items to make up a delivery rather than also having to buy a box (minimum order values apply) if this is of concern.

In terms of price, I have found the vegetable boxes to be very competitively priced, even when compared with supermarkets, with prices ranging from £8.35 for a mini box (aimed at one person for a week) to £15.95 for a large box (designed for 4+ people for a week). The boxes are delivered (free of charge) once a week in returnable cardboard boxes with minimal additional packaging all of which is compostable or recyclable.