If you're beginning to wonder if all those loyalty points are worth it when your supermarket bills are astronomical, the organic veg folk at Riverford reckon they've worked out why - retailers are making their customers think they're getting a good price on fruit and veg by setting the prices high and then reducing them.
Of course, everybody loves a bargain, but Riverford says supermarket fruit and veg can be up to 73% more expensive than the stuff they send out in their own box scheme, and on average costs 40% more.
I did a little digging by way of comparison to the Abel & Cole box which conveniently landed on my own doorstep this morning, and the results weren't quite so shocking, but I still won out: for £10 I got potatoes, carrots, courgettes, avocado, cucumber, pears, oranges and clementines. The same haul at Sainsbury's would have cost me £11.59 (though I couldn't find any organic clementines). Over at Waitrose I was looking at £14.58. If I'd shopped at Tesco... I would have had to divulge so much personal information for the privilege I couldn't be bothered.
So even if you're not sold on organic and don't care for the 'Tesco=world domination' theory, you may as well save your pennies and the hassle of going to the supermarket by ordering a vegetable box. Around this time last year both Tesco and Sainsbury's announced they were trialling their own organic box schemes, which entirely negates the point of going straight to your supplier. But I haven't heard much about it since, has anyone else?
Abel & Cole, though - where has that avocado sprung from? I'm fairly sure they're not in season... Riverford grows all its produce on its own farms in the Dartmouth area (the long-term sustainable approach); Abel & Cole suckle with the devil by importing stuff from foreign farmers (the globalised support-network way), so you'll have to decide which side of whose fence you sit on that one yourselves.
Of course the best thing to do is grow veg yourself, either on an allotment or in your garden. It's amazing how much you can produce and how easy it is - and fun (including for kids). I've never liked these organic box things - great that they're organic, but where does the produce come from (as you point out) and how green is it do deliver it all by van?
Posted by: Ros | Wednesday, 05 December 2007 at 08:26 PM
I grew my own chillies, potatoes and aubergines. The chillies worked out well, but the potatoes were tiny and the aubergine kept growing so big it developed a basic level of consciousness, overpowered me and is now holding me prisoner in my own basement, attempting to cross-fertilise me with an organic marrow.
Posted by: Joe | Thursday, 06 December 2007 at 05:54 PM
Oh dear Joe - have you been struck by the nasty GM stick perchance, which has infected all your vegetables with evil powers? Good luck on escaping the basement...
Ros - I'm very envious - I had my own little vegetable patch as a kid- but now I live in a shoebox with no outdoor space.
Posted by: Ethics Girl | Thursday, 06 December 2007 at 06:09 PM
I have tried and failed at growing my own veggies. So while the box as an alternative is attracive, I will stick to the third option, which is going to street traders who sell fresh enough veg with no packging.
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