Riverford organics - views?

[nappyrat]

So today I received my first ever orderfron RO, A fruit / veg box.

To be fair, I haven't eaten any of it yet so maybe it'll blow my mind & change my view...but...oh my, on first glance it seems like incredibly poor value.

£15 for;

4 blood oranges
4 apples
2 leeks
A chard head
Punnet chestnut mushrooms
2 red peppers
1 sweet pot (large)

I reckon in Aldi that'd cost me about £5-7.

Related but separately...how 'non organic' is ordinary fruit & veg anyway?!

[Bluesheep8]

I'm appalled. £15? Seriously? I'm sure the equivalent would be approx £5 in Aldi....

[Sadik]

I'd suggest looking for a local veg box grower - you're likely to get a much better deal than from a big chain like Riverford, and the veg will actually be properly local (a lot of Riverford's stuff is grown in France).

How non-organic is 'ordinary' fruit and veg - if you're asking from a health POV (regarding spraying), I'd be particularly wary of eating chemical farmed apples (very heavily sprayed), carrots (at one point DEFRA official advice was to peel at least 2mm of skin off of carrots because of residues, though I believe the outcry made them take it back), peppers again will be heavily sprayed . . . oranges probably not so much & have a thick skin anyway. This article in the telegraphy has a summary of the best / worst offenders regarding pesticides.

If your concern is the environmental impact of chemical farming, then I'd go for cost / quantity of veg - so eg switch to organic potatoes since they're not wildly expensive and will account for a lot of land area.

[extinctspecies]

I'm a long-standing Riverford customer and like their produce & their ethos.

Yes, some of their stuff is grown in France - but that's so that they can offer variety in their boxes all year round, as the growing season is longer in France.

I think their provenance is impeccable. I don't get fruit from them (we don't eat fruit that is imported from outside Europe anyway) but get a weekly veg box, milk, eggs & bread & occasionally meat.

The quality is great, and I'm really cautious about eating non-organic veg.

[nappyrat]

Thanks @Sadik, very interesting.

Concern re chemicals is my family's health.

[nappyrat]

It just got me thinking about prioritising what to buy organic & what not to bother with.

[nappyrat]

Have to say, the chard was very tasty. Just eaten for tea

But the cost.!!!!!

[extinctspecies]

Riverford carrots also taste like proper carrots.

[Bekabeech]

I would say the fruit is the problem. I would go for a purely Veg box, and they offer a 100% UK one for most of the year. I've used them for a long time and like them.

My box today contained: a bag of curly Kale, a box of mushrooms, 3 leeks, a cauliflower, 4 onions, 4 beetroot, a bag of potatoes and about 7 carrots (some quite big). Cost £14.

[nappyrat]

@bekabeech - fruit is the problem - what do you mean?

[nappyrat]

I should be clear btw, selfishly, my sole reason for trying RO is concern about health impact of supermarket produce these days. I don't really care about where it's come from (small consideration).

[Bekabeech]

The problem is that supermarket fruit is grown on a large scale and imported on a large scale, very little of it is organic.
Organic fruit is more expensive, and even more so if you are dealing with small scale farmers and ensuring the standards.

I meant that by buying a fruit and veg box you are getting less value for your money, you are also not going with the seasonal flow. If you used a local veg box scheme you would get little if any fruit at this time of year. Because it just isn't growing, and although you can stored apples for example, they may not be many of the quality that customers will accept.

[extinctspecies]

OP - she means the fruit, because it is non-seasonal & imported - will cost more than the veg.

That's what's ramping up the cost of your box.

Buy an organic veg only box & it will be cheaper. And stick to non-organic oranges from the supermarket as you all be peeling them anyway.