Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Ethical living

Discover eco friendly brands and sustainable fashion on our Ethical Living forum.

I have a free veg box token for Abel & Cole and this got me thinking...

39 replies

objectivity · 25/07/2008 12:41

Would, as a lone parent with very little income just now, it be cost effective to buy all my edible shopping from Abel & Cole, producing menus for the week and using every last scrap and then buying laundry stuff and toiletries from Wilko.

This way we could enjoy quality organic food and no processed packaged stuff, although it would come at a premium.

It would sort of force me to really ensure EVERY meal was planned and cooked from scratch, whereas now that is the case maybe 70-80 % of the time.

I don't know if this is a really silly idea. What do you think?

OP posts:
EvelynsDad · 31/07/2008 09:24

We've been using Abel and Cole for years and it has worked well for us. Maybe that's because we don't do a regular order, we decide each week whether or not to buy a box and which box suits us.

Most of the fruit and veg keeps adequately. Citrus can go off quickly, but that's the same with the supermarket.

River Nene, our local Riverford franchise didn't suit us as we couldn't vary the contents of the box and we always ended up with too many potatoes. That has improved with boxes that don't contain potatoes, but then we end up with too much lettuce.

Hulababy · 31/07/2008 09:50

Abel and Cole would work out way more expensive as their meat and oter non-veg box produce are definitely more expensive.

I stopped using A&C recently. Wasn't impressed. Once they delivered the box ont he wrong day so I didn't know it was sat in garden waiting for me - it rained and half food went soggy. Another time I ordered a salad box and it was supposed to contain one of the items n my "dislike" list - so instead I ended up with 3 lots of different tomatoes, and no other decent ingrediants to make a full sald! And a third time it came and one of my peppers looked like it had been cut in half and was all brown and grotty looking.

I had used Farmaround befre that and they were pretty regards reliability and quality, but I didn't like not nowing what I was getting. I found it harder to menu plan.

I try and use the local farm shops more. It isn't always organic, but it is local and free range. Better quality, latss longer and is cheaper.

Hulababy · 31/07/2008 09:54

Klio - where in S Yorkshire are you? Who did you find that seemed a bit cheaper?

notcitrus · 04/08/2008 14:36

I live in south London - we now have a monthly little farmers' market with one pork stall, one selling jars of stuff, one cheese, one cakes, one bread+juice and one is fruit+veg. I try to get to it.

Tried Farmaround and they mucked up my delivery 3 times (took 6 weeks to get any food!). Abel & Cole I just winced at the web prices.

I get organic milk delivered (Dairy Crest) and they do also do bags of organic mainly local fruit/veg. You used to have to order a week in advance but now only 48 hours, so I may use them more. It was pretty good value and quality, but you had to get the big mixed bag or a fruit or a veg bag, as otherwise you ended up with say 2 carrots and 1 courgette - not enough of one thing even for a meal for two! Zero packaging except the outer paper sack, which is good.

The Tesco organic boxes are a bit pricy and quality varied a lot.

DwayneDibbley · 04/08/2008 14:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Klio · 04/08/2008 16:16

Hulababy - been away, sorry and just found your message! I'm in Barnsley and have found the Riverford franchise. Am dashing out now but will link when I get in. Am getting first box on Weds so can report back on what I think of it!

littlefrog · 04/08/2008 19:40

we get riverford stuff. what we do is one week get a potato box, next week no potatoes. It works well for us, except in the summer (we have lots from the garden, but not quite enough, so we either gorge or fast depending on whether or not we get a box).
Good things:
It's cheaper for us than supermarket veg
Much nicer stuff (tastes LOADS better)
Keeps better
You aren't tied into anything - no need to 'sign up' for weeks at a time
I don't have to carry veg home! no car, and a week's veg is heavy!
We eat much more veg as a result of having to get through the box.

Bad things:
More preparation time (dirty carrots, potatoes, lettuce - you can't just drop into a saucepan/onto a plate)
You can't specify what you don't like (you can choose a different box each week though - they send out a contents list a few days in advance)
Their fruit is super-expensive. Not compared to other organic, but to conventional stuff. Painfully expensive. So perversely, we eat LESS fruit as a result of getting the box (and rarely going to a supermarket)

ecoworrier · 05/08/2008 10:41

I don't think you will save money because the point of organic is not to be cheaper. However, if you are ruthless about planning meals, using every last scrap of veg and not eating much meat, you can do it without breaking the bank.

I've used Abel & Cole for years now and have had very few problems, and the couple of times things went 'wrong' they sorted it out so quickly, efficiently and 'nicely'. Otherwise, the quality is good and service efficient.

We now have a combination of food-buying strategies:

allotment and garden which sometimes keeps us almost self-sufficient and at other times of the year only supplies a very little

Abel & Cole - order every week. We don't have a box at all now (partly because for much of the year they're sending the same stuff we're growing!). Instead, we use them as almost a supermarket shop. We have some regular stuff every week, mainly fruit and few basic veg, then top up with whatever else we want. Don't forget, organic stuff includes 'cheap' things like pulses, so I often add in a bag of lentils or whatever. Cheap meals like that really offset the more expensive items.

Farm shop once a week - we get nearly all of our milk here, lots of fruit and veg and a few other staples. Their prices vary - some things are really good value, others more expensive.

Independent fruit and veg shop in town once or twice a week. Very good value but no organic and little local/UK stuff.

Farmers' market in town once a month.

Health food shop in town 3 miles away once a month or so - great for staples like pulses, flour, grains, dried fruit etc. They also do refills of things like washing up liquid.

And about every 4-6 weeks we have to give in and visit Sainsburys for the few things we really struggle to get elsewhere!

MsG · 09/08/2008 12:55

I've used River Swale (Riverford) a few times and been happy with it. I live in East Yorkshire. You have to buy a basic box, can be a small box of fruit or veg or mixed, then you can add to it. I keep meaning to make it a habit. I think they are really good value - you get a lot and it is really tasty!

We are growing veg too though - I want to increase that!

Overmydeadbody · 09/08/2008 13:05

Objectivity you will not save any money by doing this.

I'm a lone parent too and have to agree with everything zippi has already said.

Also, I buy organic fruit and veg for work from wholesale suppliers and they are still more expensive than tesco, even than some tesco organic fruit and veg, and that's wholesale!

If you are on a tight budget I'd recommend going to local markets at around 5pm and picking up very cheap or even free fruit and veg at the end of the day, buy value things like potatoes and carrots and pears, and buy frozen veg (nothing wrong with frozen veg).

Overmydeadbody · 09/08/2008 13:06

Why not just become ruthless about palanning and using every scrap of food without buying the expensive organic stuff? Then you really will save.

MsG · 10/08/2008 00:31

Local markets are great - I sometimes go to mine late in the day and often get fab deals.

andyrob · 28/09/2008 23:26

I think you might save money simply by having food delivered rather than going shopping, regardless of whether its organic or not. I just read this article which claims the same thing: organic boxes

The key is probably in just accepting what gets delivered and not going out to get other stuff to put with it.

overthehill · 28/09/2008 23:48

We get all our organic fruit and veg - and most of the rest of our shopping - from our local wholefood shop that also delivers free of charge. I guess we're lucky to have such a shop nearby. We get seasonal stuff but we decide what, so we don't get any unwelcome surprises eg you can easily have too many Jerusalem artichokes, particularly as they can cause a wind problem! According to the person who runs this shop, if you want to buy locally sourced veg, don't go to one of the major national box schemes eg Abel & Cole, Riverford as the produce is very unlikely to be local (in spite of their claims - tho' they can get away with it as it's obviously local to somewhere!). Try farmers' markets, wholefood shops or smaller local box schemes.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page