Can you save with farm fruit and veg boxes (e.g. Abel & Cole)?

[optimistikcolouristik]

We are a family of four. Usually spend around £100.00/week in a supermarket. Are the farm boxed vegetables and fruits that much different from the supermarket ones? On the market place to me they look the same. Usually we buy 2 packs of apples, 1 pack of pairs, 2 packs of potatoes (approx 3 -5 kg total), citrus fruits, cheese, poultry, fish (every other week), milk ( 4 bottles of full-fat), carrots, cucumbers, celery, onions and a few cupboard things.
Thank you.

We get Abel and cole. We are 2 adults and a toddler. I don't think you would make a saving. We get the veg box, milk and yoghurt every week plus a meat box every couple of weeks. The main reason we get it is because it is better quality - the milk is organic and not homogenised, much tastier. The meat is actually a saving as trying to buy organic, free-range in supermarkets can be hit and miss.
We don't get our fruit, that's way more expensive and if you get a fruit box then we would end up wasting stuff because we wouldn't enjoy everything they sent. Unusual veg is easier to hide in meals.

We get a veg box from Abel & Cole (plus occasional extras such as yoghurts, meat, things they have on offer etc).

You could save on the veg box, but you would have to plan meals very carefully to do so. You know two weeks in advance what is going to be in each box so it's quite easy to plan around. With any surplus we tend to cook veg dishes/side dishes and freeze them (root veg mash, gratins, bakes, roasted veg, soups etc).

There is the option to select certain weeks as 'holiday weeks' with A&C which we do every 3 or 4 weeks or so when we use up some of the freezer veg dishes, topped up with a few bits of veg bought from the supermarket.

I don't think people do veg boxes in order to save money. It's a lifestyle statement, not a cost-saving measure.

I've been getting a weekly veg delivery for a few months, it's a local scheme so less comprehensive than A&C and it's been really good for us, the flavour and quality are so much better than the supermarket. I plan the week around the vegetables so we are eating more of them and less meat so it probably does work out a little bit cheaper, though it's not why I signed up.

IMO not with Abel and Cole, but possibly with a local veg delivery box, yes. You definitely need to plan your meals around the veg box, not try to force the veg box into your existing meals IMO. And it will still take some doing to really save anything. We definitely ate more healthy and varied meals overall with a veg box though, as it changes your overall approach to food.

There are probably other ways to save if you want to have Abel & Cole - post a receipt and we will tear it to shreds help you (note I'm not doing any such thing, we buy loads of stuff that nobody trying to save the pennies would buy!)

Nope. Unless they have a buy 4 and get 5th free boxes, which they often do. Shop around and see if there are local delivery ones?

Its a faff when you get things you don't really want and feel obliged to coup/curry/stew them! I used to get huge boxed of carrots and apples to juice and it was cheaper than the supermarket organic ones.

Thank you so much for all of your replies. Very much appreciated. I see that you really need to plan carefully to win over the supermarket deals. One of our children is a "fussy" eater where he would not always eat what other three would.
Posting a weekly receipt? May be or may be, no thanks. Last time my DH behaved like a shit terrorising my food choices. Why do we need this and who is going to eat this? Then he wonders why DS is scared of trying new food with such approach.
We will stick with the weekly supermarket shopping but I might one day go to the market place and have something from there. When I see all the exotic fruits at the farmers' market I wonder where do the carrots come from.
I definitely know the difference between the home-grown food and the ones you buy in a shop. My parents still grow many fruits and vegetable in their garden. The tomatoes were delicious and the only supermarket tomatoes I consider nearly as good are Waitrose baby plum tomatoes which are a rarity in our home as they are expensive.

I used to use a local organic box scheme and the cost worked out very similar to buying the equivalent conventional produce at Sainsburys. It tasted so much nicer though - they grew a large proportion of it themselves and swapped produce with another farm, topping up with stuff from the wholesaler to provide a bit more variety when needed. The nearest you can buy to home grown ime, which as you say tastes totally different to most shop bought produce.

The added bonus of course was that the food miles were greatly reduced and the produce very fresh (sometimes still wet!) plus I liked supporting a small local business, which feels very much in the spirit of the organic movement.

I agree though that you will pay a premium with the likes of Abel and Cole.

Sorry to hear that your dh is behaving like that OP. That sounds like a much bigger issue than where you buy your veggies hope you are OK.

If you have a market-market (as opposed to a farmers' market) in your town you'll save money shopping there, especially for your fruit and veg, although the choice won't be as wide as at the supermarket.

I have a local veg box and you can tailor it quite a bit - for eg, we don't get carrots or potatoes in it. I think they also offer a 'Mediterranean' version, so more of your peppers and beans and stuff.

I would say (I live in Scotland) that the winter veg boxes can be a bit grim . Unless you love kale.

Likeasoul, sorry it has taken me so long to respond. I am fine. He apologised for his behaviour. Apparently he was fuming in the supermarked because he thought we had spent there much longer time than normally. We were in the shop around 4.30 pm then after about 20 min he asked me whether we (me and kids) were done. I could not understand his impatience. At home he was telling me we left the house at 2pm and shopped for 3 hours. I told him he was an idiot and he should check his computer history. He apologised later. He is under a lot of stress at the moment because of work but to accuse me like that really hurts.

Lonny, I love kale. I roast it in a pan or bake it in the oven. Have you tried crispy seaweed from Waitrose? No seaweed as it is made of kale but tastes lovely.
I think I will shop at the supermarkets.