If you’ve been on the internet or in grocery stores at all in the past few years, you’ve likely seen the many options out there for food delivery companies. Everything from the advanced restaurant delivery of UberEats to the meal kits like Hello Fresh to grocery deliveries from Instacart. One of my favorites has been community supported agriculture, or CSAs for short.
CSAs provide not only seasonal produce that’s often organic, they also allow you to buy local and support farmers in your area. There are some estimates that an apple travels 1500 miles on average from the time it’s picked to the first bite the average American takes of it. That’s a whole lot of non-renewable resources that go into getting an apple into your lunchbox, especially if you live within 100 miles of farmland.
Farmers Markets
One great place to get local fruits, vegetables and more is a farmer’s market, but to be totally honest I just really have never made it fit into my schedule to hit one of them up during a busy day of grocery shopping. So, point to the CSA box for the delivery option (or even just the option to pick up your box at a local grocery store).
Grab Bag CSA Boxes
Now, I’ve tried a CSA box previously. It made me feel very ‘Portland’ and ‘Adult’ and subsequently ‘Stressed Out To All Hell.’ I liked the challenge of figuring out how to use a bunch of random produce in a given week, but when I found myself frantically googling how to use up a metric ton of garlic scapes (a search that came right after looking up what on Earth a garlic scape was) I threw in the towel.
Enter: Imperfect Produce
I had a friend send me her referral link since she knew I had struggled with CSAs before but was hoping to come across something workable. Imperfect Produce had everything going for it. The only quirk? All the produce was just a little bit too funny looking to sell in stores. Color me intrigued, I wanted to see what all the hype was about with this ugly agriculture.
- Delivery option every week or every other week, could place on hold for vacation
- Variety of box sizes so you don’t have to eat vegetables nonstop to use them up
- Customizable, no garlic scapes if you don’t want them
- Organic and non-organic options
- Largely local produce
- Inexpensive
So I took the plunge, ordered my first box, and literally jumped up and down like a kid on Christmas morning when it arrived. If you’d like to get $10 off your first order, you can use my referral code here!
The delivery was kind of cool, you get a text message alert when they’re about to arrive with your box which is very convenient if you live in an apartment complex. The box itself was cold to the touch, so I knew they didn’t just have my food wilting in a hot vehicle most of the day (the arrived in the evening, my selected time frame).
I had gotten the opportunity to go and select the contents of my box earlier in the week, meaning I knew what to plan my meals around for the coming week to include them.
We went for apples, peaches & plums for morning snacks and breakfast add-ons, bell peppers & carrots for Mr Never Cooks to dip into hummus, and butternut squash & red onions for me to roast up for a couple of lunches. Everything was surprisingly normal-looking, and the flavor was excellent. The carrots were even sweeter than what I was used to!
Final Thoughts?
I’m definitely sticking with this! We easily used up our box of produce in a week, it worked around a busy travel schedule, and the quality was excellent. Plus, the price and convenience just can’t be beat. If I can also help reduce food waste in the process, then I think I’ve found my perfectly Imperfect Produce soulmate.
Photo by 
Photo by 
This Miss Cooks 