I just recently got my first Imperfect Produce box delivered, and I am EXCITED about it!!
“What is an Imperfect Produce box” you ask? Well, let me tell you!!!
What is Imperfect Produce?
Imperfect Produce is a food delivery service. They contract with ‘local’ farmers (they are located in California, so they get produce from farmers local to them) to get the produce that is rejected by the supermarkets.
These produce are rejected, not because there is something wrong with it. It’s rejected because it doesn’t look as pretty as other produce, and of course, we are a society that thrives on looks, right?? So, the fruit may be shaped funny, like our friend the lemon up above, or it may be too small, or even too big. Grocery stores only want the produce that looks like all the other produce (hmmm… sounds like a pattern in this country… but I digress).
Why is this a big deal?
Here’s why this is a big deal. I found out that more than 20% of the produce that farmers grow ends up never leaving the farm. Talk about food waste!! When it doesn’t leave the farm, it goes bad (I’m sure the farmer’s family can only eat so much). It also means that the farmer doesn’t make any money from it (we have to support small businesses so that they can survive!), and that can be a huge problem. It’s wasteful and it doesn’t make any sense, to me at least, why all this food isn’t being consumed. Well, now it IS!
But what does it taste like? It can’t be any good if the grocery rejects it, right?
WRONG! All the produce that was delivered to me was completely GREAT! There was nothing rotten, not even any browning edges. It’s all ready to eat, and it’s delicious! The IP company says that they inspect all produce before it leaves their warehouse to make sure that it meets up to their high standard. Well, I don’t know what their standard is, but the boxes that I got recently are absolutely EXCELLENT!
The best part is…
The absolute BEST part of it? There are actually several so here goes.
It was delivered RIGHT TO MY DOOR!! Talk about food delivery service! The produce was delivered during the window of time that they said they’d deliver it and I didn’t have to go to the supermarket. I just came home, and it was sitting right where I wanted. You don’t have to have yours delivered to your door (I live in a pretty safe place. Noone’s going to mess with my stuff, but you may not have that luxury). You can have it delivered to your job, or home, or wherever you’d like. It’s so beautiful!
Another great thing is that you can customize your box each time. They send you an email a few days before hand to tell you what will be in the box. You can then go in and take something off the order, add something to it, and increase or decrease the amounts of any given thing. Having a party? Order lots of that thing you want to cook. Going out of town? Cancel the next shipment so that it doesn’t go bad in front of your door. It’s all so convenient.
Third, it’s a bit cheaper than grocery stores because they go straight to the farmers to get it. EVEN ORGANIC PRODUCE is cheaper!
Where do they deliver?
Unfortunately, they are not nationwide… yet. If you live in one of these areas though, you can enjoy a delivery as early as next week if you’d like. The areas they serve are:
- Bay Area, California
- Los Angeles, California
- Portland, Oregon
- Seattle / Tacoma, Washington
- Chicago, Illinois
If you live in one of those areas, be sure to CLICK HERE to go straight to their website and check it out. Sign up for a box, and enjoy your produce!!
With my first box, I made a Blueberry Rhubarb Dressing… OMG! It was Sooooo good! I’ll post the recipe soon. Just know that you may have to modify the recipe from what I did… because I ate most of the blueberries that came. I didn’t have nearly as many for the dressing. OOpppss!!! *guilty face* They were so delicious though!
I’m INTERESTED! How do I order?
If you are ready to explore the world of Imperfect Produce, you can CLICK HERE to go to their sight! Or, you can click on any of the pictures in this blog post.
Get a $10 Credit with the links that I provided!
When you sign up with the links that I’ve provided, we will BOTH get a $10 credit!! Win-Win!! It’s not a lot, but every little bit counts and you can get a pretty good amount of stuff for $10 through this company. And I KNOW that you will enjoy it as much as I do!
I’ll be posting at least one more blog post about my boxes. I want to share what I got and what I made with it. So, stay tuned!!