As we all struggle to navigate our new normal due to the COVID-19 pandemic, you may find yourself wanting to limit your exposure to the outside world. And while that means fewer visits to family and friends, you may also decide that you want to limit trips to the grocery store. Still, you need to consume nutritious fruits and vegetables. That’s where a produce subscription service may prove useful.
Now, more than ever, there are a variety of fruit and vegetable subscriptions to suit your dietary (and pandemic-related) needs. So which is the best produce subscription service for you? No worries, we have done the heavy lifting and curated a list of the best fruit and vegetable subscription services that you can order from with a few clicks of your mouse.
1. Misfits Market
BEST OVERALL
Unfortunately, many foods are thrown out each year because they didn’t meet a certain beauty standard. Grocery stores and supermarkets tend to stock their shelves with what is deemed as perfect and blemish-free foods. To mitigate some of that loss, aptly named Misfits Market buys organic “ugly produce” and deliveries them to your door. Best of all, you’ll get these delicious fruits and veggies for up to 40% off the grocery store price. The company has partnerships with farms, food hubs nationwide and sources from outside of the country, allowing for more variety. You get to pick which day of the week you want to receive your box of misfit fruits and vegetables, and the company sends an email beforehand so that you can customize your choices for that week based on offerings. You can put your subscription on hold or simply skip a month or two with ease.
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2. Branch to Box
BEST FOR OFFICES
Focusing on making healthy eating easy, Branch to Box offers weekly, biweekly, monthly or one-time shipments of fruit and snack boxes, fruit-only boxes, and snack-only boxes. The majority of the fruits are grown by the company itself and include popular fruits such as apples and pears, as well as seasonal specialties like avocados, peaches, plums, cherries and specialty and heirloom fruits. Each week new choices are offered, including a “Featured Fruit.” Subscribers are educated on its origin and how to tell when it is ready to be consumed. The items are in individual compartments which reduces the chances of them being squished. Branch to Box originally offered fruit delivery for offices, but now the company offers home delivery as well.
3. Imperfect Foods
MOST AFFORDABLE
Imperfect Foods is committed to helping reduce food waste by offering subscribers the ability to choose between organic or conventionally grown produce. Additionally, the brand lets you customize your box prior to shipping and offers nearly 200 shelf-stable items such as grains, condiments, pasta, cereal and dairy and protein products. Imperfect Foods doesn’t only seek to save blemished fare but also other types of food waste, such as items close to their expiration dates, or products that are having their package updated by their manufacturers and might typically be purged from shelves.
4. Farmbox Direct
MOST CUSTOMIZABLE
Ashley Tyrner, founder of Farmbox Direct, struggled weekly to get to her local farmers market for fresh local produce, and then she had an epiphany. The busy single mom realized that she was probably not the only one trying to get fresh fruits and veggies into her kitchen, prompting her to give up her corporate job and start the company. She made it her goal to address the needs of busy moms, food-challenged families and help eliminate food deserts. While, like other brands, you can mix fruits and vegetables in your delivery, Farmbox Direct also lets you pick all of one kind. You are also allowed five substitutions except for on the “All Natural Essentials” box.
5. Raw Generation
BEST IF YOU LOVE JUICING
Raw Generation isn’t your typical fruit or veggie delivery service because it specializes in cold press flash-frozen juices. In addition to ordering one of their other bundles, you can also buy a 25 lb box of fruits or vegetables or a combo of the two. And while they are known for juice cleanses, their fresh juice and smoothies can be added to your regular diet as a way to get more vitamins and minerals into your body. You can either subscribe or buy as you go. If you choose to join, there is a two-month minimum requirement.
6. Harry & David
BEST FOR GIFT GIVING
Tried and true, and more than just a place to get fruit baskets, is Harry & David. The beloved brand, which has been around since 1934, offers three, six, nine, and 1-year long monthly club plans with a variety of fruits. Many of their fruit offerings are based on what is in season, allowing the fruit to be picked at the peak of ripeness. The brand owns and operates 20 different orchards featuring peaches and pears. Though giving a Harry & David fruit subscription is an excellent gift for someone who is hard to shop for, why not give yourself the joy of receiving an elegantly packed boxed monthly?
7. Melissa’s
BEST FOR EXOTIC FRUITS AND VEGGIES
If you love trying new things, want to whip together a smoothie with dragon fruit, or add bok choy to your stir fry, Melissa’s is the best fruit and vegetable subscription option for you. The brand lets you sign up for a biweekly, monthly three-month, six-month, or 12-month subscription, or you can buy as needed. The brand also has tutorial videos of recipes so that you can increase your cooking chops.