FOOD: Organics Live Grocery Delivery in Kitchener-Waterloo

Think of your favourite beauty subscription, increase the box size by tenfold, switch out the makeup and skincare for fruits and vegetables and what do you get? The Organics Live Grocery Delivery Service (and a blog post full of fruit and veg photos). 

This summer, I'm testing the waters by trying out a grocery delivery service. Getting a box of unknown produce is my way of being adventurous and cooking with new ingredients! I'm not picky, so I like surprises. 

There are a plethora of options - boxes for 1-2 or 3-5, fruits only, fruits and veggies, biweekly or weekly. I ordered the Small Box (for 1-2 people) bi-weekly for $37. You can opt out of the program the Sunday before delivery day of the week (Tuesday for KW). 

Organics Live also delivers to Guelph, Cambridge, and Toronto. You can sign up using the code FRIENDLY for 50% off here. 

The items in the box are totally random. The only certainty is that you have the option of opting out of 5 items and they will replace it with a similar item of equal value. I didn't want apples (I'm mildly allergic to them if they're not in a pie), kiwi, rhubarb, coconut, plums and turmeric... One of the items must have been apples this week but there was a little note in the box explaining that I received extra grapefruit instead. 

In the box: 

• Carrots x 8
• Eggplant x 1
• Cabbage x 2
• Beets x 4
• Red chard x a lot
• Green onions x a lot
• Pears x 2
• Mangoes x 2
• Grapefruit x 5

I already roasted these gorgeous carrots with a little paprika and garlic powder. I snipped off the tops and saved them for later. I'm going to try my hand at cooking with them for the first time! 

To be roasted! 

To be roasted, as well! Apparently the leaves taste like kale, I'll be testing out that theory! 

The Good: Produce was neatly packaged in a large cardboard box. The fruit and veg seemed to be of high quality (no damages or bruising). Customer service is excellent - as soon as I signed up, I was given a short call to confirm my subscription and delivery date. The variety of items was pretty great and nothing that I didn't want. The apples were appropriately substituted with another fruit. 

The Bad: Majority of the produce was not local or Canadian, as indicated by the tags. I'd prefer to support local growers through this kind of thing, rather than receiving more exotic items like grapefruits and mangos from Mexico or the US. Also, $37 is more than what I'd pay for groceries during a regular week ($30 including veg, fruit, and meat) but I also receive more than I'd consume in one week. I understand that with this service I'm getting delivery + organic produce, which justifies the price for me. 

Overall, the convenience of grocery delivery is very appealing to me as a student. Additionally, the surprise produce helps me to step outside of my cooking comfort zone. I'm interested to see how my next box (in two weeks) will differ from this one. 

If you're interested, feel free to use my referral link to try it out here! with the code FRIENDLY for 50% off your first box. :) 

Do you eat organic? Would you try something like this? 

This post includes referral links. 

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