This morning was like Christmas to a food nerd. My first delivery from Boston Organics of local produce. I had signed up for the $29 Dogma box which was all sourced in New England. They allow you to pick the size of the box and what ratio of fruit to veggies in most of the other boxes but the local only comes in one size and you get no choice in what comes in it. I was apprehensive but looked at it as a culinary adventure. Supporting local agriculture is important to me and I was hoping this would be a nice replacement to our local farmers market that had ended last weekend.
All day I sat at my desk in anticipation of its arrival. Yes, I really am this big of a food dork. When it came I eagerly popped it open and found:
1 lb Bosc Pear (3 small pears)
1 lb Fuji Apples (2 apples)
1 8 oz Bag Cranberries
1 4oz Clamshell Alfalfa and Radish Sprouts
2 Heads of Cabbage
.75 lbs Butternut Squash (This was in replacement of a celery root which was fine by me. I like squash better)
1 Head Green Leaf Lettuce
1 lb Red Beets
1 lb Yellow Onions
1.5 lbs Sweet Potatoes
I have to admit it looked kind of small to me for how much it cost. I had yelped the company before I signed up and there were several people who mentioned they did not feel it was a good value. I wanted to test the theory so I headed off to Whole Foods after work so I could add up what this box would have cost had I just gone there and purchased it.
The verdict $20.15 at Whole Food. Almost 9 dollars cheaper. I have to say I have never seen Whole Foods be the better deal before, ever. There is an undeniable convenience factor but it isn't worth $9 to me. Overall if I was one of the people in the city who didn't have a car I think this would be worth it for me but as I can easily head to Whole Foods and buy what I want this will most likely be my one and only delivery.
My original plan was to post photos of what I did with the box so here is the first photo. A salad made with the green leaf lettuce and topping I grabbed from the salad bar. Mmmm Asian style tofu and ginger carrot dressing. It was delicious! Once I get a reliable light source I am hoping the photos will be better as well.
Have you tried something like this before in your area?
What did you think?