Beware with some Box (riverford.co.uk)

Member Name: cybervic

Product:	riverford.co.uk
Date:	27/04/06 (1113 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: delivery ontime, easy to order. large vege box very good value

Disadvantages: not always the freshest veg, some box expensive.

I've been using riverford for almost a month now, I was very happy when I receive my first large vege box. most of the vegetable seem very fresh except Leeks were turning yellow a bit and potatoes weren't looking as fresh as it should be.

I weighted each vegetable, compared the price with Tesco Organic and non-organic range. It turns out that whilst my large organic box cost me 13.50, the same items from Tesco organic range would cost me 17.00 and that non-organic range would cost me 11.50. I was very happy with my findings and went on to order the large box for the next couple of weeks.

Everytime when the box came, I inspect the state of vegetables straight away. My personal opinion is that the potato quality isn't as good as I expected. almost all potato has sprouting bud, and sometimes carrots had already gone soft on arrival.

Anyway, after few weeks of having large organic box, I decided to change it to Fruit&Veg Box because I had accumulated too many potatos from previous weeks. The new box arrived ontime but the contents and size were very disappointing. I weighted each tiem and compared the price again with Tesco's range. It turns out that Tesco organic range is 1.50 pounds cheaper than my box, and that non-organic range is 4 pounds cheaper. This means, on a annual basis, I will be paying 80 pounds extra for the same item in Fruit&Veg box, not to mention the rewards points given from supermarket.

So, my advice? if you want to live healthy but still can't afford to waste money, stay with Large Veg Box, you can add on a fruit bag which is 4 pounds only. It's better value this way.

Summary: stay away from fruit&veg box unless you are rish.