COST: For Organic, about the same.
QUALITY: Both offer quality veg.
CONVENIENCE: Organic Box due to home delivery.
Riverford Organic Vegetables
I've just received my first ever organic box this morning, a one off trail. This is how it measures up!
5 Medium Tomatoes (570g)
2 Red Peppers (390g)
1 Aubergine (240g)
1 Curly Leaf Lettuce (300g)
23 Closed Cup Mushrooms (210g)
1 Pack of Celery - 9 stalks (640g)
4 Beetroot (500g)
5 Onions (2 large, 3 small) (600g)
6 Carrots (700g)
33 New Potatoes (1730g)
Home Delivery
COST: £12.00
Sainsbury's Vegetables Organic
I dont have a small local green grocer so my local Sainsburys (Forest Hill, London) is where i buy veg. Comparing the price of Riverford Box to Sainsbury's Organic Range
Tomatoes Family Pack Organic (£2.56kg) -- £1.46
Peppers Organic ------------------------------------ £1.78
Aubergine** ------------------------------------------- £0.99
Curly Leaf Lettuce** ---------------------------------- £0.75
White Mushrooms, Organic (£3.45/kg) --------- £0.72
Celery, Organic (£3.00/kg) ------------------------- £2.13
Bunched Beetroot, Taste the difference* (£2.78/kg) ---- £1.39
Onions Organic (£1.27/kg) ------------------------- £0.67
Carrots Organic (750g = £0.79) ------------------ £0.74
Lady Balfour Potatoes, Organic (£0.49kg) ----- £0.85
Home Delivery (Min Order of £25) ---------------- not available
COST: £11.48
* I chose the Taste the Difference range as there was no Organic Specific range for the product.
** No Organic Option for 2 products: Curly Leaf Lettuce, Aubergine.
(Prices Taken from Sainsbury's Website on 30/08/2007)
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Sainsburys Vegetables Non-Organic
For your interest I also compared the Price of The Riverford Box to Sainsbury's Non-Organic:
Tomatoes Loose (£1.29kg) ------------------- £0.74
Red Peppers ----------------------------------- £1.36
Aubergine -------------------------------------- £0.99
Curly Leaf Lettuce ---------------------------- £0.75
Closed Cup Mushrooms (£2.68/kg) -------- £0.56
Celery* ----------------------------------------- £0.68
Bunched Beetroot, Taste the difference** (£2.78/kg) -----£1.39
Onions Loose (£0.73/kg) ----------------------- £0.44
Carrots loose (£0.64/kg) ------------------------ £0.45
New Potatoes (£0.60/kg) ----------------------- £1.04
Home Delivery (Min Order of £25) ----------- not available
COST: £8.40
(Difference: £3.60)
* Unsure of the amount of Celery you get, was unspecified.
** No regular Beetroot sold here, bar the vinegar soaked packaged.
(Prices Taken from Sainsbury's Website on 30/08/2007)
Unaccounted externality costs. Despite Supermarket's making more of an effort, there's still no contest in numerous areas regarding many ethical issues ie. food miles, excessive un-recyclable packaging, waste policies (rejection of ugly veg) & their supply chain behavior. Riverford was a good choice for us as the farms local distributor is based in Southwark, so my whole box only has a couple of hundred miles on it. Riverford seems like a safe bet, i'll update if my opinion changes.
