Auckland's best fruit and veg box deliveries, tested, compared and reviewed by food editor Maggie Wicks from New Zealand Herald
Perfectly Imperfect is a non-profit that arranges the redistribution of fresh food that wasn't deemed up to scratch for the supermarkets. That means broccoli that is too small, lettuces that are too big, or weather-damaged apples – all perfectly good for eating but not always pretty. Their site claims that 122,000 tonnes of food (or 45 per cent of what is grown in NZ) is wasted in this way each year, and they are on a mission to save this produce.
Perfectly Imperfect runs a community shop out of Mt Roskill's Owairaka Community Hub, Weds to Friday, 2.30-5.30 pm. And home deliveries are made once a week on a Wednesday. The organisation also delivers fresh produce for free to community projects such as Everybody Eats to feed people in need.
The Experince:
The website is pretty basic but does the job. There are three 'mystery boxes' on offer – small, medium and large. Since the rescued produce changes weekly, no clues are given as to what is inside. Adding to the mystery, there is no information on how much produce a small, medium, or large box might offer – I ordered the medium to be safe.
Pros:
All of the produce that Perfectly Imperfect sells is destined for a refill. The organisation saves thousands of kilograms of produce each week, so you're doing good by ordering this box. And it's cheap - even with delivery included, this was the most affordable and generous box we found.
Cons
You'll have no idea what's coming - whether you're getting fruit or veg or a baker's dozen of beef tomatoes like I got.
There is a compulsory field to complete about allergies. Type in 'none', and you'll be on your way.
You need to be organised because orders need to be made about a week in advance (or you can set up a regular order to receive boxes weekly or fortnightly).
What did we make with it?
The potato, kale, bok choy and broccoli went into a broccoli, feta and walnut soup. The tomatoes and onions became a tomato sauce and a ragu.
