Frequently asked questions

It's a recurring delivery of fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables, packed locally and left at your door on a set day. Rather than picking every item, you choose a box size and a grower or greengrocer fills it with what's freshest that week — a lovely, low-effort way to eat with the seasons.

Start a size down from what you think you need. A small box is plenty for one or two people who cook a few times a week; a family box suits a household cooking most nights. Because most schemes let you adjust each week, it's easy to size up once you see how much you get through.

With most good schemes, yes. You can usually remove items you don't want, take a week off when you're away, and pause and restart whenever life gets busy — all without losing your place.

Missed deliveries are rare, so a box that's a little later than usual usually just means a busy round. If it's properly late, the simplest step is to contact whoever you ordered from — they can check what happened and put it right.

Certified organic means food grown without most synthetic pesticides and fertilisers, to defined environmental and welfare standards — and inspected to prove it. Whether it's "worth it" depends on your budget and priorities. A sensible middle path: buy organic for the things you eat most or eat unpeeled, and lean on seasonal, local and fresh for the rest.

Produce grown to ripen in its natural season doesn't need to be picked early and ripened in transit, so it's usually fresher, tastier and better value — and tends to travel less far. Seasonal eating also varies your diet naturally across the year.

Treat it like its nearest relative. An unfamiliar squash roasts like any squash; a new leafy green wilts into a stir-fry or soup; a knobbly root grates raw into a salad or roasts alongside the others. Most vegetables are forgiving, and a quick search for the name plus "how to cook" rarely lets you down.

Match the storage to the food:

Fridge: leafy greens, salad, berries, broccoli and most herbs — loosely covered.
Cool dark cupboard: potatoes, onions, garlic and squash — and keep onions and potatoes apart.
Counter, then fridge: tomatoes, stone fruit, avocados and bananas ripen on the side; chill only once ripe.

Keep strong ethylene producers like apples and bananas away from delicate veg, and only wash produce just before you use it.

Use the whole vegetable: stalks, tops and peelings make excellent stock, and slightly over-ripe fruit is perfect for smoothies or baking. Cook from what you already have before buying more, and let the contents of the fridge — not a recipe — suggest the meal.

Sending produce loose where possible, and using paper or home-compostable materials instead of conventional plastic when something is needed. Home-compostable packaging breaks down into carbon dioxide, water and organic matter in a home compost heap — read more on the packaging page.

Yes — a box returned and refilled many times saves far more material than a fresh box every delivery. If empties are collected on the next round, reuse takes no effort: you just leave the box out.