My First Produce Box

Last week I picked up my first produce box! Here's what was in it:

1 pineapple
1 cantaloupe
6 kiwi
3 lbs oranges
1 mango
1 head of Romaine
1 pint grape tomatoes
8 oz cremini mushrooms
1 lb cucumber
1 bag radishes
2 lbs sweet potatoes

I couldn't believe how much stuff I got! I previously had had several reservations about the whole produce box/fruit & veggie co-op deal. Like what if I didn't want whatever was delivered that week? Or what if I couldn't eat everything fast enough? Or was it a lot more expensive compared to the grocery store? If you've been on the fence about participating in a weekly produce box, here are a few things I learned.

Find a box + system that works for you. With the box I got (Marvin's Produce), they list on their website exactly what's in the box. That way I can decide whether or not I need/want the produce they're offering, and I don't feel like I'm wasting my money. They also offer the same box for two weeks in a row. I will only get a box every other week, so I won't be wasting anything and I also won't be missing out on the in-between weeks, since it's the same box.

It gets you out of your rut + it helps with meal planning. Since I do find out ahead of time what I'll be getting, I can look up recipes and figure out how I want to use everything I'll be getting. I plan my meals out for the week, so knowing what produce I'll have helps narrow down what I'll be preparing during the week. I also loved this box because it got us out of our fruit rut. We've had a lot of bananas, grapes, and apples lately, but I didn't buy any of that last week. Instead we had all of the fruit in the box! I'm such a creature of habit, so I like that it forced me out of our boring fruit rut.

It isn't expensive. Again, I can only speak from my own experience and my own box. But at Publix with last week's prices, all of that produce would have cost me $32 (plus whatever radishes cost, because I couldn't find those). I paid $17.50 for everything in that above photo, and $2.50 of that was a donation to Susan G. Komen. So I paid less than half of what I would have paid at Publix! Now if you want an all-organic box or if you shop at a really cheap grocery store, then that could change things. But since I only shop at Publix, I know exactly what my savings are and they are good!

Have I convinced you yet? :) I'm curious - how many of you regularly get a produce box, or participate in some sort of food co-op?