My Review of Imperfect Foods
My Review of Imperfect Foods
I’ve been ordering from Imperfect Foods for a couple months or so now, and today I’m sharing my experience with them so far.
To give you an idea for the specifics of my ordering history, I originally was getting one box a week with the meat, produce, and snack options. I started with a promotional code I heard from a podcast, I believe, that gave me the kick-start I needed to try out a service I’d been curious about for a while (for my promo code, scroll to the bottom of this post).
One of my first Imperfect Foods deliveries: chocolate-drizzled popcorn, chocolate-dipped almonds, bacon, ground turkey, cucumber, avocados, sweet potatoes, oranges, apples, pizza crusts, bell peppers.
Pros
The boxes came regularly on Tuesdays, which has been my regular grocery shopping day for a while now, so it fit well into my routine. The only exception to that was the week where the box arrived somewhere between 6-7 pm, after I had made dinner, changing my plan since I didn’t yet have the food delivered that I’d been planning on having. The delivery was still within the wide time window Imperfect Foods provides, so it’s nothing surprising or worth complaining about, just a change from the regular routine of picking up my groceries and having everything I need by dinner time.
The quality of the food is excellent! I have truly loved all the produce, snacks, and meats I’ve gotten from Imperfect Foods. The website usually says why the products are “imperfect,” citing reasons like small size or scarring or excess products. They have a lot of healthy options, which I appreciate. They include information about their sourcing and product standards on their website here.
I get weekly emails on Thursdays (because my delivery day is Tuesday) to remind me that it’s time to pick out my groceries for the next delivery. Not only does this keep me from forgetting about my order, but it reinforces my habit of meal planning, which is a huge win!
The website is easy to use. I can search for specific foods I’m looking for or scroll through the options. It’s simple to add or remove things from my cart or change the quantity. Imperfect Foods adds items to my cart for me as a suggestion, but they can be quickly removed and opted out of for the future. It helps me try new things!
I know I’m helping reduce food waste and its toll on the environment. There’s even a spot on my account page on the website that estimates how much waste I’ve helped prevent, which is pretty awesome! (In case you’re wondering, as of March 13, 2020, I’ve saved approximately 48 pounds of food, 1920 gallons of water, and 164 pounds of CO2 emissions).
The subscription is easily changed. I recently switched to every other week because I was consistently not needing as much food from them as I thought (due both to meal planning and needing things they don’t carry). You can change the frequency of delivery or skip deliveries with just a couple clicks.
They have an option to recycle the box (and the insulated liner and ice pack that come with many orders) from each order by simply picking it up with the next delivery. (One thing to note: this service is temporarily discontinued with the spread of COVID-19.) They also have proper recycling instructions on their website should that service not be available in your area or if you simply want to dispose of the pieces differently.
I got this in an order when I’d ordered cauliflower, so I thought it was some strange “breed” of cauliflower or just under-ripe, until I stumbled upon another vegetable when looking at the website for a subsequent order— it was a romanesco! Which, of course, led me to scour Wikipedia. :)
Cons
It can take a bit to get used to. Some of the produce is really small. Even though “small size” might be listed as the product’s reason for being “imperfect,” it took me a bit to figure out just how much smaller some items are compared to what I’m used to seeing in grocery stores (things like avocados, oranges, carrot pieces, apples, potatoes). And it’s not the norm (for me, anyway) to not be the one picking out my own food, so it can be a surprise to see what others choose for me.
Sometimes the boxes sit for a while outside. Because of the wide delivery window (here 9:00 am - 8:00 pm), my box might sit on my front step for hours until I get home and bring it inside. During the coldest months, that’s probably not much of an issue, unless I order really delicate food, but in the warmer months, it means the ice pack included in the box might start to melt, as one of mine did, making my cucumbers soft and squishy (gross).
Some of the products are slightly more expensive than they are at other places. I tend to frequent Aldi and Walmart, in that order, for my groceries. That means I’m used to being frugal. While Imperfect Foods does a great job of keeping prices reasonable, sometimes I can’t get myself to pay a dollar more for each of several items I’m on the fence about when I know I could go get them at the store for less. It’s a trade-off if you’re looking to reduce food waste, explore the unique items Imperfect Foods has to offer, and if you like the grocery delivery model.
Their stock is less predictable than standard stores. Because they rely on overstocked and imperfect goods, they don’t have the exact same things to offer each week and occasionally run out of items. They’re very kind when they run out of something and send me a courteous email to notify me of the change to my order. But because I meal plan so much, my grocery list isn’t usually too flexible, so whatever I can’t find on Imperfect Foods’ website goes on my shopping list for that week’s trip to the grocery store. I have yet to find myself able to skip my weekly trip to the grocery store(s) because my Imperfect Foods order had everything on the list. Of course, if you’re a more flexible cook, you might not have that issue!
When they don’t have as many of the items on my list (or if my list is particularly short one week), I sometimes find it difficult to find enough products to meet the $30 minimum for an order. I have skipped a week in the past simply because I couldn’t find enough that I wanted to complete an order and didn’t want to pay for items I wasn’t particularly in need or want of. Because they have a smaller range of items than a traditional grocery store, this is another factor to take into consideration. It’s also alleviated a bit by switching to an every-other-week plan instead of a weekly plan.
Conclusion
I plan to stick with Imperfect Foods until the local farmers’ markets open, and then take a break for the summer with the intention of resuming my orders in the fall when the farmers’ markets close again. I love buying fresh, local food, but it’s not feasible for me to 1) spend the money on slightly more costly food at both the farmers’ markets and Imperfect Foods, and 2) me to divide up my shopping at so many places and try to keep it all straight. I’m all about simplicity, and while I can go to two places a week for food, I don’t want to make a habit of doing more than that.
I like the bi-weekly delivery as it allows me to still reduce food waste, try new things, feel good about my food purchases, and eat more fresh food without feeling like I have to add more items I don’t need to my cart just to complete my order.
What do you think? Does Imperfect Foods sound like a good fit for you? I’d love for you to try it and let me know what you think! Here’s an affiliate link for $10 off your order!
