All opinions about Imperfect Foods are my own. Imperfect Foods has not compensated me or provided complimentary product at the time of this review. Links may contain affiliate content.
What started out as a pretty sub-par experience has turned into reliable products that has replaced the majority of our weekly grocery shopping!
We’ve been getting weekly grocery delivery from Imperfect Foods for about six weeks. Our frustration with food waste from big box stores really had me excited to check these guys out. Being part of a community that values abundance without waste is exactly the lifestyle we’re going for! Imperfect Foods hits every check box we had with the perk of weekly groceries delivered right to our door, so we decided to check it out.
Week One – Not a great first impression
At first, I was a bit unsure of how the ordering process worked or if they just send us whatever they pick and we plan from that. That’s why for week one, I just let them send me an automatic order.
What I received was so disappointing. Most of our produce was smashed and the meat portion of the order was missing. After an email to Imperfect Foods’ customer service team, they replied after a few days saying that they had emailed me that they were out of the meat (that they selected) for my order. I searched my email and also in my account on Imperfect Foods’ website and didn’t find any email that they were referring to. Either way, they refunded that portion of the order and I didn’t feel like fighting them.
Week two – More disappointment
As I’m sure you can imagine, I was a bit hesitant to try Week Two. Week Two’s order came in and we received more damaged produce with blueberries and raspberries spilled all over the box and smashed into the other produce. The peanut butter container also burst open and was everywhere. It was kind of a gross box to open, there were no angels singing Hallelujah Choruses but we just washed what we could off of everything else and discarded the berries. We kept the Peanut Butter and are still using it, it’s still awesome! I didn’t bother asking for a refund on the berries since it was a slight hassle last week.
Week Three – things are looking up!
Week Three is when things started turning around for us in the grocery delivery department. Neil and I both agreed that we would give them four weeks and if it was more of week one and two then we’d go back to our normal local grocery store shopping routine. This week, I skipped the berries and all was well with the box! Beautiful bunches of Kale, chicken sausages, great quality fruits, vegetables, funny looking (but great quality) carrots, snacks from around the world and everything they had been advertising! Imperfect Foods was beginning to look like a viable grocery shopping alternative for us!
week four- getting ACQUAINTED
Week Four. This is the week when I really started browsing their online grocery store and making my own changes to orders. We were plenty stocked on snack foods, and vegetables but were running out of grains. I added on the grains package and left off snacks this week. I learned that we can “permanently” discard specific items from being included in the orders and also that we could opt in to always include specific items that we go through fast to our weekly orders (like Mushrooms!!)
week five – packaging improvements
We had family come in this week and I TOTALLY forgot to check my email to make changes/additions to next week’s delivery. I checked my cart on Sunday afternoon just a few hours after their 3PM cutoff time for Tuesday’s delivery and saw that they put berries in the cart again. I was so worried everything would be ruined again with this order!
Thankfully, they started to put rubber bands around the berry packages so they didn’t spill/smash everywhere! We now have a happy toddler now that we can rely on berry deliveries every week.
Imperfect Foods seemed to be taking better packing precautions, Thank the Lord!
BONUS, this week, it officially replaced our major grocery runs. We started only going to our local stores to pick up Eggs, Milk (they have dairy on Imperfect Foods but we go through A LOT), and dry goods/toiletries.
week six – covid-19 world shutdown and panic buying!
Coronavirus Pandemonium! This last week was when I was truly grateful for making the switch to Imperfect Foods and grateful for not being supremely picky on what my foods were looking like. As I’m sure we can all relate, our stores across the world are looking pretty bare these days. Our box was perfect again this week but we did receive a notice from Imperfect Foods that delivery could be delayed and products missing with the new growth in membership in the last week. This is a problem I am JUST FINE with. Neil and I both are so grateful that they have new customers and the fact that not only will we eat, but so will they!!
How’s our food waste impact?
we’ve saved approximately:
117 pounds of Food
4,680 gallons of Water
399 pounds of CO2 emissions
since January 2020…I will take those figures all day!
Check out our Week Six Grocery Haul on YouTube. Don’t forget to Like, Comment and Subscribe!
Check out our imperfect foods haul – week six
Pointers for new members
- Be Flexible! This is a crazy time right now, so be flexible with your orders. Between this delivery and supplementing at the grocery stores or another online platform, you’ll be fine!
- Try new things! We had never tried a summer squash before. OK, we’ve never cooked one ourselves. Through saying “ok I’ll try that this week”, we’ve discovered so many different foods and recipes that we love!
- Be Patient! (and grateful) Imperfect Foods is going through major growth right now and need a little patience as I’m sure you can understand.
- Get Excited! I don’t know about you, but I love knowing that (even in calmer times) I don’t have to fight crowds at the store or rush to pick up things before picking up our daughter from school.
Want to try it out? Click this link for $10 off your order!
IMPERFECT FOODS DISCOUNT
Who are Imperfect foods?
Imperfect Foods was founded in 2015 with a mission to eliminate food waste and build a better food system for everyone. They offer imperfect produce, affordable pantry items, and quality eggs and dairy. They deliver conveniently to customers’ doorsteps and offer up to a 30% discount compared to local grocery store prices. Customers can get healthy, seasonal produce alongside grocery staples.
If you are an individual or family struggling to afford healthy food, you can apply for their Reduced Cost Program to receive a discount off your Imperfect Foods deliveries.
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