This past month I have received my first two subscription boxes of organic produce from Misfits Market. Their business model is noteworthy and unique and I couldn’t help but try at least ONE order to see what the experience would be like.

(UPDATE: We have now used Misfits Market for 7 months and it has only gotten better. Keep reading for reasons why I we are still ordering!)

If you haven’t heard of Misfits Market, I’ll give you a quick run down.  🍎 🍐 🍊 🍋 🍌 🍉 🍇 🍓

• Misfits Market takes organic produce that is grown on an organic, many times local farm that is *unmarketable* to a retail grocery store and sells it at (up to) a 40% discount to its subscribers via mail.
• “Unmarketable” could mean that it’s oddly shaped, bruised from a fall from a tree, twisted in a funny shape, etc. It could also mean that they just produced too much of it and it would go to waste if it weren’t for a middle-man company like Misfits Market.

I found it crazy to find out that BILLIONS of pounds of produce go to waste because of the issue of produce vanity. 😂

My experience with Misfits Market….

Here’s a quick video of my kids and me opening our first box. WARNING: it’s like Christmas morning around here! It is completely unrehearsed so you get an honest reaction out of me and them (and an honest reaction for how they feel about certain veggies!)

Here is what I loved:

• A LARGE variety of ORGANIC produce. The entire box cost me less than $30!! (I did use the 30% coupon code: COOKWME-JZ2ABW) a friend sent me. My next box was closer to $40.) That’s 25 pounds of produce!
• I’ll repeat that: buying produce this way was a SIGNIFICANT reduction to what we would have paid at the store. (1$ per pound!)
• There were PLENTY of basics such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, apples, pears, onions, squash, beets, etc in the box and only a small amount of less common things like chilis and pomegranates.
• We ordered the MADNESS box which was “Enough food for 3-5 people.” I’m estimating based on picking it up, that it was about 20-25 pounds. I loved that we can change our order within a few days to cancel or downsize to the MISCHIEF box which is smaller, cheaper, and only serves 1-2 people for the week.
• There is no monthly fee or contracts. Cancelling or modifying your preferences is easy. 👍🏽
• The produce is really affordable. There’s really no risk since the produce is so incredibly reduced!
• The produce was fresh! I didn’t find that the produce seemed old or mishandled. It was in pretty good shape, if not a little tossed around from shipping but nothing worse than being toted home from the grocery store.
• It came in a climate controlled, sealed box. The ice packs were actually still cold and filled with ice, and it also came on the exact day I chose and knew I would be home to grab it off the front porch.

(UPDATE: In many areas you can now CUSTOMIZE your Misfits Market box! This has been a game changer for our family as we have loved ALL of our bi-weekly produce rather than getting things we don’t really love.)

Our 2nd box opening two weeks later, (they were just as excited as the first box!)

*Use Code: COOKWME-JZ2ABW for 30% Off of your first order with Misfits Market!*

What I DIDN’T love:

So there was really nothing that was unpleasant about our Misfits Market experience, but there are a few things I did think about:

• You may have to research how to prepare any unfamiliar items. A great example is after our first box, we had THREE giant claws of ginger (I’m not sure what to call those ginger bunches, so “claws” it is!) I actually chose to juice them and freeze small amounts in an ice cube tray to store in freezer bags for later use. Fun if you’re up for adventure and learning new things. If not, then you may want to wait until they have a pick and choose option for customizing your order.
• Having so much produce on hand has added a certain amount of pressure (dare I say “stress”) to my weekly food preparation. Perhaps this is just me, but when I have large amounts of fresh produce in my home I feel like a ticking time bomb has been turned on and I have to de-activate (COOK, FREEZE, or EAT) all of the produce before it goes bad! I have heard that we will soon be able to customize our boxes, so that will be very helpful for those of us that need more predictability. Until then, I just expect to have to pre-plan meals using what came in our box.
• You might receive a bunch of the same produce. In our first box we had two large bunches of mustard greens that I learned to cook and the kids actually loved! These are anti-cancer and cruciferous so I’m glad we were challenged to trying them. We have been on a primarily kale, chard, collards, spinach rotation for a decade, so this was neat to see my kids try and like something new. Using the “Customize Your Box” option (it’s free) helps keep this from being annoying.
• In our first box we were also given approximately 40 tiny chili peppers that I didn’t know what on earth to do with due to the spicy-adverse little kids in my home. I ended up giving a few away to a friend, cooking with only a few, and tossing the rest.
• Shipping costs. You did have to pay $5.00 for shipping at the end of checkout which jumped the price up and wasn’t mentioned prior to that, so just a bit of a buzzkill.

Want to give Misfits Market a try?

Overall, I HIGHLY recommend Misfits Market. At around 40% less than the organic produce at the grocery store, it is a steal! We have been loving it in our home (as you can see in our videos!)

If you decide to give Misfits Market a try, you can use my discount code: COOKWME-JZ2ABW at checkout. You’ll receive a 30% discount off your first order!

Misfits Market currently delivers to most zip codes in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maine, Ohio, West Virginia, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Alabama, and Georgia. They are also taking pre-orders for Florida, with deliveries expected to begin this coming week! (November 11, 2019). If your state isn’t listed, join their wait list to be notified.

Let me know what you think if you have tried Misfits Market. 🙂 For my family of 6 we are subscribed to the MADNESS box every two weeks and have been enjoying the adventure!

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