Misfits Market Review: My Honest, Unsponsored Opinion
For a while now, I’ve seen various bloggers mentioning produce box delivery services, and I was quite intrigued about the idea of ordering organic vegetables online. The only problem was that these imperfect produce boxes were never available in my area. One day I ran across some information about Misfits Market, and on a whim I decided to check the availability. Lo and behold, they were available in a quite a large market, including my state.
Of course the next thing I looked at was the pricing, and I was honestly a little shocked at how affordable it was to buy organic vegetables online from Misfits Market! We are not a family who can afford luxuries, so when I realized that a Misfits Market subscription was something that could fit into our tight budget, I was quite excited!
What is Misfits Market?
Misfits Market is a produce box delivery service. They rescue imperfect produce from small farms that would otherwise go to waste since grocery stores only want “perfect” food. They sell these ugly fruits and vegetables to people like you and me who don’t mind an onion that’s too big or a potato that’s too small. I can’t honestly say that I’ve seen too many truly ugly fruits or vegetables come in my boxes. The produce I receive in my box is always fresh and looks pretty normal to me. However, if it has marks from sitting on the ground or some such imperfection, it is considered imperfect produce and can’t be sold in the grocery store. Personally, I prefer the real stuff that doesn’t look like it was engineered in a lab!
How Much Does a Subscription Cost?
Misfits Market has two sizes of boxes available. This Mischief box costs $22 for 10-13 pounds of organic produce. The Madness box is $35 and contains 18-22 pounds of organic fruits and vegetables.
You can set your account up to have produce boxes delivered either once a week or once every two weeks.
We have 2 adults and five children in our family, and we get the larger sized box every week. Our produce delivery is a large part of our weekly groceries, and it’s just about the perfect amount for our size family for a week.
My mom, on the other hand, gets a small box delivered once every two weeks for her and my dad.
(Scroll to the bottom of this post for a discount on your first box.)
A typical lunch made with my Misfits Market produce.
What Comes in a Box?
Throughout this review of Misfits Market, I’m including photos of our past produce delivery boxes so you can see what they typically include. We have been subscribed for 10 or 11 weeks now and have been super happy with every single box.
Is a Subscription Worth the Cost?
I suppose the only way to know if a Misfits Market subscription is worth the cost is to look at some real numbers. Let’s take a random box of mine and break down the numbers. I'll just post the next picture in my file so I'm not intentionally the best value; it's just totally random.
How much would I pay for these items at the store? I'm having to sort of eyeball some of this, but I'll give it my best shot.
Pears: I would pay approximately $3 for a bag of pears this size at Aldi. This would be for non-organic pears, while the Misfits Market pears are organic.
Salad Greens: Since I typically purchase organic greens, I pay about $4 for a week's worth.
Chili Peppers: I would expect to pay around $2/lb. for non-organic chili peppers at the store, so roughly $1 for these two peppers.
Eggplant: approximately $1.49/lb. for non-organic at the store, so roughly $3.50 for these two.
Broccoli: It would cost me around $3 for a package of organic broccoli at the store.
Bok Choy: Approximately $1.69/lb. for non-organic at the store, so roughly $2 for these two.
Pomegranates: These have been $1.50 each at Aldi, which is about the cheapest I can find them. So $6 for these 4.
Apples: I would pay around $3.50 for this many organic apples at the store.
Turnips: This is roughly a pound of turnips which would cost around $1.69 at the store for non-organic.
Celery: I pay about $1.25 for a pack of non-organic celery at the store, so $2.50 for these 2 bunches.
Onions: This is around a pound of white onions, so about $1.69 for non-organic at the store.
Lemons: Four lemons is approximately one pound, so somewhere around $1 for the lemons.
Red potatoes: Organic red potatoes are pretty pricey; a bag this size would cost me around $3 at Aldi.
Green Onions: I would pay about $1.50 for non-organic green onions at the store.
Grocery store total: Roughly $37.38
Misfits markets total: $35 (plus $4.50 shipping, so $39.50 total)
As you can see, I paid a very similar amount to what I would pay for this food at the grocery store. However, most of what I purchase at the grocery store is not organic, and all of the produce from Misfits Market is organic.
Additionally, the produce I receive from Misfits Market has almost always been more flavorful and deeper colored (more nutrition!) than what I can find in the grocery.
There may not be any significant cost savings over buying my produce from the grocery store, but I am paying roughly the same amount and getting what I feel is better quality food.
One week I just cut up all the produce into a huge bowl, divided it into freezer bags, and froze it. When I need a quick dinner, I dump a bag of veggies and a carton of broth into my Instant Pot for a healthy, easy dinner!
How Hard is it to Cancel a Subscription?
Any time I sign up for something new, it’s comforting to know that I can back out easily if I change my mind. I’ve been incredibly happy with my subscription, but I like knowing that if I ever need to cancel for any reason, it’s a simple process. Some companies try to make cancelling their services impossible, but Misfits Market makes it so easy!
There is literally one button on your account that you click to cancel your subscription. Or if you do not want to cancel entirely but just need to take a break, you can pause your subscription with one click.
If you’re going out of town for the week, simply click “Skip delivery” for the week you want to skip. We have a trip planned out a number of weeks away, and I was already able to select to have that week skipped.
Their account management is one of the easiest I’ve used among all the various online accounts I have.
Big buttons that you can't miss!
Is the Food Organic?
Yes, all of the fruit and vegetables in a Misfits Market imperfect produce delivery box are organic and non-GMO.
Where Does Misfits Market Deliver?
Currently their delivery area includes all 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, Georgia, and Florida. Tennessee orders are opening now, and they are regularly adding new states! Sign up for their wait list if they do not yet deliver to your state.
Does the Food Stay Fresh During Delivery?
The produce is delivered in insulated boxes with ice packs, and I have not personally had any problems with the food going bad during delivery. I live several states away from their shipping location, so I think that most people should have no problem. I haven’t had to deal with their customer service but have spoken with friends who had a very easy time getting some items replaced that had gone bad.
Additional thoughts:
Along with being an affordable way for me to keep organic produce in the house for my family, I'm also really enjoying being surprised each week! I have a personality that gets bored easily, so I love not knowing what produce we're going to have each week until we get our box. (I realize that depending on your personality, that could actually be a downside, but I personally love it.) When we get something we don't particularly care for (like eggplant) I enjoy the challenge of finding a recipe that will knock my family out of the park and surprise their taste buds. But when all else fails, I just chop up weird vegetables and throw them into a pot of soup. When it's mixed with all the other soup ingredients, no one can ever tell it's in there.
Also, we have been eating more fruits and vegetables now that they show up on our doorstep every week. It's something I know I ought to do, but then I chicken out at the grocery store because I don't want to buy too much and waste it. But when it shows up at my door, then we have to eat it, and it's been a great thing for our nutrition.
Also, I have found that even though we now have the privilege of eating nearly 100% organic produce, we are actually spending less on groceries each week. Because our Misfits Market produce and the meat I purchase online from ButcherBox comprise the bulk of our groceries, I don't have to go the grocery store very often. The less I go, the less I spend! For a family of 7, we spend less than $700 each month on all our groceries, toiletries, and household items, while using nearly all organic and all-natural products.
Misfits Market Coupon Code
Use the following coupon code at checkout for a discount on your first Misfits Market produce box: COOKWME-GR9QPE
Remember, it's very easy to cancel, so if you want to just try out a box to see how you like it, you can totally do that.
Visit Misfits Market here, select which box you'd like, and paste the coupon code in when you check out.
COOKWME-GR9QPE