Farm deliveries, yes. I've used Instacart for years, but only when it made life easier. Ordinarily, going to the store is quicker and easier, and definitely more fun, better selection, often lower cost, and doesn't require tips. Delivery from local stores will go back to a convenience, occasional thing. Once I feel okay breathing with strangers, I'm sure I'll order fewer ancillary items from the farm, but I can't imagine discontinuing.

I think I will suspend my Misfits in the summer, when I'm overwhelmed by garden produce and start again in the fall, maybe the end of October.

In my small corner of the world, there are many things that I just can't get at the grocery store and I've liked the challenge of using up what I get.

I won't get tomatoes or mangoes from Misfits, they are apparently too fragile to ship well and they never arrive in good shape. And now I see they are going to expand into meat and possibly seafood, that should be interesting to watch.

Annie

Misfit meat? Um . . .

I've got to try this next year. But not until winter. I'm spoiled with garden fresh during the growing season . . .

I'm going to continue with curbside pickup. I have only done delivery once. It costs twice as much as pickup on Instacart, and I prefer to save my money. It's such a great timesaver, plus pickup's an excuse to go somewhere☺️

Have never done a grocery delivery and would only consider if I was physically unable to get to the grocery store or farmer's market/CSA myself. I have no qualms about visiting any stores in person........I am fully vaccinated, will mask and distance as necessary and just do not care for anyone else to pick out my groceries.

I enjoyed the personal delivery from my local chain grocery. It only cost a little more than what I would have had to pay for gas back and forth. I figured some people really needed to work and I could help, and I always tipped. For just a few things I go myself, I'm vaccinated and masked. I will be frequenting our farmers market weekly.

I've also never had delivery or done pickup. We shopped in person, albeit maybe not as often, all last year. It would drive my crazy to trust someone else to pick out my produce, among other things. During the early months of the pandemic our farmers' market switched to drive thru. That was a little weird, but it worked. I was glad when we returned to walk up.

I’ve had the boring staple groceries delivered every 6 - 8 weeks or so for years, long before Covid19. Delivery is free over a certain spend. Tips are not expected or allowed. A delivery driver who took a tip would lose their job. I hate supermarket shopping and to me it’s a waste of time when I could be doing something more interesting. Plus I don’t have a car. We shop weekly on foot at a farmers’ market for fresh meat, fish and cheese. Bread we get from a local bakery We also have a weekly vegetable delivery from a trusted local farm shop/greengrocer we’ve used for many years. We order only what we want. It’s not a box scheme. I’m not afraid of going to a supermarket. I just don't want to.

I've used curbside pickup since before Covid. My store has really great shoppers and I will continue to use curbside. If I forgot to order something I'll run in and get it after my order gets loaded.

The only thing we have delivered is Amazon, and will continue to do so if it makes sense. Our garden produces most of our fruits and vegetables, and we have continued to buy our meat, dairy and bulk staples in person from Costco. I probably go to a regular grocery store about once a month to get the few things we don't grow or have. We added a chest freezer about two years ago, and that has really reduced the amount of needed shopping.

Back when I broke my ankle some years back, I had supermarket delivery. I hated that... having someone else pick out certain foods meant I wasn't getting the best produce, or that i ended up with a package of terribly fatty lamb. If I'd known that, I'd have ordered something else. It also meant that I wasn't going to order fish at all through the duration.

Where I live now, supermarkets won't deliver. I do get Misfits Market- but sometimes what arrives is isn't in the greatest shape. I never did curbside delivery for supermarket groceries- I actually had a full freezer before it hit, due to plans unrelated to the upcoming virus. Instead of the supermarkets, I went to a local mom and pop store for things.

At the outset of covid, some local, mostly organic, farmers organized a way of providing food delivery. Their stuff has always been fresh and welcome. After this is all over, I will continue using them.

And as per every year, I cannot wait for farmer's markets to open for the season again. They opened last summer, with distance restrictions, and since this meant I couldn't feel the tips of corn on the cob, I didn't buy any. Pointing at those items just wasn't going to work out for me.

I've never had groceries delivered, other than dried vegetables or yeast. I felt safe enough going to higher end markets during the scarier parts of the pandemic because they were being extremely cautious, as was I. There is no reason for me to start deliveries now. I also never did curbside pickup. Sometimes I don't know what I want until I see it.

I love the farmers' markets here, and they are open all year. A lot of winter vegetables are grown here - fruit seems to be a bit more seasonal, but some fruit gets ripe in the winter, especially citrus.

I sure wish I had access to more good fresh produce. Some of you guys are really lucky. CSA deliveries would be something I would pay premium for. That's the big problem for me and fresh vegetables, most of the places to get them are quite a drive. That's why we use the one market we use, it has the best fresh produce. Home grown meat is a little harder to come by. Always involves travel. If we had a bigger freezer we might get into that, but we don't even have space for one.

I did it just a few times, perhaps 3, last year. The one box I bought twice, were mainly fruits, which was actually a good thing, it forced me to eat more fruit. Everything was definitely fresh, but for $50 I felt I could do better. Having said that, I haven't bought any fruit since, per se. But 5lb bag of potatoes, 3 lb bag carrots, bag of apples, bag of oranges, grapes, etc.

Yes, will continue. But we were ordering certain things pre-covid. 2018 and previous, we used to stopped at three local farms for meat and eggs, quarterly-ish. A summer farm stand. Mainly for fresh corn picked every morning.

5 groceries in rotation that includes Costco every 3-4 months. One grocery weekly for necessaries and wants.

With such a heavy work load I stopped enjoying in person shopping unless for a dinner party or bbq or holiday. When big list and planning was fun. In person is such a time hog. Hitting 3 groceries on a Saturday morning that can take 3-4 hours....ugh. I'd rather be in the garden or doing so many there things....

I'm on vacation this week. I had three deliveries last Thursday. I spent time in the kitchen prepping two-3 full days of meals for Mom and Pop. We have everything we need...just a quick stop at a famous seafood market in my hometown...rented a beach house near them.

I have been ordering all bulk spices, green coffee beans, grains and beans, local grass fed farm share that has Atlantic fish and shrimp and farm eggs...alaskan salmon...

Add to that Misfits, we have meals and choices better than ever.

Misfits has changed their system. It is weekly now. But if you do not hit the 30$ minimum, your order does not process or send. That includes all produce or marketplace add-ons. My total was close to 60 but I ordered 8 avocados, chocolates, dates, crackers, almond butter, pasta, olive oil, watermelon, sugar snaps, cherry tomatoes, lots of greens, golden beets, purple radish, corn, Persian cucumbers ,...etc.

I've been making 4-5 brunch salads every day for the four of us with lots of cary-overs for snacking/grazing later. 80% is Misfits.

I hate grocery shopping so I order meats online from crowd cow and i do use amazon fresh for produce and been very satisfied with both. I do have to do a little grocery shopping maybe once a month to supplement. I need 2 gallons of milk about once a week but I usually grab them from dollar general, quick in and out.

I'm with Sleevendog, I've always loathed shopping and found it to be a huge time suck. The big stores that offer the selection seem to try and keep you constantly roaming by changing their organizing systems constantly. And also changing brands, something available and then not etc. Add to that the label reading to find the lowest salt and best value and non-GMO, healthy, least wasteful packaging. Ugh. If there was an environmentally friendly way to avoid that whole mess I would be on it. But "health" food shipped and trucked and packaged in plastic and delivered to individual people kind of defeats the goal . . .

Yes and maybe. We gave Misfits a trial run back in the Fall of 2019. I sat on the fence about it for a few months,...then the lock-down happened and it was so welcomed by all receiving. Not one mention in the few Facebook groups with thousands of members think this solves any food supply issues or think they are doing a service for the farmers. Sure it does support organic farmers that are often not the best at the business side of survival, and it does give them another sales venue.

Nothing is packaged....(I'm sure the Brussels were in a bag but that is it). The thin green biodegradable ones. The produce goes directly to a distribution warehouse, not yet another processing plant to be bagged, then another distribution plant to yet again be shipped to stores, then another handling by a grocery staff to stock the shelves.

I have more problems with our grocery store excess methods than a box shipped directly to me. Less shipping and handling. Minimal plastics.

40 pounds of beans/grains is close to 200 cans. I have water. I can soak my own beans without much effort. The bags have the field where they were grown and the name of the person who packed them. Very fresh and seasonal. They had a great 2020 year so they are giving back. Often buy 2 get one bag free and free shipping.

Oh, Bragu/ipink, or anyone, here is the Misfits code for first time order. No commitment so it is worth a trial. It isn't for everyone unless you like to try new things and get meal creative. I cannot share the code without getting a discount myself but I will honorably donate a box if it is used by anyone.

You can suspend or end at any time without question. Even after the first box.

I tried Misfits and my husband is too picky!

I saw a snippet of some reality show. Two Amish girls were checking out a regular supermarket and exclaiming over the prices of eggs and milk, wondering why people didn't just get some chickens, or buy a cow.... Of course, unless you have a large patch of temperate, fallow land (zoned for animals), there's still the expense of housing, feeding and caring for the chickens and cows. It all depends on what you're used to.

I hope Annie continues to find takers for her eggs...

I’m about to terminate my Imperfect Produce account - that is, if SWMBO permits. While the convenience is nice, the quality is uneven, the price is not a bargain, and they keep trying to fill my cart with stuff I don’t want. Plus I want to support my local shops and markets, now that I’m safe in doing so.

That’s what John Liu says when he’s not HU-ever

Plllog, I live in an area where everyone grew up eating eggs fresh from the chickens, not grocery store eggs, and there is a huge difference in taste. Most of my current customers are old farmers who just don't want to take care of chickens any more, but still want the eggs they are accustomed to. If my current "customers" decide they don't need eggs any more, I'll just stick a sign by the driveway that says "fresh eggs" and sell as many as I want to sell.

Yeah, we can do that here in Michigan. I could stick out some fresh garden vegetables and even homemade bread, sell it all, as long as I don't make more than $25,000.00 a year, and I don't think that's a danger, LOL. My concern is that the B&B gets back in business and then I won't have enough eggs and I just don't want to get more chickens...

Annie