Fruit delivery box... is this a thing?

January 28, 2022 6:00 PM

Back when Peapod was still around, they had a box you could order called "best fruit of the season" and they basically filled it with a variety of the best fruit they had in stock. Sadly, Peapod is no more.

The pre-selected box was really great because it saved me from so much decison-making. My husband loves large quantities of fruit of all kinds, while I'm mostly indifferent to all but a few things. It was really nice getting a pre-selected box of goodies for him I didn't have to think about.

Is there anywhere that has anything similar, that costs in the realm of what fruit costs in the grocery store? (So like, not a $120 box of pears from Harry & David or anything.) I'm all set on veggies so not looking for a combo box of fruit-veg. I don't care too much about organic, actually prefer not due to cost but it wouldn't be a deal breaker if an organic-only service was otherwise perfect for my needs.

Ideally it would be a recurring box of nothing but fruit that the seller chooses the variety. Is there anything like this out there that would deliver to the suburban Chicago area?

posted by Serene Empress Dork to Food & Drink (14 answers total)

Yes, look for a CSA near you. Many have a "just surprise me with fruit" option. I liked Misfits Marketplace when I was in range of them, and while it's not as good because it's shipped in to Alaska, Full Circle Farms does an OK job. Many know that people like fresh fruit the most so there's almost certainly an option near you.
posted by blnkfrnk at 6:04 PM on January 28, 2022

Imperfect has (had?) an all-fruit option, although I am not super-familiar with their delivery radius I think they service Chicago.
posted by aramaic at 6:12 PM on January 28, 2022

There are several farms on Etsy that will pack a flat-rate delivery box full of fresh fruit and mail it to you. I've had good experiences with oranges and avocados from freerangefarmer, for instance. They don't do subscriptions, but if you pick the cheapest box you'll get something affordable and very fresh, and the fruit will change with the growing season.
posted by yarntheory at 6:39 PM on January 28, 2022

You need a fruit CSA! Here you can find them at the farmers’ market, or sometimes the vegetable CSAs team up with them for a bigger share.
posted by centrifugal at 6:49 PM on January 28, 2022

Imperfect will definitely do this (and they stock a lot of other stuff too, if you decide you ever want to expand your repertoire).
posted by BlahLaLa at 7:34 PM on January 28, 2022

I'm also in suburban Chicago, and had the Nichols Farm CSA last year, and got a -ton- of food. Unfortunately for your case, it was mostly veggies with just some fruit. But! They have a nice website where you can order add-ons, depending on what they have at the time, and they deliver it right along with the CSA. Memail me if you want more details.
posted by Sparky Buttons at 7:49 PM on January 28, 2022

These guys do a two-day priority shipment of citrus right from the trees. It may be a little pricey at $45 but it is some awesome fruit.
posted by Tandem Affinity at 8:50 PM on January 28, 2022

Irv and Shelly is a CSA with an all fruit option. I use to order from them, and the quality was very good.
posted by AlexiaSky at 12:08 AM on January 29, 2022

I'm honestly not sure if you'd consider Miami Fruit within your price parameters (they ship "exotic" fruit, so much of it is not really available in grocery stores), but I've ordered fruit shipped to both Michigan and Utah from them and been very happy with it, so I'd assume they'd ship to Chicago. The shipping cost is the real killer, so if you're on the fence for cost reasons, I'd check that first.
posted by FencingGal at 6:25 AM on January 29, 2022

I used to have a standing 2x/week order of fruit from The Fruit Guys for an office I ran. The quality was great, and it was pretty affordable for a set it and forget it type arrangement. Yes, you could probably find the same products cheaper at your local market when you make a grocery run, but the convenience of being able to do this all online and have reliable delivery was nice.
posted by luzdeluna at 7:03 AM on January 29, 2022

Irv and Shelly Freshpicks is EXACTLY what I am looking for. I ordered a box and keeping fingers crossed that the quality and selection are worthwhile, and if so this works perfectly. Their website was so easy to find what I needed, place the order and make it reoccur without my having to do anything.

I tried Misfits and Imperfect prior to posting this question, and I found their websites impossible to figure out (possibly because you can't see the food until your "designated shopping day"? 🙄) Also I somehow accidentally ordered a box from Misfits full of mostly stuff I didn't want or need, and didn't realize it until it was too late to cancel.

Anyway... Irv and Shelly FTW!
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 8:14 AM on January 29, 2022

Peapod is a thing and the fruitbox is still there. IF you can order from a Giant grocery store. It's just Giant delivery. I swear. When I do a delivery order from Giant, my credit card is charged by peapod. And that box of fruit is still a choice!
posted by atomicstone at 10:04 AM on January 29, 2022

Peapod is a thing and the fruitbox is still there. IF you can order from a Giant grocery store. It's just Giant delivery. I swear. When I do a delivery order from Giant, my credit card is charged by peapod. And that box of fruit is still a choice!

Interesting! I had no idea. Unfortunately, Giant does not deliver in my area. But I am glad to know that Peapod survived, I really liked them back in the day and thought it was ironic that they shut down right before grocery delivery became a huge thing because of Covid.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 12:48 PM on January 29, 2022

Just as a follow up, I ordered Irv and Shelly's Freshpicks and received 3 boxes. Everything was fresh and delivery went smoothly. However, each box was mostly mangoes and bananas, with a few apples and oranges. We don't eat a lot of bananas, and mangoes aren't really a favorite, so it turned out to not be very useful or economical for us. Might try it again in the summer and see if the selection improves.

I will say that their website was very easy to use, and that both ordering and canceling my recurring order was a breeze.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 3:44 PM on February 28, 2022