How Quarantine Has Changed The Way I Grocery Shop

 By now I don't need to tell you that the world has spent at least part of the last several months on lockdown because of the coronavirus, and that stay at home orders have changed virtually everything. We all know that school, church, work, etc is all or mostly online for most of us, but for some of us, so is grocery shopping. Prior to the pandemic, all of my grocery shopping happened the traditional way, at the grocery store that you have to drive to, go into, get what you need, and check out. I had heard great things about different ways to grocery shop online such as produce delivery services, Thrive Market, meal kits, Instacart, etc but had never tried any of them. I hopped on the bandwagon as the pandemic was unfolding and now the majority of my grocery shopping is through Misfits Market and Thrive Market, so I am going to be talking about each of those services and why I like them as well as the role of the grocery store in my quarantine grocery shopping routine.

Misfits Market

What it is: Misfits Market is an ugly produce subscription delivery service that specializes in all organic produce. Farmers who have produce that grocery stores cannot or will not sell send it to Misfits Market and they distribute the produce to their subscribers. At this time most customers are not yet able to customize what goes into their boxes (myself included) but they are working diligently on rolling this feature out to all customers. I don't know exactly how they decide who is part of the test group for this feature, nor will I go into detail about the rumors I have heard concerning this. Though customization would be a convenience, I find the surprise to be part of the fun and will probably not customize every box I get even when I do get the option to do so. This service is a really good deal for people who go through a lot of produce, which I do on a whole food plant based diet. For reference, I get the Madness Box (the bigger box, which costs $35) delivered every two weeks on Sundays, and I do go through it in that time. I was initially getting the Mischief Box (the smaller one, which costs $22) and that's only 1 week's worth of produce for me, so after hearing from other customers that the Madness box comes with double the produce (yet only being a 50% increase in price, really good deal!) I upgraded to that instead of getting the Mischief box every week, and I'm glad I did. 

Pros of Misfits Market:

• They use eco-friendly packaging whenever possible. I really appreciate that I can recycle the box itself, the insulation, and the paper and cardboard used to protect the produce. Even the ice packs they use are food safe and eco friendly!
• Services like this help to cut down on food waste. It's not rare for there to be a surplus of items grocery stores cannot sell, but on top of that, apparently our produce is subjected to societal standards of beauty just like our people are! Grocery stores won't sell produce that is an odd size or shape, even though they are perfectly fine. This means that the produce the grocery stores won't sell is not going to waste.
• The produce always arrives really good. Every now and then one or two items might be a little past their prime but totally fine if used that day or the next, but the vast majority of the items I receive are completely intact and in good shape to last for a good couple weeks if stored properly, at a quality and stage of ripeness I would have purchased at the grocery store
• Very good price for the quantity and quality. Even at less expensive grocery stores near me, I would not be able to get the quantity of produce I get from Misfits Market for the price I get it from them, especially not organic. I call it a win to be able to get that much organic produce for less than I would pay for conventional produce at the grocery store, without even having to go to the grocery store for it. 
• The Marketplace (the feature that allows customers to choose add ons for an additional cost. Available to all customers) creates a happy medium for those who aren't ready to give up complete control over what produce they buy, but would like to get their feet wet with produce delivery. This is also a good feature to get your hands on some seasonal or specialty items while they're available. I usually get a couple of add ons in each box and I like that the ever rotating selection keeps things interesting. This week I got purple broccolini, fioretto, a Romanesco, and Muscadine grapes as my add ons. I have never tried any of them (except the purple broccolini I got in a previous box and liked) so I'm excited to try them.
• Excellent customer service. I have only run into issues once but that one time I did, customer service was on top of the situation. My first box was damaged in transit and deemed undeliverable by the third party carriers, so I emailed customer service about what happened and they refunded me for that box. I gave them another chance and I am so glad I did! Every box I ever got since has always shipped out on time and has never been delayed more than a day. The one time my box was a day late, I got an email letting me know and encouraging me to contact customer service if this leads to any issues, which it didn't. The produce was all still in excellent shape when it got to me, and the insulation is clearly very good because the ice packs and contents were still cold. Misfits Market clearly plans for the possibility of anything happening to our boxes in transit. They think of everything and are very on top of things, and very professional and transparent.
• The surprise is part of the fun. Some customers have the option to customize their boxes and choose what produce they get. I do not have this option yet, but I don't think that's a disadvantage. Even though I don't have a say (beyond add ons) in what goes in my box, I primarily get items I know how to work with but every box contains a few items unfamiliar to me or that I probably would not have chosen myself, creating a fun culinary challenge that expands my horizons and makes me try things I otherwise wouldn't. This keeps me from feeling stuck in a rut of making the same things all the time and getting bored with it.
• You can skip a delivery at any time. I have had to do this before because I made a brief trip out of state, and it was hassle-free to do so. All I had to do was log into my account and click "skip delivery" next to the delivery date on which I would be out of town, and it was not a problem. My next scheduled delivery (when I was back home) came to me as normal with nothing else I needed to do.
• They give you ideas on their blog about how to use the produce you get. In addition, they include a recipe card in every box and there are also Facebook groups (not organized by Misfits Market) of other Misfits Market members (including groups for people on special diets) where we can ask for and share ideas and learn from one another, so you aren't left in the dust with things you don't know how to work with. You can get new ideas from the blog and from Facebook groups if you choose to join them.

Cons:

• The price of the add ons adds up, so treat yourself with them but don't get carried away.
• Though I do not see myself customizing every box when I get this feature, it would be nice to have that option every now and then. I do like to travel whenever possible, and there are certain items that are harder to travel with than others so when I know that I will be travelling soon after receiving a box, it would help to have the option to only get travel-friendly items to save me the stress of eating through certain items that are harder to travel with so they don't spoil.
• The recipe cards need some work. It's a nice idea that they send a recipe card in each box but they only send one in each box (would love to see a few more) and sometimes you don't get everything in your box (or already have on hand) that the recipe calls for. It would be nice for them to be more intentional about including recipe cards that only call for items they're including in that particular box or can most likely assume the customer already has (like salt and pepper). I once got a stuffed pepper recipe card when I didn't get any peppers in that box and didn't already have any on hand. I would also suggest they ask customers a few questions about diet restrictions and preferences because I often get recipe cards that require meat and dairy, which I obviously don't do. Everything that is included in boxes by default is vegan and gluten free so I can work with whatever produce I get, but it would be a nice gesture to include recipe cards that would be useful for me. These tweaks would give the boxes a more personal touch.

Overall, would I recommend Misfits Market? Absolutely! If any of you are interested in trying Misfits Market, you can use my referral code COOKWME-FC8RXD to get 25% off your first box, and when you use my code I get 25% off my next box, so it's a win win for both of us!

Thrive Market

What it is: If Whole Foods and Costco had a baby on the internet, Thrive Market would be it! Almost any shelf stable healthy grocery item you could need or want, Thrive Market probably has it, and for a discounted price. I get grains, beans, and lentils this way as well as a lot of canned goods, spices, condiments, and snack foods. I like that Thrive Market makes it easy for me to find the vast majority of items I need to save me many trips to the grocery store and that there's usually a freebie of the day with purchases.

Pros:

• They have the majority of shelf stable goodies I typically use and for decent prices and it's all online so I can shop any time any where without having to deal with traffic or plan around the store's hours.
• Orders usually ship in 24 hours and only take a few days to get to me. I can also have updates about the status of my order texted to me
• They also sell essential oils, cleaning supplies, and personal care items which really makes it a one stop shop for the majority of items I use
• I have ordered chocolate chips from Thrive Market and when I did, they included an ice pack in that box to prevent them from melting and forming a giant block of chocolate. I would not have thought of that, so I think it's great that they're thinking of these things and on top of things.
• All packaging used is made from recyclable materials. They use a lot of packaging, especially for glass bottles which is necessary and justified, so I appreciate that I can recycle said packaging instead of throwing away half my weight in packaging. 
• Thrive Market uses funds to give back to people in need and gives customers the option at checkout to donate to families affected by COVID19. Your membership is a great way to give back to your community with simultaneously meeting your own needs. It's a win win win win win all around!
• The app! This lets me do my grocery shopping and update my lists any time, anywhere

Cons:

• The $49 threshold for free shipping. For this reason, I only order once or twice a month and use this to replace a planned weekly/biweekly trip to the store and make a list as if I were going to the store instead of placing an order every time I think of something.
• There are a few specific items I would like to see but don't. The selection of antipasti is limited and because they obviously have the capability to ship cold stuff, it would be nice to see items such as vegan cheeses and yogurts

Overall would I recommend? Yes! Unfortunately, I do not have a discount code for you but will update if I get one and announce it on associated social media. 

The grocery store is not playing as important a role as it used to thanks to these online services that deliver the majority of my groceries right to my door. However, I still do make very short trips to the store every now and then for specific items a recipe requires but that I don't have (I love Pesto Trapanese but I can't get the sundried tomatoes from Thrive Market, which are the main ingredient!) and for frozen fruits. I'm never in the grocery store for longer than a half hour anymore, probably even less than fifteen minutes depending on the time of day simply because I need so little from there and whatever I do need, I know exactly where it is. But as we should all be doing, when I do hit the store, I am conscious about wearing my mask (and wearing it correctly) and social distancing, and when I get home I change clothes and disinfect any items that can be disinfected.

Of course, I am still learning more about the world of online grocery shopping. Stay tuned next week for me to talk about how I store my produce and the following week when I try Purple Carrot, a vegan meal delivery service for which I was able to get a discount for my first week. This is not something I intend to do regularly because that would be too expensive, but I thought it would be fun to try for a week and blog about it and do once in a VERY great while as another way to get some new ideas and try some new things. Hope all of you are staying healthy and safe and I would be interested to hear how quarantine has changed the way you guys grocery shop and what your thoughts and experiences are about the many ways to buy groceries online.