What is Misfits Market + My Honest Review
What is Misfits Market?
Have you heard of Misfits Market? A reader mentioned receiving her Misfits box in one of my Facebook groups, so I asked for more information on it. I decided I would give it a try, after reading what she had to say as well as researching online. I was very impressed by the company’s mission and excited to hop on board. So I signed up for my first box and I will share my honest review in this post.*
*Note that when I started receiving Misfits Market, it was a subscription-based mystery box. As of January 2021, they have made their experience a one-stop-shop, giving customers more flexibility to purchase the exact foods they will eat. Since households waste approximately 30 to 40% of their food, Misfits Market wants to help limit that by encouraging customers to choose the items they are most likely to eat each week.
Before I continue with my review of the product, here is a brief history of how the company got its start.
How Misfits Market Got Started
Almost a billion people globally are either starving or malnourished. Even more disturbing is that over $1 trillion worth of food is wasted annually, much of it not being sold only to rot in stores and warehouses, or being thrown out by farmers because produce is “ugly”, misshapen, or the wrong size.
Modern-day beauty standards for food create much of this unnecessary waste. Sadly, this ugly food could feed some of the starving population out there.
These shocking facts are what inspired Misfits Market to come up with a mission to help reduce food waste.
What Misfits Market is
Misfits Market is a produce-based food rescue service, where food deemed too ugly to sell or excess inventory that can’t sell is instead packaged up and sent out to members, at a fraction of the cost you would pay at the grocery store! Almost all produce and other pantry items are organic and come from small, medium, and large local farms across the Americas. Misfits Market’s mission is to make healthy food not only affordable but to prevent it from being wasted.
I have been purchasing Misfits Market for years now on a bi-weekly plan. This review is based on the first 2 subscription boxes I received. My opinion of Misfits Market remains unchanged after all these years of service with them.
Want to sign up for Misfits Market too? Use my referral code COOKWME-TH4OSJ on your to save $10 off your first shipment!
My Misfits Market Review
The first box I ordered was the “mischief” (smaller) size, as I wasn’t sure what to expect (again this is no longer an option). At the time, this starter box cost $19, and it came with 10 to 12 pounds of organic mixed fruits and veggies retailing around $35 – $40. It was the perfect size to serve 1 to 2 people for one week.
My first box did not take long to arrive. I received notification of shipment and the package was at my doorstep the next day. My kids excitedly helped me go through the contents of the well-packaged box. Here is a picture of all we received that week:
I was so impressed with the contents, much of which didn’t look ugly to me one bit! Maybe I’m not as picky as “typical” shoppers but in all honesty, I would have bought much of this at the supermarket.
If I had to pick one disappointment…
I was probably most disappointed in the eggplant, as it is my least favorite, but my husband loves it. I never buy eggplant, so it was probably his favorite thing to see in the box. 🤣
The cucumbers, oranges, avocados, and green/orange peppers we snacked on throughout the week. One day I used the limes to make fresh limeade. I used yellow potatoes for dinner one night. I made homemade sweet potato chips and beet chips for a movie snack.
I peeled, cut up, and froze the two onions for future use. The zucchini I used to make 6 loaves of bread. I cut up the butternut squash, boiled and scooped it into a glass baking dish, added butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Then popped that in the freezer for a future side dish.
Finally that eggplant. Well, I Googled some recipes and found this Turkish Eggplant Casserole. My husband loved it and I will admit that I ate 1/4 of it. 😉
Upgrading to Madness
I was so happy with the first box that for my next delivery I upgraded to the larger “madness” box (also no longer an option under the new structure). This larger size costs $34, came with 18 to 20 pounds of organic mixed fruits and veggies and retailed around $65 – $70. It was the perfect size to serve 4 to 5 people for one week.
Again my kids and I excitedly opened this much larger box and were completely impressed by not only the quantity but the quality too!
Here is what we received in the madness box:
This time we had much more to go through, so I quickly got to work figuring out what I was going to do with everything!
The oranges (4), apples (6), cucumbers (8), and avocados (4) we snacked on throughout the week. I used the limes (8) to make more limeade but this time after I squeezed out the juice I used each lime half to help me clean my kitchen sink and stovetop. The citric acid in the pulp is an excellent way to break down hard-to-scrub areas.
I used one head of cabbage and half the potatoes for corned beef & cabbage, which ended up perfect being so close to St. Patrick’s Day. The second cabbage I cooked, cut up, and froze for a future side.
While I was not sure what to do with the 3 turnips, ultimately I decided to peel, cube, and roast one of them along with some chopped onion. This dish was a very tasty mixture but I decided to save the rest to later add to soup.
Discovering Kale
I also received 2 large bunches of kale. When I posed the question to my Facebook page on what to do with kale, I received several great (and funny) responses!
One thing I decided to try was using it in a white bean soup. I happened to have a Jennie-O turkey burger leftover in the fridge that I cut up and added to the pot (substituting it for sausage as I didn’t have any). Then I added the fried onions & turnip, ripped up raw kale leaves, added a can of Bush’s Beans White chili beans, a smaller carton of chicken broth, a can of Campbell’s condensed cream of chicken soup, and a can of skim milk. I mixed everything and cooked it as a soup, which ended up being so delicious!
I also used half a bunch to make kale chips as suggested by some readers. The remaining bunch I ripped up into pieces, then froze to use for future soups & stews.
I cut up the other 2 onions and 2 green peppers, then froze them for future meals as well. I diced one set to use for something like chili and then I sliced the other set to use for something like fried peppers and onions or fajitas.
There was a nice size bag of Brussel sprouts, which happens to be my daughter’s favorite. I ended up cutting them in half, coating them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and Parmesan, and roasting them in the oven. They were amazing!
I also received a good amount of mushrooms. Half of the mushrooms I ended up using in a salad and the other half I made stuffed mushrooms with.
Seriously though…more eggplant?!
Oh almost forgot. This time I received 2 eggplants. Yay me. So again not knowing what to do with them, I cut both into thick slices, coated each in egg, then dipped them in breadcrumbs. I fried each slice until golden. I then used half of the slices to make eggplant Parmesan.
The other half I froze, layering with wax paper in between each slice so they didn’t stick. My plan for those is to make eggplants sandwiches one night. I also froze the eggplant Parmesan and that reminds me I promised I would make it for my hubby this week. I have to make sure I do that! 😀
One-Stop Shopping Experience
Fast forward a couple of years to where Misfits Market has a custom-based shopping experience. The company now encourages customers to buy exactly what they will use up that week, hopefully helping families reduce their own food waste. Although I was at first disappointed to not get a mystery box of produce, I completely respect their mission and the shift to make it a you-choose-what-you-get shopping experience. The shopping freedom just makes sense!
In addition to their signature fresh organic produce, you can also shop from “aisles” filled with snacks, beverages, oils, spices, and other high-quality pantry items.
You can still set your delivery to weekly or biweekly. A few days before your delivery ships you will need to shop for your food (“your shopping window”). You can edit your order as much as you want during this 3-day shopping window. You must meet a minimum total of at least $30 in order for your box to be confirmed. Once your shopping window closes and your $30 order is confirmed, no need to do anything more! You will be charged the next day and your package will be shipped automatically. You will not be charged or shipped an order if you do not build a box first. There is no checkout or skipping of boxes required. Easy peasy!
Regions Misfits Market Serves
Misfits Market is a small Philadelphia-based operation that delivers to select regions in the Northeast (including my hometown of Buffalo, NY). It has expanded its mission to other northeastern states like Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, and New Hampshire and continues to grow – how exciting!
Interested in trying out Misfits Market?! Well, I highly recommend trying it out, if you can’t tell by now! Use my referral code COOKWME-TH4OSJ to save $10 on your first delivery! There is no obligation and you can completely have the freedom to choose food items whenever it is most convenient for you! With Misfits Market there is no hassle of going to the grocery store, no waiting in line or overpaying for your produce, and best of all no lugging everything home! It gets delivered right to your door for a flat shipping fee, no matter how many items are in your package.
Like me, you can opt to get deliveries every other week. I choose a Friday delivery so that I can use the weekend to figure out what I’m going to do with the items I receive. Many produce items freeze great, so that is always an option to keep in mind. The prep work takes time, but I’ve been too excited to notice, turning on some music and getting to work with no issue.
Get started and join the misfit produce club! 😎 If you want to save $10 on your first box be sure to use my referral code
I hope you enjoy this subscription box as much as my family does!
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I have ordered, and subsequently cancelled, services from this company twice over 2021-2022.
I really like the idea of food delivery using items that would otherwise go to waste. In execution, though, this company fails to meet even minimal expectations for service.
I will give a sampling of two of eight issues that occurred with just my last 2 orders. For example, I ordered 2 pkgs (8 oz) Organic Valley Cheddar Cheese for over $10 and 2 pkgs (6 oz) Roth Cheddar Cheese for about $8. What I received was 4 pkgs of Roth Cheddar cheese, with no indication on my account that a substitute had been given, and no refund of the difference. Another example is my order of chicken broth – didn’t receive, didn’t get a refund, and there was no “substitution” of anything comparable.
I wish I had checked with the BBB reviews before giving this company my money, as it has a horrible overall rating and the examples given above pale in comparison to some that were indicated on the BBB review site.
Sorry that you (and others) have had a bad experience with them! I have had excellent customer service from them (i.e., if something wasn’t in my order I got refunded after I contacted them). I still use them almost 2 years later and have nothing but great things to share about my experience. I do wish the boxes were sent as a “surprise” instead of me having to pick out everything that I want exactly, but I figure I am in the minority with that request. lol Most people probably like to know what they are getting. I enjoyed the random assortment, but I’m fine with picking out my items now.