A Look Inside a Parrfection Produce Box

Parrfection Produce is a wholesale food distributor out of Monticello, WI. In response to COVID-19, Parrfection Produce started offering special direct delivery of produce boxes from their warehouse in Monticello, Wisconsin to homes in Dane or Green County. They are delivering once a week to Monroe, currently on Tuesdays.

Parrfection Produce normally distribute across Wisconsin and into Chicago, but have been increasingly distributing nationally. They grow fresh herbs and ornamental plants in their greenhouses and the rest of their products are grown responsibly on small family farms, many are Amish and Mennonite families in the Driftless Region of Southwestern Wisconsin.

Ordering from Parrfection Produce

After hearing about their delivery of fresh produce from a family member who resides in Dane County, I decided to check them out. In order to order, you visit their website https://driftlessdirect.com/ and select a box. They currently have four (4) different boxes to chose from, all of which are $20-$25.

• Box A – 20 lbs Root Vegetables $20
• Box B – 20 lbs Weekly Special $20
• Box C – All Organic $25
• Box D – Spring Garden Box $20

From the time I ordered three days ago to today, they added a handful of options and some of the items are out of stock.

Box Delivery

Our box arrived mid-day, and was delivered out of a U-Haul truck. Yes, I may have wondered why a U-Haul truck was getting ready to unload outside of our house.

Overall the produce looked healthy and was of good quality. Items were in plastic bags, and we took the potatoes out of the bags right away to avoid moisture build up. I was slightly disappointed in the number of items that did not appear to be “grown on small family farms in the driftless region.” Obviously, the pineapple and avocados were not going to be local; however, the heads of lettuce were packed by Dole.

Price Comparrison:

From just looking at the items we received, I thought we saved money over what we would pay in the store; however, I wanted to double check. Now obviously, a price comparison is only good if you actually need all of the items that come in the box, luckily for me, we were out of potatoes, and regularly buy everything that was included, minus the sweet potatoes.

In order to compare prices, I looked at the items on picknsave.com, as that is where our household does our primary grocery shopping. When I added up all of the items that were included in the 20 lb Weekly Special Box it came to $27.22, for a cost savings of $7.22. The add-ons we selected cost us an additional $7.49. Those same add-ons came to $10.42 at Pick N Save, for a cost savings of $2.93. Overall we saved a total of $10.15. You can see the break down below:

	Parrfection Produce	Pick N Save*	Savings
20 lb Weekly Special Box	$             20.00
2 bunches broccoli		$               2.46
2 heads lettuce		$               2.58
1 organic spaghetti squash		$               6.97
1 pineapple		$               2.00
3 lbs organic sweet potatoes		$               5.07
2 avocados		$               3.00
2 lbs red potatoes		$               1.58
2 lbs russet potatoes		$               1.58
2 lbs yellow onions		$               1.98
	$             20.00	$             27.22	$     7.22
Add-Ons:	Parrfection Produce	Pick N Save*	Savings
2lbs Gala Apples	$                2.50	$               3.99	$      1.49
1 lbs Asparagus	$                1.99	$               2.99	$      1.00
2 lbs Carrots	$                2.00	$               1.20	$    (0.80)
2 Tomatoes	$                1.00	$               2.24	$      1.24
	$                7.49	$             10.42	$     2.93

What about delivery costs? We were charged a $5 delivery fee from Paarfection Produce; however, Pick N Save, also offers delivery through Instacart starting at $9.99 plus tip. Even if I take the $5.00 out, because we wouldn’t have had delivery from Pick N Save, we still come out $5.15 ahead.

Conclusion

Overall, the ordering experience was easy and stress-free, we were able to support a local business, and the selection of produce was high quality. While I don’t see our household ordering a box every week, we will be keeping Parrfection Produce in mind for the future. It is a nice alternative to purchasing produce in the store, and depending what happens with our local Farmer’s Markets, we may need alternatives!

If you wish to give Parrfection Produce a try, you can find their offerings at https://driftlessdirect.com/

Please Note: The above article was one experience using Parrfection Produce on a given date. The company’s offerings may change, and your experience may vary. The opinions offered in this article are those of the author, and neither the author nor eatMonroe received compensation from anyone to write this article.