7 Local Veg Box Delivery Services

**Updated 19th April** Please see “*” below for new information.

Veg box deliveries from wholesalers, restaurateurs and farm shops help to support local, independent businesses and the restaurant supply chain. They can also ease pressure on supermarkets, and may offer the bonus of treating yourself to fresh pastries or a restaurant ready meal along with your groceries.

To help you make the right choice, we’ve reviewed 7 suppliers of fruit and veg boxes. There’s a list of butchers, bakers and ca- sorry, off licences, that are delivering too. Please read to the end for our recommended etiquette for receiving deliveries, and if you think we missed any veg box delivery services, let us know!

You can also visit Sip Shop Support for a Scotland-wide list of food and drink home delivery options, as well as local food banks.

Charles Stamper 

• Veg boxes available from £20
• Flour, eggs and milk available
• Register online to order
• Minimum order value £20, free delivery
• Next day delivery Monday-Saturday when you order before 1pm

Fruit and veg wholesaler Charles Stamper have switched to household deliveries, and they’re also supplying independent businesses supplementing their own deliveries with produce.

Charles Stamper offer pretty much everything. As well as fresh produce, they stock household essentials like toilet paper, oil, dairy, cheese, tins, bread and dried goods like lentils and pasta. Their fruit and veg aren’t organic, but the root veg-heavy 13 piece veg box kept us going for more than two weeks. 

Although the website was a little cumbersome, registering for grocery delivery was quick and easy, and included a postcode check. Once you’re logged in you’ll choose a delivery date (the day after tomorrow was available when we had a go) and then you can start shopping.

Capital Wholesalers

• Fruit and veg box available from £19.99
• Flour, eggs and milk available
• Order through their online shop
• Free delivery on orders over £25; £5 delivery charge otherwise
• Next day delivery day to Edinburgh city, Monday-Saturday

Capital Wholesalers deliver a wide selection of groceries, including fruit and veg, bakery items from Andante, cereal, jams and spreads, dairy, yoghurts, tins and dried goods, oils and other cooking ingredients, kitchen essentials like foil, and drinks including big cartons of orange juice. 

Be warned! Some items are catering size, e.g. 5kg of cheddar, 1kg of mayonnaise, 15 litres of olive oil. Check before you ‘add to cart’ – although that may depend on how long you think we’ll be in lock down. 

Our mixed fruit and veg box came with an ad hoc selection of loose fresh produce and a loaf of sourdough. The fruit included oranges and clementines, bananas, grapes, apples, plums and pears. They also offer an essential dairy box. 

The site wasn’t the easiest if you want to browse every category, but I was won over by their little facts beneath each item: “Yes, broccoli is actually an edible plant.” They deliver to West Lothian on Mondays and East Lothian on Thursdays.

Dunns Food

• Fruit and veg box availability unknown
• Flour, eggs and milk available
• Online registration required to view the shop and place an order; pay over the phone
• Delivery charge unknown
• Next day delivery day to Edinburgh city, Monday-Saturday

Foodservice wholesaler Dunns has switched from supplying the restaurant trade to making home deliveries.

Plan your shopping in advance, as once you’ve filled in your details, registration can take a while to process. (*As of 19th April, ours had not been confirmed.) Once you have your confirmation email, orders can be made through the online shop or Dunns’ app. Search for the action-movie sounding ‘Coldweb’ in the Google Play Store or Apple App Store and use the activation code DUNNS.

Despite this level of tech, orders must be paid for over the phone. Once your order has been received, a member of the team will be in touch to arrange payment. As with other wholesalers-turned-grocery-merchants, pack sizes may be larger than supermarket standards, so pay attention when ordering!

Root to Market from Fhior

• Individual fruit and veg available; boxes to follow
• Flour, eggs and milk available
• Join their mailing list to receive access to the weekly shop and order online
• Minimum order £30, plus £3 delivery fee
• Order on Thursday before 4pm for delivery to *various postcodes on select days

Once you’ve signed up, you’ll receive an email with access to the week’s menu on Thursday morning. You’ll need to be speedy and submit your order before 4pm to receive your delivery *between Tuesday and Saturday, depending on where you live in EH1-17. The shop’s content changes weekly according to what suppliers have available, and we found the site easy to use. (*A new website is also coming soon.)

In general you can choose from fruit and veg plus other fresh produce, including fantastic steaks and cuts of beef from John Henderson and foraged goods like wild garlic, which is currently in season. There’s also sourdough, dairy items and larder staples like flour and oats. 

If you’re feeling thirsty, you’ll find a selection of beer, gin and wine to choose from – perfect for pairing with the restaurant’s chef-made ‘ready’ meals and sides. On the week we ordered, there was a steak and porter pie, and an aubergine and pumpkin parmigiana. What an amazing alternative to Saturday night takeout! 

Romaine Calm

• Fruit and veg box available from £20
• Flour, eggs and milk available
• Shop and order online
• No minimum order; £7 delivery charge under £20; £4 delivery charge over £20; free delivery on weekly veg boxes
• Next day delivery when you order before 4.30pm

Possibly the best named delivery service, Romaine Calm’s website is easy to use, and delivery is also available in Glasgow, Dundee, Perth, and East Lothian.

You can sign up for a weekly delivery of fresh fruit and veg from £20, or supplement that with a breakfast package – a fruit and veg box plus eggs, bread and milk (£29). The weekly breakfast and dinner package includes all of the above with Machina coffee ground for a cafetiere, two Jarvis Pickle pies and Groats small batch granola (£59).

If you don’t fancy a weekly commitment, you can also choose individual items, including the fruit and veg box, from a very limited selection. In one of the nicest touches we’ve seen, the site offers an option to “pay forward” a fruit and veg box for key workers (£14). 

Good Brothers Wine Bar

• Veg boxes available from £20
• They do not stock flour, eggs or milk
• Shop and order online
• No minimum order and free delivery
• Produce deliveries on Wednesday and Friday when ordered before 12pm the day before

Good Brothers Wine in Stockbridge was one of the first business we saw adapt to the coronavirus shambles, beginning with next day delivery for wine ordered before 10pm. They soon expanded into offering fruit and veg boxes through Charles Stamper, as well as other fresh and store cupboard ingredients. 

The website is easy to use and has one of the lowest barriers to entry – no registration, no minimum order, free delivery. The selection of goods is not as wide as the bigger wholesalers, but if you’re seeking more artisan products such as salami, quality cheese, wine, high end pasta etc with your fruit and veg delivery, these are your guys. We saw one fan having a fantastic Pickles-inspired birthday spread on Instagram. Yes please!

Cafe Milk

• Veg boxes available from £14.50
• Eggs and milk alternatives (e.g. soy) available
• Shop and order online
• Minimum order £30, free delivery to Edinburgh only
• Deliveries on Tuesday and Friday when ordered before 3pm two days before

Although slightly smaller than elsewhere, Cafe Milk are offering veg boxes alongside larder items like coffee and sourdough. But best of all, they stock an array of very delicious mains, sides and salads from their cafes. Supplement your vegetable home delivery with homemade meals including wraps, stew, dhal and brownies from their easy-to-use website.

The Beach House

• Veg boxes available from £14.50
• Eggs, flour and milk available
• Shop and order online, or collect
• No minimum order, 20p delivery charge to Portobello, £3+ delivery charge further afield by arrangement
• Deliveries 24-48 hours from ordering

The Beach House offers a choice of three veg boxes; a fruit and veg box (£14.50), and a small (£18.50) and large (£28.95) Mediterranean veg box. Besides the fruit, the difference is in seasonal vs softer veg, with courgettes, aubergine and peppers featuring in the Mediterranean boxes, and carrots, potatoes and swede in the alternative.

Single fruit and vegetable items are also available, alongside a selection of cheeses, loaves and fresh pastries; coffee, tea and chocolate; dried goods including lentils and pasta; and jam, pesto and peanut butter.

Other food and drink delivery services

Looking for organic veg boxes?

Edinburgh Farmers Market have a really helpful list of all their usual stall holders and what they’re doing to deliver whilst the market is closed. If you’re looking for grocery deliveries further afield than Edinburgh, or if you’re looking for organic vegetables, their list has you covered. You’ll also find suppliers for meat, fish, cheese, jam and soap, other than ours below. 

These suppliers will bring meat, fish and cheese to your doorstep:

• East Coast Cured – free delivery in Edinburgh (EH1-EH17) on orders over £25
• Henderson Meat Specialist – free delivery to EH4, EH14, EH29, EH30, EH52 on orders over £30
• Shaw’s Fine Meats – free next day delivery to Edinburgh and Lothians, Tuesday-Friday
• Welch Fishmongers – fish and other essentials available; call or email for delivery
• IJ Mellis – cheese and other essentials available; £8 delivery charge

Home delivery for bread, cakes and pastries, plus deli goods and cooked items:

• Twelve Triangles – free next day delivery to select EH postcodes, minimum order £15
• Lovecrumbs – pre-order for free weekend delivery, minimum order £15 
• Tasty Buns – pre-order for Tuesday and Friday delivery, minimum order £10
• Bross Bagels – free delivery within 48 hours, minimum order £20
• Company Bakery – trialling a bread subscription in North Leith only
• *three.14 – order before 12pm Friday for delivery to Southside only on Saturday, minimum order £15

Top tip! The bakeries are exceptionally popular, perhaps even more so than veg boxes. Who’d’ve thought. We recommend you order shortly after the daily cut off time for delivery the day after tomorrow – you’ll find more choice, or your first choices guaranteed.

Can I have alcohol delivered to my house? 

You certainly can! These fine establishments will deliver beer, wine and spirits to you:

• Cornelius – free local delivery by arrangement
• Spry – order before 4pm for same day delivery of wine and snacks
• Great Grog – free next day delivery in Edinburgh on orders over £79
• Drinkly – delivery in 1 hour; minimum order £10; £3.50 delivery fee
• Pilot – delivery within 48 hours; £4.99 delivery fee
• Salt Horse – beer packs are available through Twelve Triangles
• Bramble Bars – mixed cocktails, and liqueurs; free next day delivery in Edinburgh on orders over £20
• *Kin – mixed cocktails all £8; order before 4pm for same day delivery Wednesday and Friday

Which Edinburgh restaurants are doing home deliveries?

For when your favourite Indian takeout has lost its charm, support local with a 3 course meal and other fantastic offerings from Edinburgh restaurants. You can find more information in our blog, as well as on Dining at a Distance.

How to safely receive grocery deliveries

If you’re answering the door, follow government guidelines and maintain 2m distance where possible. Stand back and allow the driver to leave the delivery on the doorstep. Most of the suppliers above will ask for details of how to proceed with delivery when you place your order. 

Once you’ve taken the veg box or other items inside, we recommend washing your hands for 20 seconds. Do this again after unpacking the items too. (We like to sing along to ‘I Will Survive’ whilst scrubbing our paws.)

What’s the best way to store my veg box to avoid waste?

When your delivery arrives, check for anything about to turn, like a rogue mouldy grape, or the slimy end of a carrot, and separate it out from the rest. Always take fresh produce out of plastic bags. 

We recommend stock rotation, using the oldest produce first. To get the most out of larger veg boxes, prioritise more perishable items before hardier ones. For example, make a pasta sauce with spinach and fresh tomatoes earlier in the week, and save the swede and potato soup until last. To boost shelf life, put items in the fridge (this works for fruit too!) or a dark cupboard to keep your veg box contents cool. 

Have we missed any veg box delivery services? Let us know in the comments!

Last updated by AmyB at April 19, 2020.