The Best Food Subscription Services in Copenhagen

Organic food in Copenhagen is the standard. For the sustainably-minded, this helps make daily choices easier – especially when it comes to food shopping. But just because your local supermarket is stocked to the ceiling with organic Danish produce, doesn’t make it the de-facto best choice.

In Europe alone, over a third of farm produce is rejected by supermarkets for aesthetic reasons and farmers routinely overproduce by 20% to make up for this loss. In Denmark, this equates to some 33,000 tonnes of unused vegetables per year. Food waste is built into our systems, and anyone who has tried to reduce theirs knows how challenging it can be.

Vegetable box subscriptions – or grøntsagskasser, in Danish – offer the antidote. By giving farmers the chance to sell their rejected or surplus vegetables, they’re an easy way to reduce food waste.

But there’s more to these weekly deliveries than good karma, from learning what’s grown seasonally to nailing a plant-based diet Danish diet.

So, where do you start? We’ve rounded up Copenhagen’s best vegetable box subscriptions so you can stay as cool as a cucumber:

Vegetable and fresh produce subscriptions:

GRIM

This 2018 startup is the innovation of Petra Kaukua and Carolin Schiemer, who met during their studies at Copenhagen Business School. Focused on finding homes for produce deemed “too ugly” for resale at supermarkets, this volunteer-run project sells surplus, organic vegetables from local Danish farmers – tackling food waste one box at a time. As they say at GRIM: “fuck your beauty standards.”

GRIM has an extensive online community who often share cooking tips, recipes, and seriously delicious-looking photos of their innovations. But if you’re still struggling to feel inspired, the GRIM website features plenty of recipes to get you rummaging through your box.

Fredagsgrønt (Friday Greens)

From Farm of Ideas, a small farm based in Svanholm, Fredagsgrønt is a weekly vegetable subscription service that provides you with the same produce used by Michelin-starred Relæ, Manfreds, BÆST, and Mirabelle. The sophisticated weekly deliveries will excite foodies and farmers alike, with different heirloom and heritage varieties often taking center stage. Don’t miss tomato season, when the sun-ripened (yes, in Denmark) heirloom fruits really steal the show.

The subscription comes with a 5% discount card to be used in all the restaurants and bakery, plus the option to add a loaf of Mirabelle’s famous sourdough bread to your order.

Aarstiderne

Aarstiderne is an organic farm located north of Copenhagen, which is home to Denmark’s largest organic vegetable garden. On this site, you can order fresh organic produce direct from their fields to your door, including vegetable boxes. This is the most extensive selection of the three and is great for anyone who wants more control over what’s arriving in the kitchen each week – with a bread and dairy discount to sweeten the deal.

For the adventurous looking to delve into the unknown, however, there is the KiselKassen. Selected by Kiselgården – a West Zealand farm that supplies to the likes of AOC, Noma, and Geranium – the KiselKassen is packed full of different varieties and chefs’ favorites.

Meal Subscriptions

Simple Feast

Been burnt by a previous food subscription service that left you clueless with a kohlrabi? Simple Feast takes the stress out of meal planning by delivering delicious pre-prepared meals straight to your door. There’s no extra shopping required (just heat up and go) and everything arrives in sustainable packaging without plastics or Styrofoam.

The service is 100% meat-free and there are plenty of vegan options, making this a great introduction to a plant-based diet. Plus, the Family Feast service provides vegetable-heavy versions of kids’ favorites – one less thing to stress about.

Coffee Subscriptions

Coffee Collective

It’s not just disposable cups, lids, and pods that are of concern when considering the environmental impact of coffee. From deforestation to excessive use of pesticides, coffee has more of an environmental impact than any other crop.

For those looking to reduce their carbon footprint without sacrificing their morning jolt, Coffee Collective has had sustainability from seed to cup at its core since opening in 2007. Their subscription package, which delivers 2-3 bags depending on your choice, ensures your cup shall always runneth over without costing the earth – literally.

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