Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Fresh Organic Produce Delivered to Your Door


I've been trying out a new service to see if I like it and I thought I would share it with all of you. It's a company called Door to Door Organics that distributes fresh organic produce and delivers it right to your door. Their mission according to their website "is to establish access of nutritious food to every resident of Michigan and beyond. We are working to expand the market for agriculture that enriches the earth and all of us which she supports. We enable people to enjoy healthy styles, and we work to give our farmers the same opportunity." What a great mission! I could support that.

Door to Door works with area farmers to purchase and deliver the freshest produce to your door each week. They started in Pennsylvania in 1997, but have since branched out to several other states. (Check out their website to see if they deliver near you.)

This is how it works. You go to their website and sign up and choose a box of what you want from their menu. You can order just fruit, just vegetables, or a mixture of both. They have different sizes of boxes including the bitty, the small, the medium, and the large. A medium box, which is what I chose, "works for a hearty vegetarian couple, or a family with a couple of veggie and fruit minded children". Then, every week on Friday, you receive an email outlining what your box for the next week will contain. You can then substitute out things that your family won't eat with things they will, and you can add extra items that you want your box to include. The substitutions are included in your weekly flat rate, but of course you pay extra for the extra items you order. Every week on Tuesday, we receive a new box of fresh organic produce and so far it's been great! Everything has been fresh and tasty! A friend of mine, M., has been using this service for a little longer than myself. One week she received some garlic that was a bit mushy. She called Door to Door and reported what she had found and they credited her account for the garlic immediately, no questions asked. They have a money back guarantee if you are not satisfied.

When I initially began looking into this service, I thought for sure the price would be way too much for our family. A box full of organic produce, delivered to your door every week, expensive right? Not true, to get good, organic produce in Michigan this time of year is quite expensive and the variety in the local grocery stores where I live isn't great. I would probably need to go to several stores or make a trip to the closest Whole Foods which is about 30-40 minutes from where I live. To get the same quality of organic produce in area stores would cost me much more and I probably couldn't get anywhere near the variety. This last week I received apples, pears, grapes, beets, kale, green leaf lettuce, cabbage, red potatoes, red onions, carrots, parsley, and avocado. Opening that box was a little slice of heaven! Plus with knowing ahead of times what is coming, I can plan menus and order extra things we might need for the week. Take a look at all the yummy stuff coming this week!

Another great feature of this service is their recipe section. On the website, they have an area where you can click and find recipes for all the delicious produce for the week. This is especially helpful if you haven't branched out and tried alot of different fruits and veggies. Even more fun, Door to Door will email you every week with a recipe that coincides with something in your box of produce. For example, I'm getting Collard Greens this week and they emailed with a recipe for a dish using Collard Greens.

Check it out and see if this might work for you!

Karla

6 comments:

Unknown said...

I am definitely going to look into this. Anything to cut down on trips to the store!
Shannan

Sunni-Day said...

I live at the Grand Canyon~ALMOST nobody delivers here.

daedra said...

I used to get a box every week from them, when we had regular money coming in. But, the one thing I didn't like is come summer time they really don't use local produce. It's just the same stuff that get's distributed to Whole Foods, etc.

Unknown said...

Hello Sunni-Day! At least you have a great view! :) It is so beautiful there.

Hi Daedra! Yes, I think the only Michigan vendor they have is Hampshire Farms and they produce alot, but probably not enough. I did notice that my apples were from Almar Orchards though. (Daedra and I belong to a coop that buys from there.) Hopefully it will grow over time.

seemefly said...

I was wondering if you are still ordering from D2D... I live in metro Detroit and am looking for such a service but am a bit leery... how is the produce, is it really organic, and how far is the produce coming from?

Unknown said...

Hi Dust Family Tree,

I still use Door to Door Organics and like it. I am not exactly sure how far away the produce comes from but it is always fresh and delivered through a local delivery person, not a commercial shipping company.

I too live in the Detroit area. I have never had a problem with the produce. Many times it is the same organic brands you would find at Whole Foods. Other items are clearly just picked.

You are under no obligation if you choose to try it. There is no sign up fee or contract. You are billed with each delivery. I like the fact that you can substitute items that you don't love.

Hope this helps,
Shannan

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