Tell me friends, when it comes to grocery shopping are you in the love it or hate it camp?
For me, it entirely depends on where I go. There are certain stores that make me think pulling my hair out a single strand at a time would be more enjoyable than attempting to buy a gallon of milk, but others I find pleasant enough. Still, even the nicest grocery stores don’t make my Top 10 Places to Spend a Summer Afternoon list.
Let me tell you, if you’re in the “I hate grocery shopping with an undying passion” camp, you’re going to LOVE today’s post.
How does fresh produce and locally sourced groceries delivered straight to your front door sound?
Pretty awesome, right?
Today, I’m introducing you to one of my favorite services, and one I’ve been using for over two years now, Green Bean Delivery.
Green Bean Delivery is a home delivery service which provides fresh, organic, and locally sourced produce to communities in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Missouri. Green Bean’s system allows you to create a custom bin of produce and other grocery products which are delivered to you each week, every other week, or at other intervals you set. Besides the fact that they deliver groceries directly to my door, here are five more reasons I love this service:
1. It forces me to menu plan. The way the system is structured, you make your order from the store on say a Saturday and your produce arrives on Wednesday. This forces me to actually sit down on Saturday and think about what we’ll be eating the following week. Planning ahead, in turn, helps me to waste less food and cook more efficiently (without running to the grocery store five times throughout the week for last minute purchases).
2. Each order is completely customizable. I did a CSA for one year, and while I love the idea of CSAs it just didn’t work well for us. I ended up wasting food because we got things we didn’t like or simply more than we could consume before it went bad. With Green Bean, you can customize your order to get exactly what your family likes and needs the most.
3. I’ve discovered some of my favorite local products through their extra groceries. The Smoking Goose Bacon is our absolute favorite and I’m convinced this real maple syrup is what God pours on his pancakes.
4. Oh, and their produce is darn good too. I’m addicted to the crimini mushrooms, and can’t get enough of the local sprouts this time of year. I think in the entire two years I’ve been using the service, I may have received one bad peach. ONE! Green Bean also has excellent customer service. If you ever receive produce that is poor quality they work to replace it or credit your account.
5. Their mission is good stuff. Green Bean seeks to make “healthy and sustainably grown local food affordable, accessible, and convenient.” I love knowing I’m not only getting healthy food for my family, but also supporting local farmers with my grocery budget.
The minimum order for a Green Bean Delivery is $35. Just to give you an idea, this is approximately what a $35 Green Bean bin will get you. I couldn’t fit all the green beans in the picture, and I’d already eaten the bag of crimini mushrooms by the time I took this. (oops!) So just imagine those in there, and you’ll get the idea.
I’ve found for the most part the prices are comparable to other main line grocery store’s organic produce. Plus, they run sales every week on some of their grocery items. I love to stock up when things like bulk beans, oats, nuts, or dried berries go on sale.
So, you may be wondering, how can I get groceries delivered straight to my door and never have to try to find a parking spot at the grocery again? First, you can check out Green Bean’s website for more information. From there, you can click on your state (I’m sorry this isn’t available everywhere! I totally wish it was!), browse the store, and sign up.
AND, today I’ve got a really special offer for readers of Neighborfood! If you sign up for Green Bean Delivery in the next week you can receive $15 off your first offer by using the promo code 15NBml. It’s a great opportunity to give the service a try and see if it’s a good fit. Oh, and don’t forget to add some maple syrup to your order. Trust me, you will NOT regret it!