i've heard a little here and there about local produce delivery programs, especially in the past few years when the organic/local eating "trend" (if you can call it that) really started to take off. we eat our fair share of veggies and fruit, but a lot of the veggies i used to buy were frozen and/or canned so i didn't have to worry about shelf life.
while that's wonderfully convenient, i started getting pretty tired of the same sauteed/seasoned, from-the-can green beans. of course i could've just committed to buying fresh produce each week instead of canned/frozen, but lots of times the selection at the grocery store isn't great and i'd always panic and not be able to decide what to buy.
i ran across backyard produce (http://www.byproduce.com/) which bills itself as an online farmers market, and decided to give it a try.
they offer 4 different options:
-"flying solo" geared for one person, gives you 40 points per week
-"just for two" especially for couples, 60 points per week
-"family of four" fairly self-explanatory, 80 points per week
-"extended family", 100 points per week
each week the ordering opens on thursday, so you log in to your account and can take your time viewing all of the items that are available for the next week's delivery. not only do they have organic, local veggies and fruit, you can also get bakery items, coffee, seasonings, and cheese.
the items all "cost" different points..for example, a bunch of kale is usually 5 or 6 points. a whole pineapple is 12 points. blueberries and strawberries are 10-12 points apiece. since we got the "just for two" package, each thursday i log on and spend my 60 points however i want to. i always get berries, apples, and bananas to use in smoothies and as snacks. i might throw in some oranges, pears, or another fruit that looks good depending on my mood, then i try to spend the rest of my points on veggies. i love ordering broccoli; it's always the perfect sized bunch. green beans, kale, spinach, and cucumbers are my other faves.
then wednesday rolls around and when i get home from work there's an insulated box with an ice pack full of what i ordered sitting on my porch! it makes it more exciting for me to cook veggies when i anticipate them being delivered so much! while i'm unpacking the box and cleaning everything, i start planning in my head how i'm going to use everything that week.
i highly recommend backyard produce for anyone in the delivery areas, which are scattered throughout north carolina. the link to the delivery area maps is here: http://www.byproduce.com/deliveryarea
if you sign up you'll be supporting local and organic farmers who deserve our business much more than conventional megafarms shipping their products all over the place covered in pesticides and who knows what else. i've never been a huge proponent of choosing local/organic (mostly because i just didn't care one way or the other) until i did a little research on it lately, and it makes me feel good knowing that i'm supporting someone in my local community trying to make a living and grow things in a healthy way.
here's a picture of one of my recent boxes, full of green beans, kale, oranges, spinach, cucumbers, apples, bananas, strawberries, and blueberries. yummmm!
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