City living. Grocery delivery.

Good morning, friends.

Here is a little PSA for you about something I'm kind of obsessed with right now - Fresh Direct.

Living in Center City, Philadelphia is great for a number of reasons. I can step outside and find just about anything I need, trendy clothing stores, home stores, kitchen-gadget stores, wine and gadget stores and adorable gift stores.

The only thing missing from this end of this city is a grocery store. There is one grocery store but finding the time to get there and lugging my groceries from my garage to my apartment is just a hassle. I'm over it. Plus, I end up buying countless items I just do not need in my house.

Enter: the solution. Amazing grocery delivery. 

While this is not a new concept, other stores offer it, but for a variety of reasons, I gave up on them. Until, I met Fresh Direct, a New York City-based grocer, that started delivering to a handful of zip codes in Philadelphia in the fall. I became obsessed a few months after.

Here is how it works.

You log in and order your groceries - which include anything from your basic needs (paper towels, detergent) to cheeses from around the world, to pre-made dishes and sides, to anything else you could possibly want including incredibly fresh produce. One of my gripes from other online grocery experiences was a limited selection of items. However, Fresh Direct's selection is impressive and I have found everything on my lists, thus far.

If you are a returning customer, they even flag "your fave" items for you, which I think is a cute tactic. If you are a new customer, they have tons of deals for you from saving money on your first order to free delivery. Delivery is $8 and it's worth every penny to me for countless reasons - most of all - I don't need to drive on the weekends.

After you chose your items, you select a two-hour delivery window and check out. I've been lucky and have been on the earlier end of my delivery window sometimes even before the window begins.

The delivery men bring your items inside and off they go.

The packaging is one of the best parts. Here is an example from my delivery that arrived at 8:02 a.m. this morning. (Yes, I selected the 8-10 a.m. window on a Saturday which was only a teeny tiny bit painful.)

 

 The packaging. The frozen items are delivered in a separate bag.

A view inside the box...and a view into what I ordered.


Yogurt and other perishables come in a protected little packaging. Eggs come wrapped with a brown protective netting.

Here is a sample of how my produce came today - all very fresh.

I was raving about the service and products during dinner with Anita and Devon one night - Anita was psyched about the concept but Devon was against it because he prefers to select his own produce. However, a few days later, I saw Devon and he raved about their recent Fresh Direct order and how great it was - especially the packaging and the fresh produce.

So, I'm not the only one.

And if you like getting packages in the mail as much as I do - try it - because you have something to look forward to each week.

Happy shopping!
Your friend,
Caroline