Happy (almost) new year everyone! Its been a crazy year in this house between a move, two school changes, toddlerhood for our youngest kiddo and much more. We're excited for what 2017 will bring both in our home and in the Lehigh Valley. We've been blessed in the past 6 months to run into a few incredible local services that have literally made our life so much easier, happier and simple. Most recently Small Earth Travel and Neighborhood Organics have been major life savers.
Its easy to get started with your first order!
We're excited to introduce Neighborhood Organics! We will dive headfirst into some of the details of this healthy, time saving option for bringing more Organic produce into your home at an affordable rate and do some Myth Busting on some common misconceptions about produce delivery.
Neighborhood Organics is a Lehigh Valley area produce delivery service that allows members to select their own items and for delivery. A variety of box sizes are available. Weekly, bi-monthly and single deliveries are available. Members select their product items on Sundays and they are delivered throughout the region on Thursdays. Its super easy to cancel a delivery is you are going to be on vacation or bump it back as week if you find you don't need the items that week.
This is something I was truly skeptical about. Would I actually shop less if I was having these items delivered to me? I knew that there are other things I would still need at the store that I couldn't have delivered, so I was curious to learn if it actually saved me money on my grocery bill. After three weeks of trying the service I am honestly surprised to report it did, but maybe not for the reason I expected. My initial perspective was that the fees I would pay for my box would come out of our grocery budget. This of course is true but its not where the full cost savings came into play. You can even save $10 on your first box by creating a account and ordering here.
The savings really came into play because my extra trip to the store (or only trip) was completely eliminated because the few fresh things (Bananas, grapes, apples, lettuce) I would usually need were brought to me. By eliminating this stop I saved by not buying all of the other unneeded things I'd toss into my cart while grabbing the few items I actually needed. I didn't throw cookies or the (fill in the blank) my kid was begging for while heading to the check out line. You can't buy what you don't see. This, in my opinion was unexpected and one of the best benefits of the service. Not only was I saving time not making extra trips to the store but by not BEING in the store I wasn't buying things we didn't need. Additionally I wasn't buying items that were processed, unhealthy choices for our family!
I began to plan ahead to use the items we had in our box! I'm not a good meal planner, I usually pull something together in the morning for the evening's meal, It is rare that I plan much further in advance than that. By knowing what was coming in our delivery on Sunday I planned to use the items by grabbing things to cook with them during my regular trip or used things I already had in the house. I found myself being a little but more creative in planning our meals and trying dishes I never had before!
Its no secret that using more fruits and vegetables in your cooking is better for your family. The challenge for me is actually making sure I pick up that extra veggie or fruit while shopping. The truth is I'm just not likely to do it. We always have the basics in the house because my kids eat a ton of fruit, but I use a lot of frozen veggies in the winter, and tend not to grab for the fresh ones during this time. By having items I wouldn't usually grab at the store I found a renewed interest in cooking up items we wouldn't usually have. I often find that being a busy mom, my kids come first in my shopping, I buy for them, getting what they need and my needs come second which means I don't always make the best choices for my own meals. I've found that by having more produce available to me eating a little healthier has gotten a bit easier. Neighborhood Organics has really introduced a nice new variety of items into our kitchen especially during this season and I'm thrilled with that.
This isn't a CSA which gives you only items that they have available for the week. Neighborhood Organics provides you with a wide variety of fruits and Vegetables from which to fill your box with. You choose 1 or 2 of each of the items on the list to complete the box. No unwanted items will arrive which means you will like and use each and every items that comes in your door. Don't miss their marketplace selections on the ordering sheet. These high quality additions to your order include farm fresh local eggs, freshly baked bread, local honey and more! See above for a sample photo of the items we chose for our most recent order!
If you simply re-pourpose the amount of money you would spend on produce during a typical shopping trip and shift it to pay for your Neighborhood Organics Delivery you will find that the majority of what you would have spent anyways at the store will pay for your order, the delivery is included at no cost and your will save additional money by staying out of the store because you won't need an extra trip to refresh items that you've run out of.
No! No you won't! As mentioned above you select your items and by choosing only items that fit your diet, and your family's needs you will easily be able to consume all of the items in the box you have chosen. Choose a delivery option that works for you. They have a number of sizes available and offer delivery every week, twice per month or just once if you want to try it out. Check out their site for yourself! you can easily set your preferences to NOT include items your family is allergic to or don't eat regularly.
Yes! It really is. All of the items we have received have been superior or equal to those we would pick up at the grocery store. Neighborhood Organics freshly sources (locally when possible) their items just for their customers with the highest quality standards in mind.
A huge thanks to Neighborhood Organics for letting us try and review their Produce Delivery Service! Check out Neighborhood Organics for a fresh start!
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