The farm-to-table movement has become increasingly popular across the country in the wake of the all-time high obesity rates and growing health concerns regarding processed and genetically modified foods. As we become more concerned with the food that we eat, where it comes from and how it has been grown, we find ourselves turning to our local farmers and producers for organic produce delivery.

Community supported agricultural projects and the major interest people have taken in local organic sources for good quality foods have given new life to what had been a dying breed: the local farmer. With the average age of an American farmer being 59 years, it’s not an exaggeration to call family farms a disappearing fixture of American life. In recent years, however, independent small-scale farming has seen a revival thanks to CSA initiatives (community supported agriculture) and applicable sustainable agriculture models that farmers and organizations have worked to establish.

Finding a Good Source of Organic Produce

Farmers markets and farm-to-table restaurants are great options for your next organic meal, but many Americans do not have the possibility to access them on a daily basis. Whether you don’t have the time to go down to the farmers market as often as you would need to or the closest place to get a good organic meal is too far from you, there are some specialized produce delivery companies that can provide farm-to-door services for all of your needs.

Farmbox

A very useful grocery delivery system that focuses on organic produce delivery on a nationwide scale is Farmbox. The company offers free shipping for some areas and charges shipping fees for other zip codes, but you can check the delivery conditions online before ordering. They offer different sized boxes and have organic only options and packages.

Customers can personalize the contents of their box as well as the shipping schedule for recurrent deliveries and are updated via email each week before the delivery with regards to the contents of the package for the following shipment. Buyers can then log into their accounts online and makeup to 5 changes and substitutions to their weekly farm box if they are unhappy with some of the items provided by the company for the upcoming delivery.

The products shipped change every week because of the company’s pledge to use local suppliers and organic and natural farm produce which is seasonal. Customers can also choose from a fruit box, vegetable box and a mixed box depending on their needs and can also look for recipes and tips on how to cook the produce they receive by going on the Farmbox webpage.

Door to Door Organics

This local produce delivery service offers a wide variety of organic and natural items that can be shipped to several major areas across the United States including the Midwest, Colorado, Cleveland, the Tri-State area, Milwaukee, Michigan and Kansas City.

Door to Door Organics focuses on delivering organic produce that is sourced locally whenever possible and that is seasonal. This implies that they can sometimes ship items in from other regions if they cannot be obtained locally but the company guarantees that the products they supply are verified and organic.

They offer four sizes of boxes that can be fruit only, vegetable only or mixed, and they also have an online grocery store where customers can go to purchase other organic and natural products such as humanely raised meat, seafood, free range eggs, dairy and other drinks and snacks. The process begins with the customer choosing and customizing his delivery box, deciding the size, contents and shipment details and adding items from the grocery store if they need to.

Recurring items that are not part of the standard boxes can be added as well, and customers can cancel their delivery plans at any time. The company also provides buyers with online recipes, sales, and additional information about products that can be found locally for their areas.

A nice feature that I have found on their website is the “Joy delivered guarantee” which they advertise on their delivery boxes under the hashtag “joy delivered”. They provide customers with a “no questions asked” problem report system which improves the customer support experience buyers have in case they are not satisfied with the service. As with other recurring delivery services, Door to Door Organics offers clients the option to substitute produce in their upcoming boxes before their next scheduled shipment if they wish to do so.

Farm Fresh to You

If you’re looking for a very personal service Farm Fresh to You might be the right way to go when it comes to your organic grocery delivery necessities. The company is centered on the farm that the family runs and operates and it provides certified organic produce that can be delivered to your home or to your office.

The farm itself has quite some history and years to it as it has been functioning since 1976 and is still going strong. The home delivery service that the company offers works based on a similar system to other delivery services of its kind but all the produce supplied by Farm Fresh for You comes from their own farm and is grown by the family that runs the company.

The produce is pesticide free and grown sustainably as the farm works based on a CSA model. There are four available sizes for delivery boxes: small, regular, more, and monster. You can decide whether you want vegetables, fruits, a mixture of both or a box that only contains produce which doesn’t require cooking.

The produce that the company offers is seasonal, and they partner with other certified organic farms in order to provide food items that they cannot grow themselves. Customers can personalize their upcoming orders and change or add items that they need depending on what is available for their zip code. Additional products such as nuts, eggs, or dried fruits can be selected and added to the standard boxes and buyers can add items they do not wish to receive on an exclusion list so that they don’t have to change such produce every time it is scheduled to be shipped. Preferred items can also be highlighted by customers using their online accounts so that they can be included in the boxes when available.

The frequency of the deliveries can also be chosen by the customer with options for weekly shipments as well as for deliveries for every other week or every three or four weeks. The service can be changed or canceled at any time the buyer wishes to so no commitment is required. Farm Fresh to You also offers tours of their farm, family activities on site, recipes and video tutorials, and news about upcoming events that they plan on their farm and a blog and news feed that can be followed online.

Washington’s Green Grocer and From the Farmer

Two delivery services that can supply you with organic produce in the Washington DC area are Washington’s Green Grocer and From the Farmer. Many farm-to-door delivery services cover regional delivery areas because of the ability to work with local farmers and suppliers to build their stock. If you live in the Washington DC, Northern Virginia or Baltimore area, you can try either of these two companies for your organic produce needs.

Washington’s Green Grocer offers several types of boxes including an Organic Box and a Local Only Box depending on your preferences. Customers can choose how often they receive a shipment and how large or small the box is as well as what their order contains, including additional items that the service provides and switched items that they can replace their next boxes if they do not want to receive one product or another.

The company offers anything from fresh produce to meats, fish, and seafood, dairy and eggs, or baked goods and can supply you with more unusual requests such as spices, coffee, and pies, as well as with pantry staples that you might need. However, be aware that they also supply some regular products that are not organic so be careful to double check what specifications your additional items have before you include them in your order.

From the Farmer is focused on farm-to-table produce and offers seasonal produce from local farmers. The service allows customers to select the fruits and vegetables that they want to receive and offer three-bushel sizes depending on the individual’s needs. Buyers can also add free range eggs and bread from a local bakery to their orders and cancel or modify the weekly shipments at any time.

The service provides overnight delivery and only provides locally and responsibly grown organic produce so many items are seasonal, and the contents of the box differ every week, but customers can exclude items they do not want to receive and request more of their favorite fruits and vegetables.

Nature’s Garden Delivered

Another regional organic delivery service that caters to Phoenix, Tucson and Arizona is Nature’s Garden Delivered. The company supports local farmers and suppliers and offers weekly organic produce boxes that can be mixed, fruit-only or vegetable-only and are pre-assorted depending on the seasonal items that are available for each shipment in the area.

Although the fruits and vegetables that you receive are chosen by the company you can change produce in your box if you are not happy with some of the contents it includes for your next order and add items you need if you want to. Delivery frequency can be weekly, every other week or every three or four weeks depending on your requirements and the pre-assembled boxes are designed to contain enough produce for a week.

Additional items may be available depending on the area you are in and you can find out online what the options are for your zip code.

Fresh Picks

This grocery delivery service offers organic and fresh produce shipments for Chicago, Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Illinois residents. The company focuses on supplying local seasonal produce in order to support local farms but does supplement its stock with certified organic goods from other areas during the winter months when local produce is not available.

Fresh Picks offers several types and sizes of boxes of fresh produce including juice cleanse, veg only, fruit only, and mixed or rainbow assortments.

Their online store also features additional locally produced organic and fresh items such as dairy, free range eggs, humanely raised meat, fish, and baked goods. The company was founded by Irv Cernauskas and Shelley Herman, two MIT graduates who have been working to create opportunities for underserved areas and markets for local farmers for more than 20 years. They have also started the Fresh Picks delivery service in an effort to keep promoting local economies, small farms, merchants, as well as community supported agriculture projects.

Good Eggs and Out of the Box Collective

Californians also have some great organic food delivery services available depending on the region that they live in. Good Eggs supplies residents of the Bay Area  with locally sourced products ranging from organic fresh produce to dairy, humanely raised meat, free range organic eggs as well as pantry supplies and baked goods.

The company works with producers in the area and can provide next-day shipment after the order has been placed. Depending on the size and cost of your order as well as the area where you are expecting the package the delivery fee can either be zero or go up to $4.99.

Out of the Box Collective is a farm-to-door grocery delivery service which supplies Los Angeles residents with good quality fresh produce from the region. They focus on local foods and on promoting sustainable food systems for a wide variety of goods.

The company offers real food boxes that feature all of the groceries and supplies needed for several complete meals and include recipes and suggestions on how to use the ingredients received with each shipment. The products change with every box based on what is available from local suppliers and on the recipes that the company puts together every week.

Several box sizes are offered depending on how many meals the customer wants to have and how many people these meals will need to serve. Boxes can be large or small and can be regular or vegetarian. Regular boxes will contain meat, dairy, eggs, fresh produce, and pantry goods and additional items can be added to shipments depending on what is in season and on offer at the moment of each order. The company provides the necessary information for creating and customizing orders online and lists the available products and packages alongside the recipes on their web page.