RSS FeedProduce Delivery–Washington’s Green Grocer
Several months back in the comments section of a grocery store post, Tim mentioned a produce delivery service called “Washington’s Green Grocer.” It sounded interesting so I signed up and have had 3 deliveries over the past few months. The experience so far has been mixed, but mostly positive.
Signing up was easy, although there was a delay of about 3 weeks between signing up and when you could first start receiving deliveries. Once you can start receiving deliveries, it’s a pretty easy service to use.
Unlike other grocery delivery services, you don’t pick & choose each specific item you want. There’s a set list of items emailed to the WGG users each Monday, this is your base list of what will be included in your shipment. There are two types of lists to choose from (organic or mixed) and then two sizes of each (small or large). The base prices range from about $29 to $42 depending on the size/mix you choose.
Once you’ve got your base list, you can then specify items you always want to receive with your order (The Columbo’s add extra garlic to each order) or you can specify items you never want to receive and they’ll swap that out for something else.
My deliveries have all come in the late morning on Thursday, although they do say on the website that DC deliveries can happen on Thursday or Friday. I’ve picked up the the large mix once, and the small mix twice. I haven’t gone all organic which costs more and includes usually 1 or 2 different items.
The deliveries have all come in sturdy cardboard boxes (I’d say a C flute) with only items like green beans in individual bags.
The most recent delivery I received contained the following:
Bananas, Bosc Pears, Cucumbers, Empire Apples, Grape Tomatoes, Grapefruit, Green Beans, Navel Oranges, Portabello Mushrooms, Spinach, Sweet Potatoes, & Zucchini.
The three deliveries we’ve had, spread out over 2 or 3 months, have all had about the same items in them (it was late fall when we started, probably the worst time of year for local veggies). Some things are great (green beans), some are pretty good (zucchini, sweet potatoes, bananas), some are ok but we would have picked out nicer looking ones ourselves at a grocery store (all citrus fruits, apples, pears), and some we never eat (in this case the spinach or any of their leafy greens).
The spinach/leafy green thing isn’t that the Columbo’s wont eat that kind of food. We’re big fans of the leafy greens. But in this case, fresh from the ground (we’re guessing), they’ve got so much dirt on them it’s hard to get it all off. We tried a few times, but by the time you’ve finished your salad it feels like you’d been chewing grit. This is probably a bigger indication of our pickiness and not the service’s poor quality.
You can set up your deliveries to come automatically each week, every other week, or choose “will call” and they’ll only deliver if you sign onto the website each week and specifically tell them to.
It’s a fun idea and a nice service. I think it suffers a bit if you’re the type of person who wants to inspect each item of produce before you buy, or if you want to only get very specific produce. I suspect we’ll be using this service every month or two, maybe more often in the warmer months when more fresh produce is available.
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Comments
C:
I’ve never belonged to a CSA so I can’t comment on that comparison. Perhaps the ability to only get deliveries when you want them? I would assume that by joining a CSA you get veggies constantly for a fixed price? That’s just a guess though.
As to the late fall veggies, if I were getting brussels sprouts, onions, & winter squash I’d agree with you (esp the brussels sprouts, I LOVE those things). But since none of those have come my way I can only comment on the types of veggies that have been made available to me. Good, but not great.
I used them for about a year. My experience was mixed. Sometimes the produce was superb, other times it was banged up. It really forced you to eat veges or they rot – lots of fiber – but there was always a few items you just didn’t want. The biggest problem we had was the dirt and critters. These veges are very dirty when delivered and we would often find critters in them, something I don’t really want to introduce into my apartment – so we would always have to inspect everything when delivered.
As a CSA member, I’ve got a greens-washing tip: Put the greens in a stoppered sink, fill it with water and throw in some white vinegar. Swish the greens around, then let them sit in the water until the grit settles to the bottom. Take them out and rinse under running water, then put in a spinner. The vinegar really makes a difference and doesn’t add to the flavor. And if you store them in plastic bags with a sheet of paper towel, taking care to squeeze as much air as possible out of the bag, they stay fresh longer. Give it a try!
I would love to join a CSA — any suggestions? I used Washington Green Grocer, but was unimpressed — some produce was great, some was not. They were quick to send replacement boxes.
#3- Completely the same experience. Lots of dirt always, plus my spinach and lettuce have been wilted 99% of the time. That said, all of the other vegetables are super fresh, esp. the fruit. HOWEVER, I have had major hiccups when it comes to subsitutions (I have allergies) and not delivering extra requests. Cheaper than Whole Foods? Yes. But you’re not picking out the produce yourself.
Hey I don’t feel so bad complaining about the grit! Glad to know I wasn’t the only one having issues with that.
Of course now I know to try the washing tip from Denise (#4), so that will no doubt help. Thanks!
I’ve used Washington’s Green Grocer a few times and have mixed feelings about it (like most other commenters). Some produce is pristine and some I would have never bought if I saw it first. The convenience can’t be beat – especially in a town like DC where it’s difficult to get fresh produce. (If only it were as easy to get nice produce as it is to get a lottery ticket in this town!) I’ll probably keep using WGG periodically depending on the list.
I use WGG regularly… and I think of the greens as cookable, not salad quality. I rinse the greens and parch them and they are great additions to almost anything (even frozen pizza). As one person commented, it makes you eat your veggies! Also, if folks had trouble with substitutions before, it’s valid to note that they just unrolled an online database system last year and it’s made things much more reliable. I haven’t had any trouble with additions or substitutions over the last year.
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I think late fall is a great time for local veggies! There’s sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, parsnips, turnips, carrots, celery root, onions, winter squash, brussels sprouts, and dark leafy greens like kale. Lots of great fruits too.
Anyway…what makes this better or different than joining a CSA?