Amazon made a big splash in May when it expanded its food delivery service to parts of New Jersey, including Jersey City. Fortunately, Amazon Fresh isn’t the only food delivery option we have. While I love and support all of our local farmer’s markets, there are days when — hard as you try — your work schedule doesn’t let you shop at the market. So I’m going to review all of the food delivery services that cater to Jersey City. This week, I’m starting off with Door to Door Organics.
About Door to Door Organics
Door to Door Organics is a service that partners with over 200 local farmers to bring organic produce, meats, and dairy to five regions across the U.S. According to the WSJ, they were founded in Pennsylvania in 1997 and moved to Colorado in 2005. They specialize in organic, natural, and local foods with many farms based along the East Coast.
Pricing & How it Works
Door to Door Organics offers its customers five different veggie and fruit boxes. There’s the Little Mix Box for 1 or 2 people ($25.99), a Small Mixed Box for a family of 3 or 4 ($39.99), Medium Mixed Box for a family of 4 ($45.99), and a Large Mixed Box for a family of vegetarians ($57.99). Boxes are delivered every Thursday on a biweekly on a weekly basis. (You can customize it to biweekly as well). The service sends out an e-mail the week before your delivery is due and you get to mark the contents that you want/don’t want. You can make up to 5 substitutions per order and you can also shop their “market” if you want to add further items to your box, such as milk, seafood, or meat. Like most services, you can set your preferences in your profile, so if you really hate leeks, Door to Door Organics will never sell you a box with leeks. There’s no subscription or obligation to buy. If you don’t need a box or don’t want a box, you can simply “skip” it and you’ll receive a notification from them in two weeks when it’s your turn for delivery again.
Impressions
I’ve been using Door to Door Organics for over 5 years and I really love it. I’ve never received rotten/spoiled produce, customer service is great and responsive, and deliveries always arrive on time. In recent years they’ve also expanded their menu to include milk, grass-fed meat, and seafood. I can’t vouch for the meat/dairy, but their wild-caught seafood has always been fresh. Over the summer, they pack their produce with ice packs so your food doesn’t spoil. Although they do partner with many local farms, I’ve never seen any NJ farms (such as Ort Farms or Stony Hill) in their list. That’s not a strike against Door to Door Organics, but just an observation. My one (and only strike) against Door to Door Organics is its price. In fact, some produce is priced higher than what you’d find at Whole Foods. I typically get the Little Mix Box ($25.99), which barely gets me through the work week. By comparison, if I spend $26 at any of Jersey City’s farmer’s markets, I have more than enough to get me through the week.
Conclusion
Door to Door Organics has never disappointed me, but the service is pricey. Ultimately, this is a great back-up service for someone who can’t always make it to the farmer’s market. It’s also great during the winter months when our farmer’s markets are closed.
