Last week we got a refreshing email from the Fruit Guys, who run a fresh fruit (and vegetable) delivery service in key metropolitan areas across the country. here’s their story:
The Fruit Guys is a green and sustainability-focused company that delivers farm-fresh, organic & conventional fruit to offices across the country. The FruitGuys recently launched their home delivery service, making it easy for everyone to access the best locally produced fruit. Each fruit crate delivered includes a delicious mix of bananas, oranges, apples and seasonal fruit. During peak season 70-90% of the fruit mixes offered are locally grown within the regions they serve (East Coast, Midwest, West Coast) and literally go from the farm to home or office within 3-4 days.
And in the San Francisco Bay area they do veggies too.
Would we want to try out a fresh crate?
Who could refuse.
We had the box shipped to faithful reader Zack S and his family, and here is what they said.
“Very elegant package and the fruits were very good. The blueberries were excellent; the oranges and grapefruit were incredibly fresh and had a strong just picked smell. The plum was juicy and very sweet. ”
“The lettuce was a bit bitter. But the other vegetables were very fresh and tasty.”
“The probelm in my opinion is that you get too little to be enough for a family for at least a week. You get one apple, one pear, one orange, one grapefruit etc. – this is not something I can count on for my weekly supply. Also it doesn’t include all my vegetable needs (like cucumbers, bell peppers etc.)”
What you need to know:
This is not a cheap treat. The produce is 100% organic and primarily sourced from local farms, but prices are not what most people are prepared to pay for food, even if it is locally sourced vegetables from Hollister and Mecca or fruit from farms located in Kingsbury, Pleasant Valley and Watsonville (all in the San Francisco bay area).
The price for a regular size (25 servings) crate is $32 and for a small size (16 servings) crate $24.
What to do at the supermarket:
Even if you can’t afford a weekly box of goodies delivered to your door, there is plenty you can do to make sure you and your family eat the tastiest freshest fruits and vegetables. Start with your local supermarkets and see which ones sell locally grown produce. It’s definitely becoming a trend. Secondly, you don’t need to buy everything organic. Third, farmer’s markets are in full swing all over the country now, and on any given Satruday morning you can find some of the best produce and buy directly from the growers. Another option is to sign up as a member of a CSA (community supported agriculture), where a group of 100-200 families pay a farmer for an entire season’s worth of weekly deliveries and receive each week the harvest of the land. Lastly, more and more Americans have discovered their backyards can become veggie patches. What are you aiting for? Disconnect the kids from the Wii and kick the hubby off the La-Z-boy. Go grow a tomato!
Disclosure: Ah, the perks of food blogging…The Fruit Guys PR firm contacted us and offered to send us a crate. We had them sent to a family of volunteer testers. We did not pay for the samples. We were not paid to post this blog nor were we instructed in any which way regarding its content. In fact, we forewarned the good people that we are skeptical and scathing of most products sent our way. If you would like to have something new and possibly tasty sent to your house, why not become a Fooducate Product Tester? Just comment below or shoot us an email: blog [at] fooducate [dot] com.
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