Fresh Direct

YoshoKatana

Sorry if this is going to be a little NYC-centric...

So, I've been working until around 8pm almost every day, which leaves me precious little time to find a good grocery store. Compound this with the fact that Bushwick isn't really known for its fresh produce, and it seems like my best option is the Whole Foods in Union Square, which would mean an extra train stop. I've been eating out almost every day because of this, and it's really cutting into my budget.

Rym mentioned Fresh Direct a while ago, and I'm wondering what people's opinions of it are. Is it relatively expensive? Is it good quality? Do any of you guys use them? The notion of having groceries delivered is really appealing, and apparently 15% of New Yorkers are using them (or so they say). What do you think?

gomidog

Not that much more expensive. I'd say it is totally worth it.

Rym

We buys almost all of our groceries from them. Never once had an ounce of trouble, and even with delivery they're really not much more expensive than a grocery store. On many more bulk items, they're actually cheaper.

Matt

If I actually lived in NYC I would be using Fresh Direct in an instant. I'm in the suburbs and I already try to use delivery options as much as possible for pretty much except groceries, mostly through Amazon.com (who actually does offer a TON of non-perishable grocery options).

Amazon has a great "subscribe & save" program. If you sign up for a regular delivery schedule (it's not hard to approximate how fast you will burn through certain consumables) you get a nice discount. I don't remember the specifics but it's good savings. You can also cancel fairly easily, so you're not so locked in that you will wind up with say, 18 boxes of beef jerky before you can stop delivery. I am told that if you're ever in the position to spawn geeklings, it's an essential service b/c the Amazon savings are particularly big on items like diapers that have huge markups, and now your free time is even at more of a premium.