Many of you might recall that one of the 11 things I want to accomplish in 2011 was making the switch to purchasing more organic produce for my family. To this end, we opted to join a local CSA earlier this summer.
While we absolutely love our CSA and the many benefits we’ve enjoyed from it, it has been a bit inconvenient at times because we have to drive to a local pickup area about 15 minutes away once a week to get our produce. Not a huge deal — but it definitely makes for a hectic Thursday evening when we already have to shuttle our daughters to the gym for gymnastics at 4:00pm and 6:00pm and one of our boys to football practice and still find time to pick up our produce between 4:00pm and 7:00pm.
So I was thrilled to learn about Green B.E.A.N. Delivery. Serving the Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, Indiana, Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton, Ohio, and Louisville, Kentucky areas, it provides an affordable alternative to joining a CSA — plus you can add natural groceries to your order too!
Green B.E.A.N. Delivery contacted me to give their service a try, and I have to say I was thoroughly impressed. Here’s how it stacks up to our current CSA:
- Green B.E.A.N. Delivery offer three sizes of bins filled with organic fruits and veggies priced at $35, $42, and $49. Our current CSA pickup is probably most comparable to the $42 bin, which would make it a few dollars more expensive on a weekly basis.
- However, Green B.E.A.N. Delivery will drop my produce bin off right at my doorstep for no additional charge, which would definitely simplify our busy evenings.
- One strong point for Green B.E.A.N. Delivery is that you can easily customize your produce bin before delivery. Don’t like kale? Choose to receive more apples in its place. Love brussels sprouts? Get a double order of them in lieu of another selection. You can also choose to only receive a bin every other week if weekly is too frequent for your family’s needs.
- I also loved that Green B.E.A.N. Delivery has an extensive selection of organic and natural groceries that you can choose to add to your order. Items that I would normally have to drive 30 minutes across town to pick up at Whole Foods can be delivered to my doorstep with my produce, and the prices are very comparable. Our current CSA does offer add-ons of minimally pasteurized milk and organic coffee, but I can’t get organic cheeses, cream, cornmeal or any of the other myriad products that Green B.E.A.N. delivery offers.
Overall, I really think Green B.E.A.N. Delivery is a strong contender to replace our CSA. Although I’ve not ordered another box since my trial, it’s only because we still have four weeks of CSA pickups to finish out. I’m planning to give Green B.E.A.N. Delivery a try over the winter months to test it further!
Are you interested in trying this fantastic service? If you live in a Green B.E.A.N. Delivery service area, they’re offering an exclusive opportunity for Deal Seeking Mom readers to try one of their produce bins at 50% off! Just enter promo code DSMapcb at checkout. This offer expires one week from today and is valid for all new members and reactivations.
Cassie
So excited! I also did the CSA locally and it was just too much for us. I felt horrible with how much food went to waste. I definitely will be giving this a try!
San Diego Deals and Steals
This seems like such a better deal than buying organic produce at the store – but do you get a lot of choice as far as what they send you?
Tara Kuczykowski
They have a standard order that they send out in a given week which is based on seasonality. However, you can login and customize it to your tastes before they send it to you which is a feature that I really love. So if you prefer more fruit and less greens, you can change it to suit!
Lara
I just placed my first order, sounds to good to pass up. I wonder though if it is 50% off the entire produce bin or just a standard bin for the first order – I was going to add some extras to my standard bin once they activate my account.
Tara Kuczykowski
I believe it’s just one of the standard bins, but you will still have the opportunity to customize it before they deliver it.
Lara
Thanks again Tara for the opportunity to try this company. Unfortunately, I did not have a good experience with them after receiving my bin today. I actually just cancelled any further orders with them too. But thanks again and I hope others have a more positive experience than I did.
Tara Kuczykowski
I’m so sorry to hear that. Was there something wrong with your order?
Lara
Yes, several issues (missing&quality), overall for what the cost would be at regular price, not a good deal on my end, maybe because it was 1/2 price, I’m not certain. I don’t want to discourage others from trying it. The 50% off was great for us to try this out and I am glad you were able to offer that, because that was about the value we received. On a happy note, our triplets were so excited to see all the new stuff delivered ;) The company did issue a small credit back for the items but the customer service rep. I spoke to was not very professional and that is what really added insult to injury, so I decided it was best to cancel future orders with them. I am hoping we were an isolated case. I didn’t mean to post any negative feedback on here but I just wanted to let you know so you were informed in case a company rep contacted you about your readers feedback. I wasn’t familiar with CSA’s until seeing this post and now maybe next year that may be a better option for our family. Thanks again Tara, I look forward to more great deals you post ;)
Leann
Do you know when the 50% will show up? My account is activated and I customized my order but it still says $42 (should be 50% off that right?)
Tara Kuczykowski
Did you use the code when you ordered, Leann? I’m guessing you will see it as a discount when they send your invoice the day before your delivery and actually charge your card. If it’s not on there, I’m sure a call to CS will clear it up. Let me know how you make out, please!
Leann
I did use the code when I set up the account, which was the only place I saw to input a promo code. I will let you know, but I am very excited!! I am having a baby at the beginning of December so it will be nice to have fresh produce delivered right to my house!!!
Leann
I received the invoice yesterday and it did take the 50% off. Thank you so much for the opportunity to try this at a discounted price! I am so excited to receive my produce today!!!
Tara Kuczykowski
Oh good — so glad to hear that. Enjoy!