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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.