As it goes, there is never a way to get all of the food items I need at one store without having to make stops at multiple stores throughout the city. So one of my goals for this summer was to avoid or as reality has it, significantly reduce going to a grocery store. Hence, I’ve been ordering much of my foods online. Here are a few resources with the pros and cons of my unconventional food shopping experience:

Azure Standard

www.azurestandard.com
This is a co-op with a minimum order amount of $500. As co-op suggests, multiple people place the order to reach the minimum amount which means your order can be as small or as large as you’d like as long as collectively the group order is $500. The orders are placed online once monthly with a cut off deadline and picked up the following week at the designated drop point. There are drop points all around Acadiana and beyond, including Lafayette, Abbeville, Jennings, Lake Charles, Baton Rouge, Denham Springs, Ascension, Livingston, Hammond, and many other places throughout Louisiana.Once you create an account (which is free) you can find a drop point location near you.

Pros:

• There is no sign up fee
• There is a tremendous variety of foods and brands with many being organic and GMO-free that can be ordered, including ancillary things such as bath, beauty, kitchen, and chicken feed and other farm goods
• you can order foods in bulk; I like to order nuts, coconut and olive oil, oats, and some produce in large quantities because we always use them and the price is much better
• produce, frozen, and refrigerated foods are available

Cons:

• You can only order once monthly, which  means you have to be somewhat organized
• pick up date is 1 week after the order is placed
• pick up times are not standard, which makes it difficult to plan anything on pick up days
• You pay (reasonable) shipping based on the weight of the order

Thrive Market

www.thrivemarket.com

Thrive Market is an online membership grocery store (sort of like a Sam’s Wholesale or Costco without bulk items) with wholesale prices. They have high quality brands at a price lower than retail. They also give back, with each membership purchased, they give a membership to a low-income family.

Pros:

• THEY DELIVER TO YOUR HOME
• The website is easy to navigate and find what you need
• You can “shop by” categories, such as staple foods, gluten-free, paleo, etc
• The prices are 25-50% lower than retail prices
• Free shipping for any orders of $49 or more
• They have bath, body, beauty, baby, and some home goods
• Their customer service is exceptional

Cons:

• The yearly membership fee is $59, how ever you can get a 1-month free membership trial
• They do not have produce, refrigerated, or frozen items, in fact I’ve had some problems with things melting (chocolate chips) in the south Louisiana summer heat (in their defense, they reimbursed me the items that melted and gave me 10% off of my next order)
• It takes about 6-7 days after ordering to get the products delivered although I was told they are working on setting up a second warehouse which will expedite the shipping
• Bulk items are not available

Green Polka Dot Box

www.greenpolkadotbox.com
Green Polka Dot Box is a family owned online grocery store that focuses on healthy, organic, and non-GMO foods. They offer a club membership that will give you “perks,” however membership is not required.

Pros:

• THEY DELIVER TO YOUR HOME
• Membership is not necessary to purchase from the site
• The website is easy to navigate to find what you need
• You can shop by brand or dietary needs
• They sell supplements, bath, body, baby, and home products
• With a membership you can get discounted prices

Cons:

• Club memberships are $49.95/year, however you can get a one month free trial membership
• Refrigerated/frozen items are only available for shipping to zip codes within 3 days delivery by FedEx Ground from Utah (which does not include my area)
• Bulk products are not available
• If you are a member, free shipping for orders of $75 or more; without a membership free shipping for any orders of $150 or more, anything less has a tiered shipping fee based on the price of the order

iHerb

www.iherb.com

iHerb sells supplements and other healthy products online. While their focus is on supplements, protein powders, herbs, etc they do offer some grocery items.

Pros:

• THEY DELIVER TO YOUR HOME
• There is no membership fee to order
• Shipping is free for orders over $20 with a tiered, flat rate based on the weight for expedited orders

Cons:

• They do not have refrigerated/frozen items
• The website is not as easy to navigate

And then there’s always www.amazon.com which you can find anything.  I do use Amazon for many things, however with my food orders I prefer to have everything delivered from the same place and at the same time. It just makes me happier that way.

If you haven’t tried shopping online I suggest you give it a whirl. It seems all “new age” but it sure does make a hectic life much easier. Typically I order from Azure Standard and Thrive Market because I’ve gotten comfortable with them, the prices are great, and I know what to expect when I place an order. While I have not been hitting our local grocery stores as often I haven’t gotten completely away from stopping at the farmer’s market and locally owned health food stores. Sometimes I just feel a certain kind of comfort there.