apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Things I love about FD
-Prices
-15 different type of apples to choose from
-Bottled water I don't have to lug up the steps
-shrink wrap packed meats
-Par baked rolls & bread
-whole wheat, non-fat cheese Pizza

Things I dislike about FD
-Idiotic Customer Service!!!!!!
-Mediocre veggies
-Not so fresh fish & seafood
-The new fuel surcharge

I answered the survey as "Fresh Direct? What's that?". I do know what Fresh Direct is but it doesn't apply to me living in western New York state. Up here it's not Whole Foods, it's Wegmans which is divine!

ooooh wegmans are AMAZING!
my family lives in syracuse, and i just love cruising the local wegmans when i'm visiting!!!!

i answered the survery as NO NEVER
why no never?
i think i got in trouble on the last thread about this by saying i'd rather know the names of the cows i'm eating, which is pretty much true, and my point in saying that was, i prefer to support small, local farmers like the kids i grew up with who are struggling to keep the family farm, well, in the family!
i'm happy to see friends from high school when i go to the union square farmers market, but i'm even happier that i'm giving them my business to keep a way of life alive, one that, someday, i hope to return to
don't laugh at my goat cheese makin' dreams ya'll ;-)

With Trader Joe's coming to NYC, I most likely will be making my Saturdays into a shopping day at Union Square. I'll trade a little convenience for some exercise and variety. Although not everyone can afford the time, so I can understand why FD is so popular.

I love Fresh Direct. Just put my weekly order. it is soooo convenient and cheaper than the stores in my new neighborhood - i live near wall street. Also I can buy in larger quantities, because I don't have to schlep it. I love having extra boxes of kitty litter, bottles of seltzer (which i drink by the liter), cereal (so I don't have to worry about waking up and not having anything to eat before work, etc. etc.

I definitely cook more and eat healthier. On my first order two months ago, I stocked up on frozen veggies, chicken parts, burger patties and fish, which I keep in my freezer and am slowly making my way through. It's great to know I always have food in my house.

I also am impressed with their customer service. I had some dented cans, melted ice cream and a broken beer bottle - they gave me credit no questions asked - did not even want the stuff returned. (actually was able to eat the canned food and the ice cream once it froze up again).

I agree they do a bad job with packaging - that could be a lot better.

oh, and the fresh veggies and fruit are good - I've never had a problem. Also, I've ordered all kinds of cheese and pates from FD and they've all be yummy so far.

Oh and one more thing - if I forget something or decide to change more order, I can do it as many times as I want, as long as I finalize it by 9pm the day before delivery. sure beats having to run back to the store when I forget something.

okay now I'm done.

the last time this debate went around, i was a fresh direct disciple. while i still commend them for their convenience and time saving, my life has changed since then and now i make the weekly trek to the union square green market (though it's not so green in the dead of winter) and i've become a convert. the quality at the greenmarket CANNOT BE BEAT, the prices are generally good, variety excellent, not to mention the support of local farmers and talking to the people who grow the food i'm about to eat, etc. i get a workout schlepping my bags of apples, turnips and potatoes back to brooklyn, but the quality is worth it. now with trader joe's coming to 14th street my food shopping experience will be complete -- and full disclosure, sometimes i fill in small gaps at whole foods, but their ridiculously high prices make me kick myself everytime i walk in there. but...let's start a countdown to trader joe's opening in nyc!

i have 3 regular grocery stores, Zabar's and a farmers market right by me -- and Fairway is close by too. so convenience and quality are not issues for me. i dont like to buy frozen veggies -- i prefer to buy them fresh on a weekly/daily basis. dry staples i buy at a store near me that has ridiculously low prices. I am a picky eater and prefer to see what i am getting (and i love to wander around the vegetables and fruits.) even with all the stores around there are people in my building who do use FD -- as is evident by the piles of FD boxes they throw out. does anyone know -- does FD recycle their boxes? irresponsible if they dont

I'm looking forward to Trader Joe's as well.

I envy people who have enough time to buy fresh veggies every day. Unfortunately, I'm way too busy for that, so sometimes frozen peas and carrots just have to do me. The great thing about frozen is they don't lose their nutrients after a day or two, so you know you're probably eating healthy even on a crazy schedule.

ooohhh Wegmans. Went to school up in Rochester, visitors always requested a field trip to Wegmans.

now I'm in Jersey and the fieldtrips are to HomeGoods. . . but thats another thread.

Fresh Direct. Grrrr. I live not-so-far-away from their Queens location but they won't deliver to my area--even though they happily advertise their supposed services in the subway station just two blocks away. They said there aren't enough people who want it in this neighborhood so it doesn't pay for them to try. But if they would drive their stupid trucks through here, people would start to get curious and sales would grow. If Queens does right by them rentwise, they should do right by the residents of Queens. (I lived on the UES for 11 years and, up there, you could hardly go half a block without seeing a FD truck roll by.) Very annoying. (But if they would start delivering here, I would order within about three seconds--Trade Fair just doesn't cut it.)

Oh no -- the Fresh Direct debate again.

Give me your Zabar's, your Fairway, your Citarella, your West Side market.

Open thine arms to Trader Joe!

But keep your damned Whole Foods, Fresh Direct -- and all those FD boxes -- yeeessshhh!

PS -- The buzz on the new Balducci's is very good -- haven't been there yet.

PSS - The whole debate of Fresh Direct is directly proportional to the availability of good food in the neighborhood. Having a doorman is another tangential factor. I thank god I live on the Upper West Side where the food shopping is great. (Though a doorman would be nice to have for receiving my packages frm eBay!)

You're right Frank

I have very few options in my neighborhood, but my building has a refrigerated storage areas specifically for FD deliveries. LOL!

I'd like nothing more than to browse the farmer's market stalls and say terroir a lot and in my fantasies and older age I intend to do just that but with two little kids and a bad back FD is a godsend.
They are selling more local and organic products now too.

New Tenant

Can I have my eBay packages and my Omaha Steaks delivered to yoru building? LOL!!!

Moira

You brought up the other tangent that I forgot -- kids!

i used to be a fresh direct disciple, but i've all but stopped ordering from them (unless i need multiple cases of spring water and beer). my catholic guilt just could not deal with the number of boxes i was going through.

too bad they don't offer to pick up old boxes when they drop off your order. i'd reup, even though the prices seem less competitive than when i first joined the cult.

I drink a 2 liter bottle of seltzer every day and I have 3 cats so having kitty litter delivered was great. But they stopped carrying the litter I use. Seltzer and litter were the main reason I used FD but I don't use them anymore. I loved not having to schlep to get the seltzer and litter but I do it anyway.

Not only that but I don't like the delivery cost and the tipping. That adds another $10 to any order. And I hate getting one tomato per box! But I have to say that the delivery guys are really nice.

I keep hearing people complain about the high prices at Whole Foods but I find them to be so reasonably priced that I make a special trip to do my shopping there (usually the one in the TW building). For what I buy I can't get it any cheaper that WF. I guess their specialty foods may be a bit more but for my everyday stocking up I think their prices are the best.

I live in Hell's Kitchen and there are so many specialty shops around here - cheese market, farmer's market, bakeries, fish markets - that it's pretty easy to just pick things up as I pass by. It's nice to see the same faces year after year in those markets.

But once Trader Joe's opens I'm going to spend the $4 roundtrip and do my shopping there.

"No never"

1. Fossil feuls. My feet work just fine. I'd feel too guilty.

2. Fresh Direct delivers literally 2 blocks away from me, but not to where I live.

3. I agree with the objection that FD is another unnecessary luxury that fosters a disconnection with our communities and the routines involved with the domestic part of our lives. No one is going to build healthy, real communities and neighborhoods, where we have to interact and depend on each other if everyone depends instead on delivery. Aside from labor issues, how are they any different than WalMart in terms of loss of community development and opportunities?

I also love walking to my local pet store, and they do deliver for when I need my giant bag of kitty litter replaced. So I'm glad they're not in my neighborhood.

I answered No Never.
I really hate the permanently parked idling trucks. The fact that they can have someone there to put coins in the parking meters over and over doesnt mean that those spots were meant for the permanent use of a private enterprise, nor that a running truck should permanently be near a kids playground or a park.
I love to get my own groceries, I'm spoiled and live upper west side. I adore Trader Joe's and I'm so excited it's coming. But I understand why people want delivery, I just really dislike the side effects on the street.

New Yorkers should lobby for a Wegman's. Their selection of produce is fantastic. They buy a lot from local growers. Usually they have diplays up showing you pictures of the local farm the produce is from. The prices are great. There is a huge selection of international, and organic foods. Also, they've been in the top 100 best companies to work for, for years. This year they were #2, and last year they were #1. Their employees are experts in their respective sections. Happy employees =friendly, helpful employees.

They sell canvas grocery bags for people who don't want to use up all that plastic and paper. They have inexpensive cooking classes with famous chefs like, Mario Batali, and Martin Yan.

And....They put out an excellent quality food magazine called "Menu." Whew....Sorry,I really love Wegmans. Start a letter campaign people!

Hey! Don't forget the follow up thread
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/072805/the-kitchen/food-fresh-direct-debate-fullfledged-food-fight-003357

and for those that did not notice the link in the opening paragraph here it is again
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/072505/the-kitchen/food-let-the-fresh-direct-debates-begin-003322

WRT fostering communities, the thing I find most ironic is that in a community that FD started delivering to first, and one that embraced it with open arms due to my aforementioned lack of alternatives, BPC (where we rented for a year while we waited for our new construction to be completed) was the one area where we connected with the community in a way that we had never experienced before.

Now I admit that this was entirely due to the fact that we have toddlers and that there is a huge contingent of families in that area with children of similar age. We made so many friends, who we either hang out with or still see and say hello to in the street, in such a short amount of time that I cannot see anything like FD destroying what we gained. This mainly happened in the children's playground just outside the Solaire but also in the playground in Washington Market Park.

A narrow example I know but I was astounded at how friendly and open people were and, as I implied, this was the first time we truly got to know our immediate neighbours and others from the neighbourhood.

Oh, I don't think we need to blame FD for any neighborhood disconnect. There are those who know their neighbors and enjoy the sense of community and belonging and then there are those who can live in an apt. for years and years and still can't name any of their neighbors and don't care who they are. IMHO you're either one or the other and FD just delivers groceries.

I can't believe nobody has mentioned ecomeal.org yet -- their site is not nearly as good as FD's, but other than that, they're better in every way for natural and organic stuff. Their prices, environmental responsibility, and organic-grocery selection are all better than FD... and they pack things in as little space as possible (and deliver to a wider area -- loved them when I lived in central Harlem).

I will say that FD's site is such a model of usability and beauty that it's one of the examples I use when talking to students about usability design. And their customer service has been perfect in my experience.

Just got my Fresh Direct. The delivery people really are very nice. The food shopping here in Clinton Hill is not great but not terrible either, the main thing is that when I am very busy there is no other way to get my groceries. I stock up on fresh fruit and the ready-made soups, boxes of San Pelligrino and cat food. Otherwise I am stuck eating take-out chinese when I get home from work at 11pm.

I must admit though there is an interesting sense of community at the chinese take-out late at night.

Margaret - I asked this on another thread a week or so ago but maybe you didn't see it. Which kittens did you get at BARC? I'm always curious where the little angels end up.

anne - their names are Hester and Hanna, in late June of 2003. I think all the kittens in the litter had names beginning with H? They were obviously very close even in the litter. Hanna was the runt and Hester looked after her. Hester is obviously the alpha cat but they are both big and healthy and happy.

Shoot, I don't remember them. BARC names all the litters with the same theme - 7up, Dr. Pepper, Sprite or Mars, Venus, Pluto or Martini, Micky, Milo. You get the gist. Anyway, I'm so glad they're doing well. I bet you're a great "mom". Thanks for telling me.

OK, I'm in Toronto, but I like to follow AT. I'm wondering why the FD trucks have to idle? We have a similar service in Toronto (Grocery Gateway), and the the driver switches his truck off once he parks near your house. We do have a three minute maximum idle law here, but they used to do this anyway before the law came into effect.

Beastie -; we have the same 3 minute idling law here, but little enforcement -- FD claims that their trucks need to be running for the cooling to function. Either you have superior technology in TO (which wouldn't surprise me . . . ) or Fresh Direct wants sane people to hate them.

Too much packaging! How many boxes do I need?

i use F. Direct every couple of weeks in the winter.
i don't like the amount of boxes they use!
i recycle it all of course.

stuff it is good for tp/papertowel/seltzer/soup/heavy stuff

when spring comes i like to go to the store and pick out the food myself.

used to belong to park slope food co-op but i hated it because of the militant knee jerk attitude and the touchy feely organic sweater wearing saints that gave everyone attitude.

when people try to convince me to come back to PS food co-op, i say "No thanks, I already work for my food."

I find them to be good if I'm going to be entertaining, but I too hate the big nearly-empty boxes. What's the deal with that? Do they defend it in the name of things not getting destroyed?

One other thing I will say is that they're one of the only places in NYC to get caffiene-free regular Coke, which came in very handy when I was pregnant. (yes, I also drank plenty of milk and water thank you but when everyone else is having cocktails it was nice to have a little can of caff-free Coke.)

they don't deliver to our neighborhood, the b&$t#@ds. we tried to do the pickup option (we have a car) and they got our order wrong and refused to fix the error. also, the produce quality was mediocre. never again will they get our business, even once the forces of gentrification bring them to our neighborhood.

After several tries using Fresh Direct, I tend to refer to it as "not so fresh, not so direct" given the experiences with (lack) of quality, delivery mistakes, etc. The other option is Whole Foods (some call it "whole paycheck"), which is lightyears better than FD.

The best place to shop? Union Square Farmer's Market and small specialty stores. Occasional trips to Trader Joe's round out the mix (a bunch of us split the cost of a daily car rental, we are looking forward to TJ's in Union Square and are hoping prices and quality remain the same.

hehe, thankyou anne for making my point far more succintly than I did but, just like the fizzbows, I just had to get my kids in there ;)
http://www.curbed.com/archives/2005/12/05/the_fizzbows_inaugural_report_from_the_fsbo_front.php

The very little food I ever buy tends to be at Gourmet Garage because it's close and easy, even when I don't need it to be gourmet. I don't cook often enough to buy Fresh Direct, and I don't have a doorman to sign for it, and I'm not home when I would expect such arrivals to come. I have no idea whether they would be willing to arrive after work, though.

One more thing:
We order what equates to about 5 or 6 boxes of stuff from FD twice a week and never have half empty boxes. Typical order costs around $150.
I wonder if the lightly packed boxes are the result of small orders (not that there's anything wrong with that).

oooo... curtis, you brought up my fave placce in the world to shop for meat!!
for some reason, the meat at gourmet garage is always incredibly fresh, flavorfull and very very well priced
and i've managed to develop a relationship with one of the butchers there, so whenever he's working, he always custom cuts my meat for me
GG is always on my list of weekend walking/cooking projects
plus, carrying the heavy bags of groceries from there to union sq to pick up veggies, and then back to the LES is a great workout!
throw in a few bottles of NYS wine from vinatgeNY and i dont have to go the gym on the weekends (unless i eat too much!)

FD delivers to half my neighborhood, Kensington, but won't deliver to my street although they advertise on a bus station 2 blocks away. I'm sick of asking them to come. They seem to serve mostly neighborhoods that already have great food stores. When Fairway and Whole foods open in Brooklyn, I'll be spending my $$ there.

I hate the Fresh Direct trucks; when deliveries are made the trucks' engines are usually kept running spewing pollution. The actual food, is not that big a deal. Plus I like going to my local grocery store because the cashiers are hot!

I'm reading through the comments but I don't see any suggestive solutions on how to improve their overall business model. I guess the number one complaint everyone seems to have is the excess use of boxes. Well, what do you suppose they do? Pick up used boxes? How many of you own businesses that are making these comments? This is illogical and would be an extremely cumbersome operational obstacle to overcome. I just don't see how this would work.

Social responsibility and environmental concerns are important. But is there technology that is able to keep your grocery cooled inside a truck without having the engine running? I don't think we're anywhere near solarized power running our vehicles in the market.

There are several types of 'visitors' fresh direct appeals to. I guess the phrase "you can't please everyone" applies here. Online ordering is a luxury. If I had the time I would definitely take a walk to my local grocer to shop.

Fresh Direct is good, but I suggest you to try new web: www.OrganicDirect.com
Better selection of organic food, good service, serving all New York and New Jersey areas.

I tried to use Fresh Direct but they don't deliver to my area. However, they do deliver to my Doctor's Office which is only 3 blocks away. If they go there, why can't they drive a few more blocks to deliver to me? It's not out of their way - they just need to make a right and then a left.

Hey:

I live in Park Slopes and use FD to buy groceries, but lately the boxes and the idlying trucks have started to bother me tremendously. I started reading up on it, and on Brooklyn Records found an alternative to FD that is to open up soon. They opened a forum where I contributed my complaint about FD, and they seem to have a diff approach to environment and food delivery. http://www.brooklynrecord.com/archives/2007/02/some_competition_for_fresh_direct.html