Fresh Direct: Tiny Choice or Greenwashing?
By Jenn | April 3, 2008
I recently received an email from Fresh Direct (a NYC-based home delivery grocery service) letting me know that they’ve finally begun making deliveries within my zip code. I’d frequently seen them nearby, but guess I lived on the wrong side of the tracks… until now. More likely, there are now enough potential customers on my side of the tracks that it makes financial sense for FD to come knocking.
But, I’m not so sure about using their services. There have been times in the past where I dearly wished I could just click around their website and have my groceries magically appear at the door. Sure, you pay more for these services, but it’s like having your very own magical grocery fairy– and some weeks, we all need one of those (also needed: a cat litter changing fairy).
On one hand, Fresh Direct offers a large variety including organic and local options, and selected offerings from many natural foods lines. On the green front, they’re going to start running their delivery trucks on a biodiesel blend this spring, and they give the used fry oil from their prep kitchens to Tri-State Biodiesel for collection and processing. Their boxes use 100% recycled cardboard, and within three years they’ll be ditching the boxes in favor of “recyclable plastic totes“–FD is pretty infamous for underpacking their boxes and using way more than necessary for deliveries, but I’m not sure that “recyclable” bags is the way to go– are they recyclable in NYC? How about reusable bags, which would cut down significantly on waste and pollution, instead of generating more trash?
The thing is, when I carry my own groceries home from the store, it’s a low-impact operation– I’m using my reusable bags and taking mass transit. Sure, I can only carry a limited amount per trip, but depending on how much stuff I buy it can also count towards my cardio for the week. Those FD delivery trucks might be using some biodiesel mixed with their regular diesel fuel, which is a good start, but they’re still idleing and double-parking their way around the city all day, every day.
So, I’m not sure. Perhaps Fresh Direct will come in handy on an emergency basis (like when I had the flu two weeks ago, one week prior to the start of my neighborhood deliveries!), but I think the lower-impact way to shop is to keep on truckin’ the goods home with my own two hands.
[Image by Innuendo via Creative Commons]
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even though fresh direct has local and organic foods, i’m still not happy with their selection, and not willing to compromise on that. so i did fresh direct a couple times when they were offering half off promotions or something like that, and have gone back to my usual grocery methods - weekly visits to greenmarket, and one car ride per month to fairway in red hook to stock up on bulk items.
Hey Julia! That’s smart, to keep Fresh Direct around for promotion-time or just general emergencies… I think that as a last-resort backup it can be really handy. But in general… rock on, Greenmarkets!
This is a good service for people with handicaps, who can’t get out to get their groceries. For a long time I could not drive & had health problems serious enough to not be able to go out. Using delivered groceries from diamondorganics.com was such a HUGE relief, to get organic groceries delivered right to my house (which was in a rural area). :)
Now I walk, or short drive, bring my own bags, and buy all organic & local at the farmers market & health food store. :)
One good thing about these kinds of services is that it also reduces the need to even own a car. Most people I know who live urban lifestyles (including myself) “need” a car for two reasons: groceries and out-of-town trips. Delivery services like this don’t necessarily use less resources than driving to the grocery store, but it is way less than what it costs to manufacture an produce a car. Plus it is ONE vehicle driving around instead of potentially hundreds, which reduces the impact on roads and also the environmental costs of replacing worn infrastructure, etc.
I don’t think it’s perfect, but I also don’t think it’s just green-washing.
Hey delqc– very good point. Thanks for the insightful take on this question!
[…] Fresh Direct, a New York based home delivery grocery service, plans to start using recyclable plastic totes within 3 years. You can read more about this here. […]