FreshDirect Now in BedStuy

It's great for some things but I'd rather be able to pick and choose my own produce.

ch_smooth wrote: It's great for some things but I'd rather be able to pick and choose my own produce.

Agreed. We use FD in Clinton Hill but we generally don't buy produce from them. FD is good for household items (TP, paper towels, pet supplies, etc). FD is good for milk and juice (of which I consume mass quantities) and is always as cheap as the Associated, or cheaper. FD is also good for meats, pre-prepared meals, grains, and dry goods.

Basically everything except veggies. Even their fruits are pretty good.

that's what i'm saying! seeing is believing. though we did get a whole duck (frozen) for xmas and it was decent. i'd order nuts, drinks, etc but not produce or meat regularly.

i've always found their veggies pretty good, with the exception of a couple of bad runs of mushrooms.

frozen shrimp is often a good price, and it has always been fine, unlike the (unfrozen) chicken.

i like getting "grocery" items -- like kitty litter and seltzer water -- delivered bc they are heavy to walk home from my regular grocery.

but what gets me down about FD is that they have such a small selection of brands. they don't have my preferred flour, nor any bread flour at all. they don't have the kind of kitty litter i prefer. the list goes on. this makes no sense to me -- if my tiny regular grocery can stock many brands, why can't a huge warehouse with no need to display them all?

we order only rarely.

Remembering how "so worthless" flowers are, I ordered Fresh Direct for my granddaughter's home coming for "Welcome Baby" gifts.

Since it was Christmas season, I had a wonderful time...ordering shrimp cocktails, carrot cake, cupcakes, wraps, steaks, sandwich platters, Brooklyn Beer, etc. Divided it up into the four deliverys. Everything was great.

I can't thank FD enough!

Putnam-denizen wrote: Seems amazingly self-indulgent that those who complain because Fresh Direct doesn't have the right brand of organic bread flour seem to overlook the negative impact that this form of commerce has on our environment and quality of life, let alone how it sucks the life out of our local stores.

please don't put words in my mouth. or take them out of my mouth. or whatever.

i don't like the idling truck under my window either. (and i live in a big building, so it's sometimes more than once per day.) FD did just switch their fleet to part biodiesel, though.

as i said, i order only rarely. and, fwiw, it's not organic flour i'm looking for. i need bread flour because i make my own bread, in part so that there's one less processed commodity i'm beholden to buy. in this respect, my local store is superior to FD, so i shop there. it's not superior in that it's 3/4 of a mile away from my house, which can be a cold walk in the winter with heavy things.

if i seem pissy, it's because i don't like being called self-indulgent. (i am, but FD isn't the primary scene of my indulgences.)

Putnam-denizen wrote: ...If we can't support and use or local stores here, we might a well throw in the towel and move to the suburbs. A recent study did show that NYCis terribly underserved by grocery stores, but it is hard to believe that encouraging people to sit on their butts and wait for their weekly delivery of toilet paper and cat food makes any sense. Okay, okay, it is a pet peeve of mine! (Maybe if my neighbors who I love dearly didn't have a truck sitting outside my window every Saturday [they are the first delivery it seems] I wouldn't mind so much).

I try to support independently owned local stores as much as possible, but I'm curious what your thoughts are on Associated and C-town super markets? Those don't seem terribly local or independent to me, but I don't really know.

I specifically buy my produce at the veggie stand across the street from Associated b/c I want to support the local independent guy that runs it. But as for Associated v. Fresh Direct? A large distinction doesn't jump out at me.

Putnam-denizen wrote: I've never ordered from Fresh Direct, and find their trucks really annoying. But now I am confused - you order everything but "fresh" items from Fresh Direct? And you really save money on sundries as compared to a neighborhood supermarket, bodega or dollar store? Seems a bizarre set-up.

Everyone's mileage may vary, of course. Some people prefer to eyeball their produce before they get it, others just don't have the time but also don't want to settle for canned spinach or whatever.

As for neighborhood supermarket vs. FreshDirect for sundries, if I could afford a FreshDirect account and save myself having to schlep my 20-pound bag of kitty litter five blocks down Myrtle and then up four flights of stairs, hell YES I'd use FreshDirect. I'll support the neighborhood on more lightweight items, but the heavier stuff I'd have delivered in the interest of supporting my 38-year-old bad back.

sweet tea wrote: [quote=Putnam-denizen]Seems amazingly self-indulgent that those who complain because Fresh Direct doesn't have the right brand of organic bread flour seem to overlook the negative impact that this form of commerce has on our environment and quality of life, let alone how it sucks the life out of our local stores.

please don't put words in my mouth. or take them out of my mouth. or whatever.

i don't like the idling truck under my window either. (and i live in a big building, so it's sometimes more than once per day.) FD did just switch their fleet to part biodiesel, though.

as i said, i order only rarely. and, fwiw, it's not organic flour i'm looking for. i need bread flour because i make my own bread, in part so that there's one less processed commodity i'm beholden to buy. in this respect, my local store is superior to FD, so i shop there. it's not superior in that it's 3/4 of a mile away from my house, which can be a cold walk in the winter with heavy things.

if i seem pissy, it's because i don't like being called self-indulgent. (i am, but FD isn't the primary scene of my indulgences.)

I had posted this earlier but somehow didn't get on the board - my apologies to Sweet Tea. I hadn't meant to pick on anyone in particular. I am still not understanding Boygabriel's argument for Fresh Direct versus supermarkets. Doesn't Fresh Direct use all the energy a supermarket would plus another little delivery truck at the end?

Obviously there are a bunch of folks who love them some Fresh Direct. And in the world we live in, perhaps it is not the biggest sin in the world. To me, well to me, it just seems a bit gross and lazy. As a society we seem so unable to imagine a different, less wasteful future. Whatever that future is I can't imagine it includes Fresh Direct.

And Boygabriel? I'm glad that you editted out some snarkiness and I didn't read the first version. Because of snarkiness, you have no lack. (Are you a Fresh Direct investor perchance). peace out...

No one has every accused me of thinly veiling anything! I seem to be the only one critcizing ED in this thread (hallooo is anyone out there?), and I certainly didn't make that argument about it being the thin edge of gentrifying palefaces who float an inch above the gritty streets too good to venture into an Associated (but my the argument is vaguely entertaining!) As far as energy usage, I think our back and forth reveals that neither of us knows the numbers. It may very well be in the ecotopia of tomorrow food is wisked through vacuum tubes under the streets to delivery hatches in our basements. Me, I have a vision of a series of little shops, each staffed by an entertaining proprietor with insight and wisdom about the products he or she is selling. Hmm, maybe I should give it up and starting dialing for groceries...

Okay that's funny.

Boygabriel wrote: Few people ever talk about getting their tomatoes from 60 miles upstate instead of getting them trucked 3,000 miles from California.

*raises hand* Greenmarket patron who taught herself how to can tomatoes for precisely this purpose. I haven't bought tomatoes from a supermarket in nearly a year.

But actually, the reason that I don't use FD is because you need some kind of an order minimum that I'd never be able to make.

I'm glad to hear that. I hope Americans as a whole become more conscious of it.

I was in the CHCSA for a year but my vegetable-taste was too vanilla for their eccentric selection.

Maybe if my neighbors who I love dearly didn't have a truck sitting outside my window every Saturday [they are the first delivery it seems] I wouldn't mind so much.

Ok, ok, we'll start getting our stuff delivered later in the day.

But seriously, we order because we don't really have time to shop, stand in line etc. And quite frankly, the Met is kind of, you know....gross. I consider the issue of the delivery trucks a non-issue. We really like the delivery guys, and there's so many larger problems with air quality issues and waste that deserve immediate attention. Just putting in real bike lanes would help and demanding more stringent CAFE requirements should be a top priority in Washington.

Let us know and we'll order a chocolate boule for you, oh and the wine.........