ColdLife Organics

I joined back when you got boxes of what they decided you were going to get. That was actually kind of fun, since I got introduced to all kinds of new foods that I'd never tried before. We ate high on the hog during that phase. Since then, though, the service has morphed into what very nearly constitutes a full-service on-line grocery store, with the emphasis on fresh, in-season, locally-grown organic fruits and vegetables. Last night I put in an order for a frozen chicken (organic, cage free, vegetarian-fed); a pound of organic sweet potatoes; a head of organic, locally grown broccoli; and a pound of organic sweet Vidalia onions to make our dinner with; plus a couple of other things we were out of. It was on my porch (the chicken packed in dry ice) before I got up this morning. The chicken's in the slow-cooker right now, with one of the onions. I started using them last year when my better half got sick -- he's the one who usually does the grocery shopping, as I have a disability that impairs my mobility. For people who can't get out, this service is a godsend. I can absolutely trust them to send good-quality fruits and vegetables without my having to sniff, pinch, squeeze, and generally pick over them myself as I would in a brick-and-mortar grocery store. Products that are local and organic are clearly identified as such on the website (which is usually fairly easy to use, by the way). You can search by the specific item (bananas, for example) or you can browse categories (frozen, say, or canned). I have never not gotten a delivery on time except once, and it's a mystery what happened to that one: I had actually seen the delivery van in my neighborhood, but my groceries never materialized. Or they dematerialized from my front porch. Whatever. One e-mail and they promptly refunded my money. (They checked with the driver, who said he'd delivered the goods, but as far as I'm aware they never questioned either my word or his, and that's a level of respect and courtesy that you rarely get in either a service or an employer these days. I appreciate that.) On one other occasion, I could not get the order to go through to save my life. Tech support was not able to replicate the problem, and we never did figure out what it was, but they were very fast responding to my request for support, very professional, and very polite. And it's never happened again, before or since. Their webmaster stays on top of things. They will keep payment options and delivery addresses on file so that checkout is a breeze. You can choose your delivery day, with next-day service available as long as you get your order in by 8 in the evening. There's a space to leave instructions for the delivery guy -- we have on ours that there's a day-sleeper in the house and so please not to ring the bell, and they've always respected that sort of request. They'll even bring them in the house for you! It's pricey, but as my mother used to say, "You get what you pay for." I love, love, love these people.