For almost 2 years now, I’ve been utilizing a grocery pick-up/delivery service offered in the D.C./Maryland/Virginia area called Relay Foods.
As their mission, Relay Foods makes shopping for quality, healthy, and sustainable groceries simple and easy. They put an emphasis on local, sustainable, and healthy foods. I was skeptical at first, but I quickly became fond their service. Particularly, there are just some qualities about Relay Foods that I absolutely love:
The Convenience
This service is unbelievably convenient—even if you’re not having it delivered to your door. I order ahead, select my pickup location/time, and at the time of pickup either walk or drive to the stop. I bring my own bags, but they can provide paper bags if you forget. Alternatively, their doorstep service adds another layer of convenience, but it does comes with a price: one time delivery costs $12; or, you could subscribe to Doorstep for $19 (monthly) for unlimited deliveries.
Also, you can make changes to your order as long as they’re submitted before midnight on the day of your order deadline (this changes depending on when your order is, and can sometimes be as late as a night before the pickup.
The Savings
I assumed that a service like this would be expensive. That’s not the case. Unless you’re placing a small order (under $35), you aren’t charged a handling fee. And not only are their prices very competitive, but by carefully selecting what I want to add to my card and avoiding the impulse buys that add-up when I’m walking through the grocery store, I’ve found that I can cut my grocery bill in half or more!
The Variety
If I thought I wouldn’t like Relay Foods because of an assumed extra cost—which isn’t true—I was sure that I wouldn’t benefit greatly from the service due to an assumed lack of vegan items—also not true. Relay Foods has some of my favorite vegan brands: Califia Farms, Follow Your Heart, Daiya, Field Roast, Beyond Meat, Luna & Larry’s, So Delicious, Silk, Hampton Creek, Tofutti…. Which also means that if you live in an area where these vegan alternatives are not abundant, you can benefit tremendously from this service!
I highly, highly recommend using Relay Foods if you’re in the D.C./Maryland/Virginia area! You can use it as your 100% resource for groceries, or you can supplement CSA pick-ups and monthly visits to a brick-and-mortar market with goods from Relay Foods. If you’re ready to sign-up for Relay Foods, you’ll get $20 off your first order when you use this link!
