DC Refined: What you need to know about FreshDirect grocery delivery

From DC Refined by Lani Furbank:
“There’s no shortage of grocery delivery options in the DMV, with stores like Giant and Safeway offering delivery, as well as subscription boxes like Door to Door Organics, From the Farmer, and Hungry Harvest. That being said, when a new service rolls into town, we still get excited about it!
FreshDirect is the newest online fresh food retailer in the D.C. market. The New York-based company delivers to customers in five states in the northeast, including major metro areas like New York City and Philadelphia. In April, they expanded their service area to include the District, Arlington, McLean, and Bethesda.
The service offers a variety of products, from farm-fresh produce and high-quality proteins to prepared meals and pantry staples. FreshDirect sources directly from an extensive network of farms, fisheries, and suppliers, and they bring products right to a customer’s doorstep, cutting the grocery store supply-chain time in half. Naturally, we had to test it out.
The process of ordering from FreshDirect is simple and painless: visit the website, fill your cart, place your order, and wait for your delivery to arrive! Here are a few highlights.
A vast selection
FreshDirect offers more than 12,000 products, and their selection goes far beyond your typical grocery store items like basic produce, meats, dairy, dry goods, and household supplies.
- For those who love meal kits but aren’t keen on a subscription, you can order a single kit. Choose from recipes like Bucatini with Fresh Tomato Basil Sauce and Burrata or Moroccan-Spiced Chicken Thighs with Carrots and Lemony Quinoa. Each meal can be ordered for one or two servings.
- Party platters are available for delivery for events, luncheons, or meetings. Think sandwich platters, fruit plates, crudité or charcuterie boards, breakfast spreads of smoked fish, dessert trays, salads, and even hot entrees for a crowd.
- There is, of course, a healthy array of niche items like organic, grass-fed, kosher, and more. You can filter products by these specific categories.
- You can get high-end specialty products like whole soft-shell crab, a single organic CSA share from Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative, macarons, and more.
- “Great Right Now” items
In the fruit and vegetables categories on the website, there are several highlighted products that are deemed to be “great right now.” This section might include seasonal specials like wild ramps, bargains like a sale on red cherries, or items that are exclusive to FreshDirect, like jumbo blueberries from Family Tree Farms.
Shop by state
If you’re looking for products local to the East Coast, you can shop by state and find items categorized by origin. Currently, the list includes goods from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. This means D.C. area residents can now order NYC favorites like Roberta’s pizza, Van Leeuwen ice cream, and The White Moustache yogurt.
Exclusive line of products
The brand also has its own line, called JUST FreshDirect, which has over 300 items without artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives. This includes everything from dairy and produce to jerkies and sweet snacks. They’ve partnered with independent fishermen and growers to offer products like wild-caught albacore and Sicilian olive oil.”
Read the rest of the story HERE!
Featured photo courtesy of FreshDirect.