So we've decided we want to eat more consciously and hopefully more healthfully. The long and the short of this goal is that we as a family (or really just me and Cliff as our girls get to do what we tell them to do at this age...) want to cut out the majority of the processed foods we've had in our diet, buy fresh, and buy local. We knew going into this that our goal would require sacrifice, planning, and a lot of will power. We were also afraid it would require a lot of driving and consequently gasoline consumption. What to do? The more we thought about our venture into "real food" world we wondered if we were being overly ambitious and unrealistic - especially with a new baby on the way. I don't mind taking two kids to the grocery store most days, but three? I can't even fathom that possibility... yet. What to do?
Relay Foods to the rescue! Literally. We had always seen these trucks parked at various locations around town and even in our neighborhood thinking they were really just a really expensive local food distributor. We never gave them a second thought until we started planning out our new life style. Upon a very small amount of research we learned that RelayFoods.com was created right here in Charlottesville by a graduate from UVA and his friend. They wanted to create an online grocery "store" that supported local businesses and agriculture and saved people time, money, and GAS as well! It sounded too good to be true. What's the catch? Do they jack up the prices of the products they sell? Do they charge a ridiculous fee to use their services? No and no. Their prices are comparable to what we would pay at the grocery store near us and there is NO SURCHARGE or FEE.
We live out in Crozet, (about 15 mi from C-ville,) and the only grocery stores we have are Harris Teeter and Crozet Great Value. They are both much more expensive than Kroger, Walmart, etc. We used to do a lot of our shopping at Sam's Club, but Sam's is far away and we calculated that we were spending about $8.00 round trip to grocery shop there. Relay DELIVERS the food we order to our neighborhood. We literally drive down the street and pick up our order. They PROVIDE reusable shopping bags for us and the first three orders we placed were discounted. They do have a $5 fee if you spend less than $50. Um... who spends less than $50 when you go grocery shopping? Not us. This fee is waved after you have used their services a few times as well. But again, we've never spent less than $50 so I wouldn't really know about it.
If you go to their site you will find that they provide a lot of local and organic foods, but that isn't all. If you have a hankerin' for Cheerios or Campbell's Soup, you will find all the staples of a regular grocery store as well. The major difference is that THEY do all the driving around town so YOU don't have to! Need a special gourmet cheese, Thai curry paste, bulk oatmeal, cashews, and local grass-fed beef? This is one stop shopping at its finest. Grocery shopping with three kids? No problem!!!
 | |||
| Best shopping idea EVER! |
 |
| The delicious milk we buy |
 |
| Local cheese from Marshall Farms |
 |
| The best Yogurt I have ever had. This is the maple yogurt, but we usually buy the plain. |
