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When you’re already in the throes of your weekly meal prepping, sometimes after all the budgeting and planning — you just wish the bag of groceries would magically transport itself to your front door. Especially if you don’t want to schlep bags of food in the middle of a heat wave, or if you do want to get in some summer fun on the weekends without having to pencil in a run to the store.
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We’ve sung the praises before of online grocery delivery services, which provide an entire shopping trip’s worth of ingredients (sometimes fully-prepared) with just a few clicks, sending you everything from produce and poultry, to pantry staples and toilet paper. But when it comes down to the best places to order groceries online, you might find yourself asking, how much more convenient would it really be? Are the prices lower than what you’d find in a store? Is ordering groceries online worth it, and where can you get the most bang for your buck?
Look, we all know that cooking at home is just better for you in general. But we wanted to test out an online grocery service to see if it could get quality produce and ingredients to get dinner on the table faster than you can say “takeout”. Enter — FreshDirect.
In This Article
What Is FreshDirect?
How Does FreshDirect Work?
FreshDirect Review
FreshDirect: Pros and Cons
FreshDirect: Final Verdict
What Is FreshDirect?
FreshDirect, as a grocery delivery service, has the massive inventory of options of a supermarket, from whole vanilla beans, to farm share boxes of fresh, local produce. Whether you’re in the city or out in the Hamptons or Jersey Shore, they ship everything from seasonal essentials for grilling, picnics, and summer holidays, as well as alcohol (in New York State) to your door.
They also offer offer same-day Express Delivery in certain zip codes, so you don’t even have to order fast food if you want a full meal you can whip up in just a few minutes to put on the table. Their prepared foods section like your own personal deli counter. Want a smoked salmon platter for a high holiday? You’ve got it. Fresh rotisserie chicken? They’ll deliver it hot and fast. Have family coming over and next a full BBQ spread? They’ve got you covered.
The standard minimum for most deliveries is $30, and delivery fees range from $5.99 to $15.99. But if you know you’re going to order frequently, consider investing in DeliveryPass, which comes in three plans — any day delivery for $79 for six months, $129 for a year, or Tuesday through Thursday delivery for $39 for six months. Each plan gets you free delivery, exclusive special offers, and reserved time slots for grocery drop-off.
How Does FreshDirect Work?
As opposed to services like Instacart where someone is simply going into a big box store and doing the shopping for you, FreshDirect works more like shopping for clothes online. Just search the items you want based on different categories (produce, meat and seafood, dairy, etc), and then add them to your cart. Once you’re done shopping, you can schedule your delivery times for same-day express delivery, the next day, or up to a week in advance (with a two-hour window). If you’re worried about your ice cream melting or your hummus getting grey and nasty on the ride over, don’t worry — your bags will be transported in a refrigerated truck, and the delivery person can even bring them inside and put them on your kitchen counter.
Just like any regular grocery store, you’ll find name-brand and generic brand food items, ready-made dishes, and specialty groceries (plus wine, beer, and liquor in New York State). Although the focus here is definitely more on locally-sourced goods, organic options, and fresh fruit, vegetables, and seafood. Peak-season products go on sale with their “Fresh Deals” section, updated every Thursday (pro tip: look out for the “Top-Rated” symbol for taste-tested products that have been deemed the best of the best). This is all to say their virtual aisles are as expansive as any major grocery store — just much easier to navigate.
Right now FreshDirect is also offering free delivery off your first order of $99 or more with promo code FDSUMMER at checkout. Know you’ve got a lot of summer cookouts coming up? This FreshDirect deal gets you DeliveryPass free for 60 days and get unlimited free delivery for orders over $30.
FreshDirect Review
With our budget finalized, and a week’s worth of meal ideas locked in mind, I set out on FreshDirect to order a week’s worth of groceries for our household of three. Unlike other grocery delivery sites, their site’s UI is especially easy to navigate, clean and no-frills, just the way I want it. While there are deals across the site, I also appreciated that they have their own dedicated ecoupons section (although it does get a tad confusing figuring out the difference between that and “Fresh Deals”, “Sales”, and “Everyday Savings & Value”).
Even though you can order household deals like laundry detergent and paper towels, we specifically focused on purchasing meats and produce (along with a few organic snacks we’d usually only find at Whole Foods) to maximize on their farm-to-table value, and yes, the freshness factor. I’m not as much of a grocery planner as I should be, but even though our cart was a mixed bag of express delivery and regular options, we easily got a delivery slot for the next day (although truthfully we weren’t in such a rush as to need same-day or express delivery). I still have flashbacks from the harrowing process of trying to log on at midnight to secure a Costco delivery slot in 2020, so this process in comparison was like a dream.
When our bags were delivered, I was pleasantly surprised by how everything arrived neatly packed, especially risky, delicate items like a carton of eggs and Saffron mangos. Our bags of popcorn and chips weren’t crushed, and all the frozen or perishable items arrived fridge-crisp cold (although not in any special insulation — which is fine given the quick delivery time). One thing I loved about FreshDirect was that all the produce we ordered was, well, incredibly fresh. There’s nothing more stressful than not being able to touch and feel the ripeness of a stone fruit or see what state your herbs are in before you order groceries. We’re being hyperbolic, of course, but this is something that third party grocery services still struggle with — throwing just “any” fruit or veggie you request in the bag, regardless of condition. FreshDirect’s focus on quality was clear, and it actually made me wish we had ordered more produce!
FreshDirect: Pros and Cons
From their easy-to-use site, to their smooth delivery process, here are a few of our favorite parts about ordering groceries online from FreshDirect.
FreshDirect Pros:
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Convenience factor: The main benefit of using FreshDirect is, of course, how convenient it is to order from. You can create your own grocery list, select a time slot, and checkout without having to jump through a ton of hoops, rely on someone at the store to make substitutions for you, or choose your produce. This is a serious blessing as someone who has a busy schedule and can’t always make it to the store after work
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High-quality produce: The greens were crisp, the mangoes were juicy and perfectly ripe, and the chicken thighs cooked up nicely and didn’t shrivel in the pan — because it sources so many of its products directly from farms, FreshDirect reduces the time it takes for your food to reach you
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Value: You’ll find multiple premium options you might only get on a farm stand or at a luxury grocery store for less on FreshDirect. While they’re not necessarily “budget” option, multiple deals and coupons section makes eating fresh a little easier on the wallet
FreshDirect Cons:
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Limited delivery area: One thing to note before ordering is that FreshDirect is currently only available on the East Coast, including New York (all five boroughs) and parts of New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Washington, D.C., the Hamptons, and the Jersey Shore.
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Delivery window time: Even if you order express or same-day delivery, the delivery window is always two hours long. This means you’ll have to hang out and wait for them to arrive, or at the very lease have someone at home to receive the groceries
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Some items only available in bulk: Just like Sam’s Club or Costco, there are certain things you can only order in bulk (like a case of beer instead of a six-pack), which means you might have to order more than you actually need
FreshDirect: Final Verdict
Unlike a meal delivery service, FreshDirect’s grocery delivery is designed for those who still enjoy doing the weeknight cooking, but want to cut down just one part of the process. With their competitive prices (thanks to eliminating the middleman between farms and their online shop), curated selection of organic, local, and gourmet options, and stress-free ordering, it’s definitely worth the cost of delivery.
Overall, everything we ordered was reliably in-season and their meat options were as fresh as could be (and we give them bonus points for offering obscure items not typically found in our local C-Town). So don’t wrack your brain thinking about schlepping a week’s worth of groceries from the store — just think of FreshDirect like your own personal farmer’s market.
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