Spud Order

I have a love-hate relationship with the grocery store. Fine, maybe tolerate-hate is a better way to describe it. If I can go without my kids, plug in my headphones and do my big, weekly trip, it’s bearable. But I dread those days when I discover we need a few things and I’m going to have to take both kids into the store and police them to make sure they don’t randomly help themselves in the produce section or send a jar of pickles crashing to the floor.

I’m one who likes to simplify the most mundane of tasks, so when a business makes that possible for me and actually provides great product or service, I’m all in. Which is why I’m really excited to go on and on about SPUD, an online store that delivers local and organic groceries to your doorstep. My doorstep. Meaning not having to pick out a similarly sized apple for the cashier to weigh and ring through since my five-year old decided to mark her territory by licking it. No more bribing the kids through the aisles with the free cookie at the bakery if they can make it 15 minutes without re-enacting a scene from Fight Club. No more trickle of sweat dripping down the side of my head as I shamefacedly hand unwanted jars of sauerkraut and economy packs of Mr. Noodles to the cashier that somehow ended up in my cart without me noticing.

Recently Spud sent our family a sample what one of their weekly grocery deliveries might look (and taste) like. I love it when random surprises that aren’t bills or traffic tickets show up on my doorstep.

Instead, we received treats such as organic tortilla chips, stoneground wheat bagels, organic yogurt, gluten-free cocoa overdose cookies, hummus and homemade pita chips, and a selection of organic produce including apples and greens (all-in-all, a much more welcome arrival than evidence of your losing race against a red light).

I hadn’t even finished unpacking the box when my sticky-handed fruit lover got into the apples. It wasn’t cheese-flavoured rice crackers for once, and I really couldn’t be the mom to complain “Stop eating that apple – you’re going to be too full for dinner.” Unfortunately, no one else in the house got the chance to try the cookies, as I completed a James Bond-esque sequence during my coffee break the next morning and used Bubble Guppies to distract the kids while I surreptitiously inhaled them. Sean Connery has nothing on me.

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SPUD makes it incredibly simple to get high quality, healthy food. Even better, you no longer have to sacrifice sustainability for convenience. They wrap it all up in a lovely, resusable bin and bring it right to your front door. Since being founded in 1997, the company has made it their mission to support the communities they operate in and source food that is grown and produced as close to home as possible.

Best of all, you can customize SPUD orders to what works best for your family. Create your entire weekly shopping list on their easy-to-navigate website from your computer. There is no minimum order, so you can order as little or as much as you like. If you want to avoid running out of the items you use most, you can also create a standing order with weekly or bi-weekly delivery of staples such as milk, bread and bananas. Create custom lists based on household staples, or specific recipes or meal plans to make ordering even simpler. And if you like a bit of mystery, set your price limit for a Fresh Harvest Box and receive great, local in-season fruits and vegetables (which can also be completely customized or accommodated for requests if you don’t want certain items sent to you).

SPUD even managed to inadvertently entertain my son, as he spent several minutes sledding around the kitchen on the apple tray. They frown on that at my local store.