Find Locally-Grown Vegetables Online [Food]

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/305525793/find-locally+grown-vegetables-online

Buying locally-grown produce saves money on gas and gets fresher vegetables onto your plate, and now several web services connect local farmers with consumers. The NY Times' Michelle Slatalla points out several such services, including Spud.com in California, Greenling.com in Texas, Naturaldirect.com in Illinois, Organicstoyou.org in Oregon and Mypersonalfarmers.com in New York State.

These web sites differ from the earlier generation of produce-delivery ones for two reasons: they all deliver products from local farms to nearby customers (whereas in the past it was rare to find an online organic produce delivery service that didn't rely solely on a wholesaler). Second, these new sites all allow users to easily customize their standing-order box weekly.

That means you can select the particular size box for your household, and choose to say, only get grapefruits, strawberries, and avocados grown within 500 miles of your home. I've gotten a weekly box of local veggies for almost a year now, and while it forces you to learn what to do with an armful of fresh shard faster than you ever planned, it's also made me cook and eat at home more, and reduced grocery store trips a whole lot. Are you a local veggie delivery type? Got any tips and tricks for dealing with the box? Let us know in the comments.

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