(OLYMPIA) Local organic produce, meat, grains – for great prices with FREE delivery (enter to win $60 credit)

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I get asked a lot how to save on organic, healthy foods. I always recommend watching the grocery ads for the local big box grocery stores and stocking up on items in season when they are on sale. But with big box stores, you may not necessarily be buying local, which is becoming more important for people.

Can you buy local and still save? I think so – you just have to find the right resources in your community. Your best bet is to find a local co-op or try to connect with local food producers in your community. Farmer’s Markets, fruit stands and CSA shares (Community Supported Agriculture) are possibilities depending on where you live. Do a Google search with your community name + local produce or co-op. The key is to go right to the source – the fewer hands it goes through, the more money you will save. And remember – you may pay a little bit more for local, but your money makes more of an impact.

We are soooo lucky here in Olympia to have Olympia Local Foods. Run by a good friend of mine, it has been built from the ground-up. Literally. They are all about doing the ground work for finding YOU locally sourced products AND offering affordable prices!

Just last week Olympia Local Foods started offering FREE home delivery with any $60 order. And I wanted to give it a try. Last Thursday I opened my front door to the fresh smell of basil and a huge box full of organic, local goodies and the best part? I didn’t have to pack the kids up in the car and shop around. I think I’m in love!

Here’s what I ordered:

• 1 pound of fresh basil (a WHOLE pound)!
• Big cilantro bunch
• Arugula big bunch
• Jumbo red organic onion
• 1 pound of fresh garlic
• 2 lbs Fresh fingerling potatoes
• 3 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes
• 1 large head Red Butterhead lettuce
• 2 pounds loose carrots
• 2 Spaghetti Squashes (about 2 lbs each)
• 2 lbs Gala Apples
• 3 lbs Green Bartlett pears
• 2 dozen fresh white eggs
• 1 lb Romas tomatoes
• 2 lbs of celery

I’ve already put most of the basil to work in some pesto that I made and froze for future meals. I also whipped up a HUGE vat of turkey spaghetti sauce using some of the tomatoes, garlic and basil. I plan to make some freezer turkey chili with the cilantro and garlic. My kids are LOVING the pears, apples, carrots and celery. And I can’t rave enough about having it delivered – it was literally like Christmas around here as the kids dug through the box looking at the treasures inside.

HERE’S HOW OLYMPIA LOCAL FOODS WORKS:

• You order online at Olympia Local Foods
• Orders must be placed by 9 a.m. PST every Tuesday morning
• The following Thursday you can pick your order up in West Olympia at the Olympia Local Foods pick-up location (near South Puget Sound Community College)
  OR if you order $60 or more you get FREE home delivery on Thursday.
• Eat healthy, organic, LOCAL foods all week
• Order again when you’re ready

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT OLYMPIA LOCAL FOODS:

It doesn’t get anymore LOCAL than this. Celia and Tom (owners of Olympia Local Foods) are working directly with the farmers and the people growing the food. For any product you want, you can hover over the farm name and get a detailed description of the people growing the food!

Prices are competitive. With any big box store, you might find three or four organic items that are on super sale any given week but Olympia Local Foods has all their products at great prices. You may pay a little more – but your money makes a BIGGER impact by staying in the community and going right into the pockets of hardworking local folks.

Benefits like a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) but you pick what you want. I’ve been part of a CSA before and we picked up our box of vegetables/fruit every week, but we didn’t have any choice of what was in our box. With Olympia Local Foods you get to order exactly what you want and so you only pay for things you’re family will use.

Flexible, no limits, no commitment. You can order one week and not the next. You can order $5 or you can order $50. There are no extra fees, contracts or commitments. I can see myself ordering at least twice a month and going in on my order with my neighbor, so we get FREE delivery. I plan to coordinate with my neighbor to make freezer meals when it makes sense.

More than just veggies and fruit! You’ve got to check out the Olympia Local Foods site.
They have:

• Local breads and grains
• Prepared foods – soups/chowders, breakfast sandwiches, tamales, quiches
• Deli items like salads, hummus, pico de gallo
• Granola, pizza dough, waffles, english muffins, cinnamon rolls
• Dairy – raw cow milk, cheese, raw goat milk, yogurt
• Fresh herbs
• Eggs
• Beef, Pork, Turkey, Chicken, Soup Bones,
• Seafood – clams, crab/shrimp cakes, fish, smoked fish, canned/sealed fish
• Dried beans and grains
• Coffee!!!!
• Snack items – Chips, protein/energy bars, crackers, jerky
• Desserts – Pastries, ice cream, pies, chocolate
• Honey and jams
• and of course vegetables and fruits!
• and more

ENTER TO WIN $60 CREDIT TO OLYMPIA LOCAL FOODS
Olympia Local Foods is giving away $60 voucher to a lucky local Queen Bee reader! You must be a Thurston or Mason county resident who is able to pick up your order (or if you live in the delivery area, have it delivered). Giveaway will end October 16 at 8 p.m. PST

To enter the giveaway:
There are THREE ways you can enter this giveaway. Leave a SEPARATE comment for each entry. Each comment counts as one entry.

1. REQUIRED ENTRY - Check out the Olympia Local Foods website and leave a comment on this blog post telling me what you’d be most excited to order with your credit (if you win)
2. Optional entry #2 - Like Olympia Local Foods on Facebook, please leave a comment on this post telling me you did this.
3. Optional entry #3 –  Head over to Facebook and “like” Queen Bee Coupons. Leave a comment on this post telling me you did this. If you’re already a Facebook fan, share the giveaway with your friends by posting it on your wall! Leave a separate comment on this post saying you did this.

This giveaway will end Sunday, October 16, 2011 at 8 p.m. PST. I will randomly select a comment on this post using an automated plug-in – it’s completely random and auto-generated. I will contact the winner via email (so make sure your email is entered correctly). You’ll have 48 hrs to respond before I offer this amazing prize to another winner.

If you decide to sign up for Olympia Local Foods tell them Queen Bee sent you and I’d love to hear feedback!

Discloure: Olympia Local Foods provided me with a $60 credit to try out their new home delivery service. All thoughts, opinions and ramblings are mine. Olympia Local Foods did not edit or provide any of this content. The $60 credit that will be given away to a lucky reader is being provided by Olympia Local Foods.