Peapod debuts 'farm in a box'

As food delivery increases in popularity among U.S. consumers, online grocer Peapod is launching an innovative service focused on produce.

The company is going to start offering the Peapod Local Farm Box. Throughout the summer, Peapod customers in New York City, New Jersey, Eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin will have the option of adding a box of produce from local farms to their virtual grocery cart.

"We know our customers love supporting local farms and enjoying the best, fresh produce in season, which is why we're so excited to introduce the Local Farm Box," said Peg Merzbacher, vice president of regional marketing for Peapod. "It's easy to add the Farm Box to your grocery order and have it delivered along with your favorite national and store brands."

Developed in partnership with Farmlogix, a company that connects local farmers to businesses, Peapod's Local Farm Box is a convenient alternative to committing to a season-long Community Sustainable Agriculture (CSA) farm share. At $34.99 a box, the Peapod Local Farm Box is a low-cost and flexible way for consumers to support local farmers while enjoying the convenience of home delivery. Peapod customers will be able to order Peapod's Local Farm Box beginning in late June or early July depending on location.

Each box will contain five unique items from local farms, with approximately 10 – 14 pounds of produce per box. Items included will vary weekly depending on the farmers' harvest and Peapod customers can view what's included in each week's box, along with recipes and a feature on the source farmers, when placing their orders.

Peapod's Local Farm Box is one of many innovative offerings from the leading online grocer to meet the evolving needs of the modern grocery shopper. Peapod also recently released a refreshed mobile application to make shopping easier than ever, including Order Genius, an intuitive technology that can predict a customer's order based on purchases made on Peapod.com and at Stop & Shop and Giant stores.

Peapod – an Ahold USA company – is the country's leading Internet grocer, serving 24 U.S. markets throughout Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Wisconsin.