Peapod hops on farm box trend

Quincy, Mass. -- Online grocer Peapod.com has joined the “farm box” movement that many local farmers markets and supermarkets are now promoting.



The company unveiled its Local Farm Box service, whereby 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.



Developed in partnership with FarmLogix, http://www.farmlogix.net/ a company that connects local farmers to businesses, the $34.99 a box is a low-cost and flexible way for consumers to support local farmers while enjoying the convenience of home delivery, the online company said.



Peapod customers will be able to order the produce-filled 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. 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.



The new service comes as the grocer continues to explore ways to meet the evolving needs of modern grocery shoppers. 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.