5 Grocery Delivery Services Available in Philadelphia

Photograph courtesy of Instacart.

Millennials put a premium on convenience — whether that be calling an Uber instead of taking a long bus ride or paying to have our laundry picked up instead of doing it ourselves. And while these decisions have earned us some flack, we don’t see anything wrong with convenience. Time is money, baby.

And that’s why we love having the option to have our food delivered to us — especially when it’s fresh, locally-sourced food. Yes, PLEASE. When we’re really in a time crunch, pre-prepared meal delivery services have proven to come in super clutch. But the rest of the time, just getting groceries delivered instead of battling the line at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods has saved us many a headache.

Below, find five grocery delivery options that will deliver everything from produce to meat to kitchen necessities right to your door.

AmazonFresh

How it’s delivered: Free delivery is available if your order is $50 or more before tax. If not, a delivery fee of $9.99 will be added at checkout. Between May and October, Amazon requires certain perishable items to be delivered by their Expedited Chilled shipping method. Otherwise, you can schedule your delivery or have it left on your doorstep in a temperature-controlled tote bag. Additionally, orders are combined into the same packages when possible to reduce your package count and annoying packaging disposal.
Subscription fee: Amazon Prime members pay an additional $14.99 per month for AmazonFresh, but there is a 30-day free trial option.

AmazonFresh is literally a complete grocery store displayed on your screen, offering everything from produce, meat, and nonperishables to random convenience-store items like toothpaste, cleaning supplies, body wash, and more. You can narrow your search in a myriad of ways by, for example, selecting Kosher and Non-GMO certified, or by dietary preference like vegan or even local. You can even score meal kits via AmazonFresh now and, of course, you have access to many Whole Foods products as well.

Brandless

How it’s delivered: Delivery is free sometimes. The price point for free shipping changes daily, but generally there is a $5 shipping fee on non-member orders. Because Brandless only deals with non-perishables, your delivery will arrive like any ol’ package in a box.
Subscription fee: Brandless has a membership option that, for $36 per year, grants you free shipping on all of your orders. However, this is not mandatory to order from Brandless.

This new-wave grocery shopping option popped up on the scene last summer and quickly gained recognition for it’s cheap offerings — everything is $3 because they’re free of all brand tax. When shopping on Brandless, you’ll find the nonperishable side of your standard grocery store only, which isn’t as convenient and all-inclusive as other options, but the price tags make most purchases totally worth it. While shopping, you’ll find meal suggestions in the midst of your scrolling like a round up of six items serving as r an “organic taco night kit” or “quinoa bowl starter bundle” that have everything but veggies and meat — making meal planning super easy. Brandless also sells household, beauty and personal care items.

Fresh Direct

How it’s delivered: $30 is the minimum order for delivery, and there is a delivery fee of $7.99 tacked on to every order. However, if you purchase a delivery pass ($129 for the year or $79 for six months) you can receive an unlimited number of deliveries, sans fees. You need to be there to receive your order (which you will have scheduled), however your delivery will stay fresh in the delivery boxes up to two hours after delivery (though frozen items should be placed in the freezer immediately).
Subscription fee: None, aside from the delivery pass if you so choose.

Fresh Direct allows you to shop by section — such as fruit, veggies, meat, seafood, deli, and more. Under each section, you’ll find suggestions based on what’s in season or a preferred option like, “Butchers’ Faves.” In addition to each fully stocked section, you can also score party platters and cakes for all of your entertaining needs. Beer, wine, and spirits can be ordered and delivered as well. Fresh Direct also has a banner, simulating signs you’d see at a grocery store like deals, sales, top-rated, and holiday-friendly foods in addition to their meal-kit offerings.

Instacart

How it’s delivered: The price of your delivery fee is based on the time of day that you order (like Uber, they have surge times) and the size of your order. That said, all orders must be a minimum of $10 and will be delivered as quickly as within one or two hours. However, someone must be there to receive the order — it’s kept in a temperature-controlled environment until it’s delivered.
Subscription fee: Aside from your delivery fee, the only other fee is optional, if you choose Instacart Express, which allows free and unlimited delivery on all order $35 and up, for $14.99 per month or $149 annually.

Instacart is possibly one of the greatest gifts we have in the city — aside from essentially running your errands for you at local stores — the service will deliver your most desired products from the likes of Whole Foods, Di Bruno Brothers, Reading Terminal Market and (gasp!) Wegmans. Choose to shop the stores based off of your zip code for groceries, pet supplies, meals, and even drugstore necessities.  After placing your order, an Instacart shopper will gather those items and deliver it all right to your door.

Peapod

How it’s delivered: For delivery, the minimum order is $60 and is subject to a $7.95 to $9.95 delivery fee depending on the size of your order, not including the weekly fuel surcharge. You can schedule your delivery for a time that works for you, and can even schedule it two weeks out. Your delivery will remain in a temperature-controlled truck and delivery bin until it arrives at your home.
Subscription fee: Aside from delivery fees and fuel surcharges, there are no additional subscription fees for using Peapod.

Using Peapod’s website or their app, you can virtually stroll through grocery store Giant’s aisles — just like you would in real life. Utilize the Express Shopping feature that allows your to type your grocery list into a notepad area and all of those items will show up on the screen, ready to be added to your cart. Additionally, for your shopping convenience, Order Genius will fill your cart with the items that you buy most frequently — even recalling your in-store purchases via your Giant rewards card.

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