Voting with My Dollar: Why I Use Good Eggs Grocery Delivery

How can we distinguish between that which is given by the earth and that which is not? When does taking become outright theft? I think my elders would counsel there is no one path, that each of us must find our own way. In my wandering with this question, I’ve found dead ends and clear openings. Discerning all that it might mean is like bush-whacking through dense undergrowth. Sometimes I get faint glimpses of a deer trail. - Robin Wall Kimmerer “Braiding Sweetgrass”

After volunteering at Alemany Farms, spending hours bent over patches of soil, wheeling compost while my arms shook, I felt a deeper connection with the land and had a better appreciation for everything it took to farm produce.

It takes so much work and so many volunteers to foster far less produce than you see stocked in the many aisles of a grocery store.

It is easy to forget when you’re surrounded by plenty.

A similar sentiment is expressed by Robin Wall Kimmerer in her book “Braiding Sweetgrass.” The botanist and indigenous steward lyrically explains how her students change as they spend time gathering supplies directly from the source, wading through marshland to collect cattails that will serve to protect them during the night. This experience of ‘taking’ helps them realize how intimately we rely on what the earth provides, how limited our resources are, and that there is much to be grateful for.

This respect and understanding of our earth also helps to expand our “circle of now.”

A concept coined by Seth Godin, the “circle of now” refers to our ability to think beyond what is happening to us in the moment, and rather, understand how our actions and the actions of others will impact the future. It is not just this timeline that gets expanded but also what Godin refers to as the “circle of us.” “Us” refers to who we care about.

My work on the farm also helped to expand this. Its dedication to food inequity, opened my eyes to the communities who were struggling to eat healthy or to eat at all.

When it came time to take my share of produce at the end of volunteering, my expanded circles stopped me from taking more than my share. I wanted to leave enough of the harvest for those who needed it more than I did.

Reconnect with your food

And help to make a difference in food inequality at Alemany Farms

What Does This Have to do With Good Eggs?

The thing is, I’m not able to volunteer at Alemany Farms or the other urban farms in San Francisco every weekend.

I am also not immune from the laziness that can sink its teeth into us on a Sunday afternoon. Despite my appreciation for the land and my enjoyment of spending time outside, sewing and harvesting, there are times when I can’t seem to get myself to do either (or even walk the thirty minutes to the Farmer’s Market)

This is why I fell in love with Good Eggs.

(I don’t work for them, I just love ‘em - though I would LOVE to work for them in the future if they ever expand their marketing team haha)

What is Good Eggs?

Good Eggs is a grocery delivery service that offers focuses on local, sustainable products.

Their website is easy to use and allows you to shop by product type (produce, meat, dairy, drinks, pantry) and by diet (I use the vegan tab frequently). You can also shop local bakeries.

You can also order meal kits that come with easy instructions or find supplements, pet food, and a selection of home goods.

With an emphasis on freshness and sustainability, their selection emphasizes seasonal varieties. You can get out-of-season staples are sourced from outside the Bay Area in climates that are more conducive to them.

They have a great landing page detailing their food standards which I’ll link here >

Good Eggs Delivery Services: Recycling, Composting, and Pick-Up

I don’t think there will ever be a perfect solution for delivery services and sustainability. After all, delivery requires a car, and car use contributes greatly to are impact on the environment.

There’s also the packaging involved in something like this service.

However, what I love about Good Eggs is that they reuse their ice packs and boxes, so you can leave out your old supplies when you are expecting your next delivery so that they can pick them up and reuse them.

For everything that cannot be reused, most of the other packaging you’ll find is recyclable and compostable.

Meet Your Local Bay Area Farmers

My favorite part about using Good Eggs is that I can get to know the farmers a bit more through their blog.

This gorgeous blog post about “California’s sweetest peaches” made my heart swell. Perhaps it was the fact that my favorite childhood story growing up was “Momotaro” or “Peach Boy” and here was a modern Japanese family-run farm growing the state’s most tantalizing peaches (though the mix of cultures described in the blog post is likely what has helped Matsumoto Family Farm succeed for so many years).

Or perhaps it is the fact that the mischievous “Man” Masumoto reminds me of my own Japanese father or the fact that this farm was a new start after the family was released from the unjust incarceration in a World War II Japanese internment camp.

Either way, this connection to the farm that is producing my food once again makes my “Circle of Us” expand (I care about them and their workers and their farm!) and honestly makes the food taste better!

Good Eggs is available in the Bay Area. I love it as a sustainable, local option when I’m not able to volunteer at the farm or run to the Farmer’s Market.

I highly recommend to any of my Bay Area friends who are looking for a food delivery service that they can feel good about.