We’re far from starving here, but I always get excited when it’s “food day” – the day that I hate to love, when our monthly food order comes in. I love getting a new supply of fresh, wonderful, Good for You food. I hate getting up early and going out in the cold and dark to unload the truck. But I guess that beats going out to the Walmart zoo to buy groceries. (I do that as little as possible.)
Part of this month’s food order
We order much of our family’s food from Azure Standard, an organic farm and natural food supply company based out of Oregon. We’ve been doing so for about a couple years now, ever since our local food buying club, that I’d been a member of for over 25 years, started dwindling out. It has been a great solution for us.
We get great foods, mostly organic. They have a good assortment of organic fresh fruits and vegetables, all except the delicate, highly perishable ones. They have organic of most everything – nuts, dried fruits, raw honey, grains, spices, pasta, and frozen vegetables. Buying this all in bulk saves us a great amount of money. They have raw goat’s cheese, organic olive oil, and the few organic “processed” foods we buy – organic canned tomato products, organic all-fruit spread, and this time of year, organic canned pumpkin. We don’t live in a city, so we can’t find most of these things organic locally. But even what we can, we usually can’t afford to buy them in the small package sizes and with the health store operating mark-up.
Azure Standard is a family farm dedicated to raising a standard worthy of their name. Azure is a shade of blue associated with law, justice, and honesty. In 1971 they converted their farm to organic, cold-turkey – both commercial and personal crops. In 1987 Azure Standard was born. In addition to products they raise themselves, they’ve sought out other farm-grown natural products, mostly organic, to offer their customers. We believe they live up to their standard. We’ve been very happy with the quality of food and service (except that early morning truck.) 🙂
Getting our food couldn’t be easier (except for that early morning truck.) 🙂 Once a month (before the cut-off date for our delivery) we browse their online catalog. (Actually you can mark your “favorite” items and have them placed in a Favorites List. I basically shop from that list that I’ve made up of the things we order. I also check the current produce and specials.) Fill your virtual shopping cart and check out with a debit or credit card, and your order shows up at your door few days later.
You can order for UPS delivery (not all items available for that.) Or you can check to see if they make deliveries in your area. I am on their route, down I-80, and am a drop point. A semi-truck brings my order (and the orders of those who have joined my drop point) to my driveway. (Of course, he has a lot of other orders on that truck too.) To set up a drop point you need a minimum order of $550. You can have as many people on your drop point as you want to make up that minimum. Each must place a personal minimum order of $50.
Azure has proved itself to be so much easier than my previous co-op buying club. Everyone places their own order, and pays for it online. No compiling orders, no collecting money. Everyone’s order comes boxed individually. No dividing case lots. (Did I mention you don’t have to order in case lots? Another plus.) Everyone comes to delivery and helps unload the boxes right off the truck, takes theirs and leaves. We’re done in about 10-15 minutes. (Then I get to go in and put it all away.)
Azure Standard is a super answer for our family for buying quality, organic food at affordable prices. (When you go to their website, create an account. The prices will be cheaper than what you initially see.)
Thank you Azure Standard for providing us Food Glorious Food. And Thank you God for giving us the blessing of Azure Standard. (And no, I don’t get anything for this endorsement. I just love Azure and want to tell everyone about it, so they can see if it is available to them to meet their Good for You-Naturally!™ food needs.)
