Greenling Brings Local Farms to Your Door

Featuring More than 40 Sustainable Farmers & Producers Greenling, a web-based home delivery service of fresh, local and organic food, is setting up shop in Southwest Houston and will open next week to service the majority of the Greater Houston area.

As the first online grocery delivery service based in the Houston area and working with a network of Houston farmers and p

roducers, the company will provide the best in local and organic products at grocery store prices with easy online ordering and free home delivery.

Starting January 28, 2012, customers can visit Greenling.com to browse and build a customized basket to be delivered to their door as often as twice a week. To welcome Houston shoppers, 100 grocery orders placed on January 28 will be absolutely free – winners will be randomly selected and notified on the day of their delivery.

Sourcing from the same local and sustainable farmers you’d meet at the local markets, Greenling offers a new, simple way to get healthy food on the table. Products available for home delivery include locally grown produce, artisan products and a full selection of organic grocery items including dairy, bakery items, meat and packaged ingredients.

“Houston has a dedicated local food community, and we are excited to help continue that growth, said Mason Arnold, founder/CEO of Greenling. After eight years of helping to local food systems grow in Central and North Texas, we’re thrilled to expand access to local and organic foods for Houston residents.”

Greenling has cultivated a network of over 40 Houston-area sustainable local farmers and producers, with more soon to come. Hometown favorites like Oaks of Mamre Farm, Home Sweet Farm, Slow Dough Bread Co., Tavola Pasta, Pat Greer’s Kitchen Yaya, Tejas Heritage Farm, Warfel Farms, Sinfull Bakery, Fontana Coffee Roasters and more will now be available for free home delivery.

Patricia Greer, founder of the Central City Co-op, owner of Pat Greer’s Kitchen and longtime Houston local food champion, said that Greenling’s ability to support lots of small local farms and vendors is huge for Houston.

Greenling is doing what I wanted to do 15 years ago when I started the co-op. Delivering food make so much sense, since people are so busy these days. I’ve been trying to get with distributors for years to make this happen!” said Greer.

Currently, Greer’s raw, vegan and organic snack foods are available at the Urban Harvest Eastside Farmers Market on Saturdays, and at the Rice University Market on Tuesdays. Greenling will offer these products online for home delivery starting next week.

“Now there’s more of a local trend, people want to be responsible consumers and know what kind of impact they’re having on the environment,” said Garrett Gundermann, farmer and owner of Gundermann Acres in Wharton County. “I think Greenling is doing their part to make the environment a better place.”

Gundermann has been working with Greenling in Central Texas since 2009, and will continue to supply even more sustainably grown, seasonal veggies now that Greenling is expanding to Houston. He notes that the sustained demand for his produce from Greenling customers has helped him recently expand his family farm to take on 300 additional acres of land.

“Supporting local farmers and producers is key to fixing what’s wrong with our food system. Food that is picked early and trucked thousands of miles to the store loses flavor and nutrients,” says Arnold. “Eating local and organic food tastes better, is better for the environment and supports our local economy.”

Beginning on Monday, January 28, customers can go online to shop Greenling’s full grocery selection of fresh produce, pastured meats, dairy, baked goods, artisan foods and more. Shopping is easy and customers can choose a pre-selected basket of local, seasonal produce like the Local Box, or browse Greenling’s extensive offerings and build their own customized basket. Prices are comparable to the grocery store and delivery is free! No subscription is required and the minimum order is $25.

In addition to grocery items, Greenling offers recipe kits made with local and organic ingredients. Each kit contains all ingredients needed for a meal, washed, chopped, and portioned with an easy-to-follow recipe. For customers who are looking for even greater convenience, Greenling offers grab & go items like entree salads, sandwiches and snacks that are delivered ready to eat.

Greenling’s delivery area will include the majority of the Greater Houston area, but will expand as consumer interest grows.

“We encourage everyone to visit greenling.com/houston and enter their zip codes. We will grow our delivery zones as people indicate they want us to come to their areas,” says Arnold.

Greenling is celebrating its launch in Houston with events, giveaways, and contests including a giveaway of an iPad loaded with foodie apps. Customers can visit www.greenling.com/houston to enter to win.

For more information on Greenling’s offerings and expansion to the Houston area, visit http://www.greenling.com/houston. Follow Greenling on Facebook at facebook.com/greenlinghouston or on Twitter at twitter.com/greenlinghou.

Check out a full list of Greenling’s local producers at www.greenling.com/meet_our_farmers. Anyone interested in selling to Greenling should visit www.greenling.com/houston/vendors to contact Greenling’s Houston buying team.

Greenling is an online-based home delivery service, bringing local and organic groceries to customer doorsteps. Greenling works directly with local farms whenever possible, but also offers a full grocery store selection of food that is either certified organic or local and sustainably produced. With easy online ordering and no delivery fee, Greenling’s business model significantly reduces the time it takes for food to get from the ground to the table in a sustainable way.

Mason Arnold has been an organics pioneer and serial entrepreneur since graduating from The University of Texas in 2001. He is founder and CEO of Greenling, the first and largest viable grocery delivery service in Texas with a focus on sustainability through local and organic food. A longtime activist for organic and sustainable food, Mason drafted legislation to create the Organic Advisory Board to the Texas Department of Agriculture and has served on the board of the Sustainable Food Center of Central Texas.

For media inquiries, please contact Aspen Lewis, alewis@greenling.com or 512.825.3393.