grocery delivery, GabriolaDid you know we have a grocery delivery service on Gabriola? It’s spud.ca. They’re all over the place, and serve Gabriola from their Vancouver Island warehouse. Spud seems to offer a lot of organic food, and locally produced food, too. Customers place orders over the web, and groceries are delivered once a week. Delivery is free for orders over 55.00.

So. Is this a good service? Is it worthwhile? I’m thinking of trying it out, so I’d love to hear your comments if you’re a Spud customer on Gabriola.

I’ve been wondering what the service is like, how the prices compare to grocery store prices, whether Spud has the stuff I need, and whether shopping with Spud is better or worse for the environment than what I do now.

After thinking about this for a while, I decided to start by comparing prices. I noodled around on the spud.ca website, and picked out nine random items. Then I went to Village Foods to see what the prices were like there on those same items. (Same brand, same size, etc.) The breakdown: six of the ten items were cheaper at spud.ca. Two items were the same price at both Village Foods and Spud.ca. One item was cheaper at Village Foods. Hmmm.

There are some items I need that spud.ca doesn’t carry, but it goes the other way, too: they’ve got some stuff that I can’t find on Gabriola.

I like the spud.ca website, and I like the versatility they offer with the ordering system. I can place standing orders, or not. I can order a produce box and take whatever local veggies they select for it, or I can tell them exactly what I want and don’t want. It seems endlessly flexible.

Village Foods sells some Gabriola products, like Gabriola garlic, Ike’s apples, and things from the Slow-Rise Bakery. Spud, of course, does not. Village Foods is perfect for when I need chocolate chips for baking tonight, and dash out the store to get some at 7:30pm. Spud wouldn’t be able to help with that chocolate unless I’d thought to order it in advance.

So I can’t see spud.ca being my one and only supplier of food items. If I do use Spud, I’ll still buy some things at Gabriola farms, and some things at Gabriola shops. But I like shopping online, and I do like the idea of having groceries arrive on my doorstep. So, hmmm. Maybe I’ll give it a try.

What’s your experience been with Spud so far, Gabriola? Do you like it?

Update: I did order from Spud, and here’s a blog post about my own experience with Spud.

(Disclaimer: I have no connection with any grocery business, anywhere.)

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