Relay Foods: “How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways!”

If you follow me on Twitter or Periscope (@stillbeingmolly), then you likely know what I’m about to tell you guys about today… because this, ladies and gents, is my new found LOVE. Enter: RELAY FOODS.

A little backstory… I was introduced to Relay Foods by an old friend (he actually interned for me when I worked at a local radio station years ago!). He is now in charge of marketing for Relay in the central North Carolina region. He knew that Relay would be something I’d love, so we grabbed lunch and he told me all about it and told me to give it a try!

You guys know how our family has been on a quest to eat healthier, less processed, “real” foods for over a year now. I LOVE that Relay mostly carries these foods!

What IS Relay Foods?

Relay Foods, in short, is an online grocery store geared towards making healthy, sustainable groceries more accessible! Almost ALL of their products and foods are either local, organic, GMO free, all-natural, etc. They really try to focus on working with local farms, local bakeries, etc. in addition to other well-known healthy food companies and brands.

They’re REALLY focused on the quality of the food and products they sell, in addition to excellent customer service. They actually call their customer service department their “customer happiness team.” I’ve now been shopping with Relay for a few weeks and I can safely say I LOVE it.

On the downside… Right now, Relay services only a few select areas in Maryland, DC, Virginia and North Carolina. However, I know they want to expand! So who knows? Relay could be coming to your neck of the woods soon! 🙂

How Does Relay Foods Work?

You create an account (free!) on RelayFoods.com, select your location, and then get to shopping! There are So many different ways you can shop the site. You can “Browse Aisles,” just like you would in a traditional grocery store, you can shop weekly specials, foods on sale, or you can even shop meal plans and recipes! And, of course, there’s always the search function up there at the top so you can search directly for the foods or products you’re looking for.

This is what an “aisle” looks like… Here I’m shopping the produce aisle. Just find the item you want, select the amount or quantity and boom! Add it to your cart. 🙂

One of the things I LOVE is the meal plans and recipes section of the site. You can select an entire meal and add all the ingredients from that meal right into your cart. You can, of course, adjust ingredients accordingly if you already have some of them in your pantry.

There’s even a fun “kid-prep” tip with some of the recipes that gives you ideas on how to get your kid(s) involved in the dinner preparation process! Lilly LOVES helping me make dinner!

Pricing, Checkout, & Delivery or Pickup…

So, as far as pricing goes, Relay Foods falls somewhere between a Harris Teeter and a Whole Foods. It’s not going to be the most affordable way to grocery shop… HOWEVER, if you shop some of the sales, you can get some GREAT deals! And honestly, I think it compares very much in price to shopping the healthy / organic section of your local grocery store.

Once you’ve got your cart set, you go to checkout and select your delivery or pickup time. Delivery does have a small fee associated with it, while pickup is totally free! Your card isn’t charged until the day of your delivery or pickup. You can update and change your cart up until midnight the day before your scheduled delivery or pickup.

For my first Relay Foods experience, I was SUPER pumped because I got to try the delivery option! And holy moly, it. was. awesome. You get a text to your phone when the truck is on the way and you can even track the truck the entire way to your house!

Marlee, the Relay Foods delivery driver, showed up at my house on a rainy Tuesday afternoon… she got out and unloaded all the containers with my groceries… she even brought them IN MY HOUSE for me and unloaded them for me on my counters. Uhm, can we talk about the ultimate convenience?!?!?! Moms, who is with me? Order your groceries online? Have them delivered AND unloaded for you in your kitchen? YES, PLEASE.

Excuse the mess of my counters, but I wanted to show y’all some of what I got…

My beloved La Croix, some fresh produce, local grass-fed beef, and so much more deliciousness. 

Unloading…

I also wanted to show you guys what a pickup location looks like and how it works…

I chose a pickup location about 10 minutes from my house for my order this week. All you do is pull up to the truck, give them your name, and they load your groceries in your car for you! So easy! I didn’t have to get Lilly out of the car or anything… 

Here are some of the meals I made over the last few weeks using what we got from Relay.

This French Style roasted pork loin with apples was a HUGE hit.

We had rolls that are local from 9th Street Bakery here in Durham (that we got through Relay), in addition to a delicious salad with local produce.

YUMMMMMM!

Then there was THIS delicious dish…. Loaded Sausage, Grits, & Potato Chowder. It was so amazing, I can’t even begin to tell you guys!

Then this meal was one I threw together with some leftover Relay ingredients! Pork Chops, local bread, homemade applesauce, and garlic quinoa with kale.

So yeah, that’s Relay Foods in a nutshell. After using it for a few weeks, I can honestly say I am in love. They also have an “I <3 Relay” promotion that helps you get in the habit of using it on a regular basis. After your 1st grocery order, the second order is 5% off, the third is 10% off, and the fourth is 15% off. They also have a guarantee that if you don’t like anything you receive in your order, you get a full refund, PLUS you get to try something new!

It’s just a super easy, incredibly convenient way to get healthy, sustainable groceries in your home and on your table. I know that it’s going to be ESPECIALLY awesome once baby #2 gets here!

I hope you live in one of the service areas, I hope you give Relay Foods a try!

What do you think? Have you heard of Relay Foods? Will you try it out?

Want $30 off your first grocery order of $50 or more from Relay Foods? Click here to use my “Refer a Friend” link for your coupon! Bonus? You can use a Refer a Friend link to share with YOUR friends and family, too!

*I received a Relay Foods gift card to give Relay a try the first time. I loved it so much, I kept ordering and have paid for my Relay experiences with my own money since the initial trial! All thoughts and opinions are my own.