Home-delivered organic food catches on

STEPHANIE LEVITZ, CP
2003-10-10

TORONTO -- Call him the milkman of the new millennium. But instead of delivering bottles of milk, James Nestmann leaves blue plastic containers of organic fruit and vegetables on the doorsteps of homes all over Toronto.

Nestmann, 22, is a driver for Front Door Organics, one of several Ontario companies that specialize in delivering locally grown produce to people who want produce and meat that they know something about.

More and more people want to be reminded of the connection between the food they eat and the land it comes from, Nestmann says as he delivers a box to a home with a stroller on the porch.

With reports of mad cow disease, tainted meat scandals and controversy over genetically modified foods eroding consumer confidence in the neighbourhood grocery, an increasing number of people are venturing out to the farm to stock their kitchens, say those involved in the burgeoning industry.

"Consumers have a hankering, in a way, for a connection to the farm," says Mary Lou Morgan, 57, director of the Toronto-based Field to Table program.

"I think many of our customers have a sense that if they are buying from us, they are contributing more directly to farm income."

Every month, Field to Table distributes close to 3,000 boxes in Toronto alone. Its food box program runs in 27 communities across the province.

Front Door and Weekly Organic Wonder (WOW) Foods deliver about 500 boxes a week in the Toronto area.

"A lot of our customers appreciate the effort we put in to supporting local farmers," says Mike Schreiner, 34, who runs WOW.

"It means that our product is also really fresh."

Some companies put together a seasonal mix in the box, while others allow customers to choose the produce.

For Thanksgiving, Morgan tracked down fresh cranberries in Bala -- a rarity on store shelves -- and had an unexpected windfall when a farmer provided bunches of herbs just in time for turkey stuffing.

Tucked into the boxes are recipes -- which can help customers looking at vegetables they may never have seen before.

"When I do the boxes, I try to put things in that will stretch people," says Morgan. "People from some places have never seen a parsnip."

While Field to Table provides both organic and non-organic food boxes, companies such as Front Door, WOW and Homefield Organic have cultivated a thriving business by selling just organics.

"I think people are just becoming more health-conscious and more concerned about their foods," says Wayne Bourdeau, 35, who runs Homefield out of Guelph. "And I think we give them good value for their money."

An informal price survey revealed the price of a food box from Front Door Organics -- anywhere from $35 to $70 -- is comparable to prices at local grocery stores.