Park Slope being Park Slope, the Fresh Direct tipping discussion has turned into a war about Fresh Direct itself. Thus far, the emails seem to be far more supportive of good old FD than bashing them. We go to the copy and paste, which is what we do when presented with thing like this. Here is the email that starts the debate:
Dear group, I do not mean to be incendiary and I know this might be an irritating forum to raise for many but I would love to open up a debate about the ways in which Fresh Direct hurts or helps our community. I feel that the noise and congestion Fresh Direct trucks bring to our already crowded area, which is full of independent groceries, bodegas, and fruit stands is a serious environmental detriment. I am endlessly frustrated by their enormous, polluting trucks blocking traffic on our small streets. Not to mention all their extra, unnecessary, wasteful packaging that comes with each order. I don’t understand why this service is necessary in a community like ours where groceries are available nearly everywhere. I think the “footprint” Fresh Direct leaves on our neighborhoods is big, fat, and smelly. Am I alone?
Ho. Ho. Ho. Here is a response:
As a full-time working mother of 4 children with 4 separate schedules that need tending to, and a husband that I really like, I am most thankful for the concept of Fresh Direct. On top of everything else in my life I don’t relish working in a trip to C-town or volunteering at the co-op. Time with my family is what I want. Fresh Direct is my guilty pleasure. Come on now, we all have one. Some of us have 5 guilty pleasures, or 10. Let me have my 1 for goodness sake.
Look at all the cars our neighbors own. I don’t own one. I take the F train. I pick up dog poop in front of my house and I don’t even own a dog. Consider Fresh Direct as my personal way of messing up the neighborhood, if you will. If these other Fresh Direct customers on the list are anything like me and suffer from what appears to be early Alzheimers, you can trust that they still support their local corner stores. Probably every.single.day. I should actually put my order in now, come to think of it.
And there is this:
In a perfect world, we’d all make a good living, have tons of time and have both the desire and ability to be environmentally and socially conscious. The reality, however, is far from perfect. Work now takes most of our waking hours leaving little time for the family, never mind food shopping. The reality is also that prices at online producers/stores often are lower than at the local shops (during the holidays, I found that I was saving nearly 30% ordering online the same toys that were sold at Park Slope shops, even taking into account shipping costs, which were often $0). And so, when one takes these things into consideration, for some, services of Fresh Direct or Amazon are not really a choice but rather the necessity.
The same, by the way, goes for tipping. Some people can afford to be generous while for others how much they tip, if at all, is a function of their personal financial situation and choices. In an imperfect world in which we live, one cannot make blanket judgments on these issues. So while I sympathize with your frustration about big noisy smelly trucks and excess packaging, I think that in today’s reality we need FD, Amazon, etc. Given that many people in Brooklyn don’t own cars (thus reducing their own carbon footprint) and are probably fairly environmentally conscious already, perhaps that balances the big footprint that FD leaves in our community.
And we’ll close for this one and wait for the insults from PSP members saying we have no right to report this neighborhood news and that the only thing we know how to do at all is copy and past to start rolling in:
I’ve only been using FD for a few months now. I have thought about many of the concerns you bring up, but I have to say I’m a convert. I’ll still stop by my local bodega for some apples or some milk though. What is really being sacrificed locally is my weekly trip to C-Town, which with toddler in tow was becoming a real nightmare. And with 2 parents working outside the home it was taking up too much of my family’s rare and precious time to be together.
In terms of impact on the community and the environment, it seems to me to be a mixed bag. They add trucks to the street, but they are also a big NYC employer, and they also support local growers around NY state. Customer service is excellent – everyone involved has always been helpful and courteous with us, and I really cannot say the same about my dealings with C-Town. Also, my understanding is that the wasteful packaging issue is not as big an issue these days. They seem to have made a real effort to reduce packaging, and it doesn’t seem overboard to me.
And, finally, we close with a brand new emai from an FD hater:
The trucks always parked outside my apartment, usually at 11:00 p.m., and idled that horrible diesel fuel exhaust right info my life for 45 minutes. Then, the neighbors would open their windows and start screaming “shut the truck off” or “move to let cars get by…” There will be many opinion on the Fresh Direct topic again, and that’s mine.
We know this one’s going to take a couple of days before it flames out.
11 responses so far ↓
1 Precious // Jan 7, 2009 at 10:06 am
Not all of us have station wagons to drive to Fairway. FD is my savior for good quality and affordable food.
2 Gari N. Corp // Jan 7, 2009 at 10:31 am
What a ridiculous debate. When people complain about “noisy, polluting trucks” on the street, what they really mean is “noisy, polluting trucks” on their quiet little cross street. Because those groceries don’t get the C-Town or Co-op by fairy-tunnel. In fact, I’m sure the Co-op’s neighbours feel that they’re blessed to receive a convoy of produce trucks on their street pretty much every morning.
3 ChickenUndrwear // Jan 7, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Every time my parked car gets it mirror knocked off I blame a Fresh Direct Truck
4 dontstealmyidea // Jan 7, 2009 at 5:26 pm
I don’t know what planet any of the FreshDirect boosters are living on, but neither the selection or prices are that great comparatively. It buys time via convenience, which is worth something. But that’s about it.
Also, if you’re serious about being green you shouldn’t use it. And if you’re serious about being a dick to your neighbors, a) please reconsider and b) think of some better way to do it.
5 RealityCheck // Jan 7, 2009 at 6:54 pm
For those “green” finger waggers, here’s a little bit of information for you. Large food providers like Fresh Direct are actually quite a bit greener than the system of using local grocers (and farmers). While their trucks use up fuel on delivery, they are so much more efficient at sourcing the food they sell and getting it delivered to them that the net carbon footprint is actually less. So while it’s very fashionable to get up in arms about big companies and blame them for the (sometimes fictional) environmental woes, the Fresh Directs of the world are actually helping the environment, and the dozens of inefficient mom and pop shops are hurting it, relatively speaking. So if you’re annoyed by the trucks personally when they’re delivering someone else’s food, just say so, but don’t hide behind false environmentalism.
6 wisco // Jan 7, 2009 at 10:15 pm
you are fooling yourselves if you don’t think that fresh direct isn’t totally fabulous. really, one truck delivers to lots of people as opposed to several people driving to a store. with kids, you can’t just walk home with enough groceries.
7 ff // Jan 7, 2009 at 11:02 pm
Indeed, RealityCheck, mom-and-pop stores are terribly inefficient.
They should all be replaced by a single Wal-Mart superstore here in Brooklyn.
That would be much more efficient.
8 Garbanzo // Jan 8, 2009 at 1:29 am
FD is way more carbon friendly than your local grocer. Think about extra square footage that retailers must maintain to sell their produce versus FD (a warehouse in LIC and a fleet of trucks, and that’s it). Think about the spoilage rate (and potential for food borne illnesses) of food retailers. FD has invested hundreds of millions on a state-of-the-art cold chain system, so the food that arrives on your doorstep isn’t only fresher, but it will last longer in your fridge. Finally, do a complete carbon chain analysis on field to fridge for FD versus your local grocer and you’ll find that FD is pretty competitive.
And for those folks complaining about “unfair labor practices,” the unions are killing the NYC grocery business. Find a customer-friendly employee in a union grocer. FD treats its people well and also has the flexibility to deploy them into different jobs within its plant to increase efficiency (which runs contrary to nineteenth century union work rules). This lowers the ultimate cost to the end consumer.
Incidentally, I’m not an employee or affiliated with FD, but have been a very happy customer since the early days.
9 D // Jan 8, 2009 at 11:16 am
Oh please, is this really a debate about FD’s environmental impact?! What a ridiculous debate — the biggest environmental impact is more people — FD is a red herring . Stop procreating or stop complaining.
10 Jimmy Legs // Jan 9, 2009 at 1:22 pm
i’m all for FD in that it keeps my supermarket aisles clear of whiny babies … and their children! ZING!
11 Deborah // Jan 13, 2009 at 5:19 pm
As a denizen of Hell’s Kitchen (mid-town Manhattan) my alternative to FD is Whole Foods. Their (WF’s) ridiculous brown bags cannot get any amount of food home and if it is raining, you better brace yourself for tumbling groceries. (Who doesn’t re-use plastic bags? This has just created a windfall for garbage bag manufacturers and is creating more garbage because there is nothing else one can do with those sh**ty paper bags.) So I have come to rely on delivery -either shopping myself at WF and letting them deliver, or, letting my fingers do the walking at FD. I have found FD to be courteous, and high-quality every time. What a boon this would be in communities like South Florida, where there are many home-bound elderly. Watch out WF!!