Santiago, Chile has an extensive public transportation system – both bus and metro. While there are plenty of cars on the road, many get around on bikes or foot and/or use the bus/metro. We currently don’t have a car, and so far, do most of our getting around on foot, which is fine. Most everything we need is nearby: across the street is a grocery and a mall, on the other side is a large park. We can walk to church…

Still, even with having things nearby, with feeding 6 people, that makes for a lot of groceries to carry. We started off by going to the grocery every 2-3 days, which worked fine, but it was a chore.

Then dear Ana Ruth, my 80+ year old neighbor, drove me to her favorite “fruteria”. They sell primarily fruits and vegetables, and their produce looks better and is cheaper than what’s available at my neighborhood supermarket. Plus, they deliver for free if I order more than $30 worth of food, which is not a problem.

So, here’s how it works: I place an order online by selecting products and how much of each type I need. Then (so I’ve learned) I need to call them to let them know that I placed an online order. Otherwise, they won’t notice it. (Evidently only a few of us use their online interface.) Later that day – usually in the evening – the produce is delivered to our door, bags brought in and placed on the kitchen counter. It’s wonderful.

We have a similar set up with eggs. I email an order, and they are delivered to our door.

I’m not sure that I’d say that grocery shopping has never been easier, because I do still walk to the local supermarket for meat, dairy, grains & legumes, but thanks to the delivery of the produce and eggs (of which we eat a lot) the bulk of our diet is much easier to shop for and obtain – especially since there’s no car in the picture.