Benefits of adding a subscription box
Thank you for setting up an account with Local Pumpkin and becoming part of our local food community. We are glad you are here!
As a registered customer, you can order any time. However, a large portion of our customers have a subscription for a weekly or every other week delivery.
We want to make sure you know the advantage of having a subscription.
Here are 6 benefits of adding a subscription to your account:
You receive a 5% discount on the retail price.
You choose the frequency of deliveries, weekly or bi-monthly.
Subscribers are at the front of the line for limited quantity items.
Rebates are given to high volume purchasers: 5% rebate for over $400/month, 3% for $275/month
It's flexible! It's easy to put your subscription on hold for a week or longer, any time you need.
We prefill your box with the latest in-season produce, you can still modify your box contents as much as you want.
Bonus: If you sign up for a produce box subscription in November 2023 you will receive $20 off your first order. Enter "NOV23" at checkout when you order, after you have added the subscription.
Go here to add a subscription.
Your family will love it!
hoW TO ORDER
The ins and outs of ordering from Local Pumpkin
Each Friday at about 3pm we “OPEN” our online store for ordering for the following weeks delivery. We deliver all over the greater Tri-Cities area once a week.
Normally, we delivery to our customers homes, but you can also pickup if, you have a special need and won’t be home at our normally delivery day and time
If you have a weekly or every other week subscription you will receive an email the Friday before your scheduled delivery. The email will include the following:
· A list of what is planned for your subscription box the following week.
· New items and Highlights of what produce will be available.
· Highlights of non-produce items that will be available – like flowers, soaps, bacon, etc.
· A couple of reminders:
o On warmer days, if you won’t be home when we deliver (between 3pm – 5:30pm) put out a cooler (large enough to hold a LP box 19.5”x12”x 7.5” – 55 Gal) with ice packs.
o You must cancel your order by Sunday night. If you cancel your order after the cutoff a $10 fee will be applied.
· There is a link to the online store for you to go to and modify your order to your hearts content.
For all the people on our mailing list (including customer with a Subscription) we send a Friday afternoon email that includes:
· Highlights of what is new this week, including specials and meal kits and bundles
· A link to our online store for ordering and/or creating an account an ordering.
· A recipe that uses what I available from Local Pumpkin. Maybe not everything, but mostly.
· An ebook PDF that goes in-depth in an area like food storage tips, what to do with tomatoes, canning, guiding to grilling veggies and many more helpful ideas to make meal prep more enjoyable.
Active subscription members receive 5% off the retail price and have priority on special deals and products in short supply.
How does our store work? There are many ways to search for products.
Show menu opions - by clicking on “All Products”
Featured Products – products we think are of special note because pricing, new on store, etc.
What’s new – products have been on the store two weeks or less.
My favorites – Click on a product, When the product is open click on the “Add to my favorites list”
Recently ordered
Local pumpkin vs the grocery store
If you’re trying to decide if the Local Pumpkin produce delivery service is for you, you may be wondering, “Can’t I get this stuff at the grocery store? And is it cheaper there?”
Well, the answer to both those questions would be sometimes. The grocery store doesn’t have most of what our local family farms in the Columbia Basin offer. And sometimes, you may not like the reasons WHY the grocery store is cheaper.
Farmers make pennies per pound from the grocery stores, and they often have to wait 30-60 days (or MORE!) to get their payment. At Local Pumpkin, we pay every single one of our farmers when they deliver the food to us.
In addition to this, the produce at the grocery stores often comes from across the country (1500 miles on average!) or even other countries, and has traveled for days or weeks to get to you -- it's definitely not the freshest choice or LOCAL by any means!
Keep in mind, too, that by purchasing from us, you’re also supporting our local economy - more money stays in our communities. Almost every week, we donate fresh produce to local non-profits who serve and give away to those in need.
But is buying from local farmers really worth more of your hard-earned money?
As the saying goes “If people want change, then they have to put their money towards the efforts and programs that are working for that change. For farmers to be paid a fair price and to be paid on time, for consumers to get fresh produce every week, for members of our community who can't otherwise afford fresh produce to get it -- to do things differently often costs more. The reason food is so cheap in the many grocery stores is because they don't operate that way.”
As far as our pricing vs the grocery it’s not that much more expensive. We did a little research to compare some prices between us and the average grocery store chain. A few times, our prices were actually lower, and some are higher compared to organic prices. It also depends on the time of year.
To sum it all up: buying from Local Pumpin benefits you nutritionally, benefits local farmers financially, And remember -- all of that includes delivery!
In our biased option, Local Pumpkin beats the Produce Aisle hands down:}
Your family will love it!
How is local pumpkin like a CSA?
CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. In a normal CSA setup, It’s a great way to support a local food system: invest in the farm at the start of the growing season and get a weekly share of the crops throughout the harvest. Cathy did this one year, but you had to pickup at a location and couldn’t make any changes.
When we started Local Pumpkin, we wanted to provide a service that makes it easier for a family to use.
Cost. While the cost for the whole season is comparable, a CSA requires a hefty payment at the beginning of the season (or several large payments spread out over the season) to help the farmers procure, implement, and maintain everything they need for the year's crops. At Local Pumpkin (every week, every other week or whatever works for you!) a Box is much more accessible, but still directly supports our local farmers and guarantees a customer for their products.
Crops. A typical CSA often consists of one farm, which limits crop diversity. Local Pumpkin, however, partners with a network of farms, allowing for a greater selection of fruits and veggies throughout the changing seasons. More variety offers more appeal to your family.
With a CSA, you also run the risk of not getting any of a particular crop because of harsh weather or unforeseen event that devastates a small farm. Yes, Local Pumpkin does occasionally have to substitute an item at the last minute. But the Boxes are still getting satisfyingly filled, thanks to a large network of farms with tasty available standbys.
Getting those veggies home! With a CSA, you pay upfront for the growing season and are guaranteed a box every week. If you aren't able to drive out to the farm for weekly pick-up or you’re out of town, you lose out. With Local Pumpkin, you pay only for the weeks you want to order.
Cutting out the trip to pick up a box is also a big plus: Local Pumpkin brings it to your door, delivered by awesome drivers who will put the Box on your porch or happily drop your box into a cooler that will keep items fresh until you get home.
