Basis

I have mixed feelings about this place. I get deliveries of fruit and milk, and the products are great. The service is a bit iffy though… the delivery times are totally all over the place. The guy will sometimes come at 430 pm, other times after 10 pm, which seems a little crazy to me. There should be some window scheduled. Plus whenever i’ve had to call there i almost always get an answering machine… there really needs to be someone answering the phone all the time. I keep saying I’m not sure if i should continue using this service…

Every time I receive a delivery from Basis it feels like Christmas! I love opening my box to find delicious goodies i might not have picked up myself. I get a weekly delivery of organic fruit, produce, milk, yogurt, eggs and usually some other things like cheese and meat (they carry this great «Bobo» chicken which I’ve only seen on the menus of high end restaurants). The produce and fruit varies by week and most is locally sourced (in the winter some fruit, namely citrus, comes from Florida and California based family farms). The value for what you get is quite good as everything is DELICIOUS and EXTREMELY fresh. The lettuce i find has to be eaten within 3 days otherwise it starts to wilt (but frankly i prefer this to the gassed, tasteless greens you get at the supermarket). The best value however are the milk and eggs. A dozen organic eggs cost me $ 4.00 (i get a discount for getting a weekly delivery), compared to $ 6.50 and $ 8.00 at Whole Food and D’Agostino.
The customer service is terrific and delivery staff very friendly. Don’t expect to find toilet paper or detergent — these guys do what they say: deliver farm to table food and that’s it.
The website is pretty cool but it’s definitely different from Freshdirect.

I really wanted to love Basis. I bought a coupon for them and purchased a box of Good Produce. I was supposed to pick them up on Thursday but it got delayed because of the flooded roads upstate. I did get an email early the next morning that I could pick up my box.
I’ve never tried another produce delivery site but I was disappointed when I received my box. Some of the produce was spoiled and the medium box is definitely not enough for two people.
I looked on their website and the produce that they ship out is not the same that is listed online.
Overall, I’m extremely disappointed and I’m going to try another delivery service instead.

Best organic produce delivery site in all of NYC. If you cook a lot, this place is for you. Forget about Whole Foods.

I LOVE THEM!!!
I receive a bag of produce weekly and am always so excited to see what I am going to get. I love vegetables and trying new recipes so am thrilled to get local farm fresh vegetables delivered to my door weekly. They are as NY Mag puts it «local-​seasonal-​organic-​grass-​fed-​cruelty-​free». This is better than standing in line at Whole Foods on a Sunday and lugging your veggies home. I still do Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, but only to supplement the great veggies I get from Basis. And for the price you really can’t beat it!

My colleagues and I started participating in Basis’ «Good Food for You» program in March 2010. This was right when the program just began and before all the press got a hold on them.
Subscription Orders: There are different ‘subscription’ options you can choose from and delivery timelines so make sure to read the order forms clearly and call them before you submit an order. Also, you can to choose if you want to deliver to your home or office.
Food: We had a 10 week subscription with bi-​weekly deliveries for both veggies and fruit orders. The first couple of deliveries, our fruits were bruised or spoiled but the vegetables were amazingly fresh! Now, Basis learned from early mistakes and the fruits are unbruised and not spoiled.
Service: Delivery was a bit confusing for both the delivery guys and us. In the beginning, they would have different delivery guys delivering our food and they would be inconsistent on the time they would deliever our food. Sometimes they would be outside the building by their delivery bikes and other times they would be inside the building by the security desks. Now, they have the same delivery guy delivering our food and we meet them outside. NOTE: Make sure to specify these details when you confirm your order.
Add-​ons: In addition to your regular orders, you have the a list of ‘add ons’ you can purchase like grains, bread, honey, eggs, butter, milk, yogurt etc that you have to order a week in advance to be added to your next delivery.
NOTE: keep in mind that some of the farms are certified organice and some are NOT certified organice but ‘practice’ organic and sustainable farming.
OVERALL: Basis started a little rough with the quality of the food and service but we decided to renew our orders because we’ve definitely seen improvements. Great food! Great service! Perfect for people who wants fresh farm seasonal food delivered to them directly to their homes /​offices without heading to the farmers market! This service definitely beats a CSA because we’re getting seasonal food from different farms vs. just one farm where there’s a risk because if that one farm is having a hard year, they may not be able to provide you a good variety food for ea.share. With basis foods, I guess you can say we’re not putting all our marbles in one basket…

This service provided by Basis foods used to only be available to chefs. Now, Basis has made their farm-​direct delivery service available to everyone.
I’ve received two deliveries so far and am pleased with the convenience, quality, and value. I live in an area of the Bronx where my local grocery stores do not cater to those who like to know where their food comes from, or like to have an array of in-​season fruits and vegetables to choose from. I work on the UES, and options abound there, but not at a price I find sustainable. Basis, however, allows me to place a recurring weekly order, with lots of items to add on a whim, and delivers to business convenient to me for a small fee. i just pick up my order after work, and bring it home.
I’ve been getting a single vegetable bag, a dozen eggs from local pastured hens, and whole milk from a local dairy. The quality on all is great; the eggs in particular are fantastic. The vegetable bag has had a great assortment of vegetables. I find it’s enough to make about 3 meals for two, so it isn’t an overwhelming amount of food, and it’s easy to carry. It’s a bit like getting food from a CSA (which I’ll also do this summer), but since you aren’t tied to one farm and Basis sources everyone, you get great variety and quality each week.
The cons? There are a few now, since this service is new for us non-​chefs, but they seem to be working things steadily. Signing up was a little convoluted– I suggest giving them a call (they’re all very friendly in the office), and talking to a rep about setting up an account before you try to do it online. Read through the limited ifno on the website, too, and get an idea of the service, but I’m sure you’ll still ahev questions (like I did). Once set up though, I’ve had no problem checking my invoices and adding items to my regular delivery online. Cold products come in cold packs that you put a deposit on and re-​use on a revolving basis each week, but these are not the highest quality. If you’ve got a long trip ahead of you, you may want to re-​pack items in your own bags. But my food is always still cold, so not a big deal.
Overall, I urge anyone who got shut out of their CSA or lives in a food dead-​zone of food boutique zone to sign up for this service. The more people who sign up and start supporting their farmers, the better the service will be, and the more products they’ll offer. So yeah– I’m posting this for my benefit!
Oh, and look out for their brick-​and mortar stores. I haven’t heard where they’ll be, but I hope there will be one near me. Great food at great prices makes life worth living in my book.

Great soup and cider.