Online Grocer FreshDirect Expands To DC Area

WASHINGTON, DC — The popular New York online grocer FreshDirect is coming to the DC area April 5. Residents in the District, Arlington, McLean and Bethesda will be able to order fresh food online, delivered straight to their doorstep.

FreshDirect specializes in farm-fresh produce, high quality meat and seafood, dairy and prepared meals. The Washington Post reports local selections will include oysters, rockfish and shell crab from the Chesapeake Bay, organic chicken from Shenandoah Valley Organic in Virginia and angus beef from Maryland farms.

According to FreshDirect's website, this is how it works:

1. Fresh food is picked up daily from farms the company knows and trusts.

2. As soon as a customer orders the food, FreshDirect carefully packs it. This eliminates the time fresh food would sit on a supermarket shelf.

3. The fresh food is delivered straight to the customer's home or office.

Customers can pay a $7.99 delivery fee for a $40 minimum order of food, or they can opt to pay an annual fee of $129 for unlimited, free delivery with a DeliveryPass.

“Washington is full of busy working people,” Jason Ackerman, the company’s co-founder and chief executive, told The Washington Post. “They value great quality food, but they also need convenience.”

Customers can order different meal kits such as: grilled cheese with tomato bisque, bucatini with fresh tomato basil sauce and burrata, braised pork meatballs with sautéed leeks and apples, pan-roasted rosemary pork chops with crispy bacon brussels sprouts and much more.

The company has a warehouse in Prince George's County and is planning to hire about 50 full-time employees to kick off the expansion.

FreshDirect launched in Long Island City, New York in 2002. They deliver to New York City, Philadelphia, and parts of Connecticut and New Jersey.

Photo: FreshDirect Instagram