Mike's Organic Delivery Brings Local Farm-Fresh Food to Your Home

Photo caption: A selection of items from Mike’s Organic Delivery, including kale, broccoli rabe, arugula, micro-greens, cheese, honey, sprouted pistachios, plum jam and Jacob’s cattle beans. Photo credit: Michael Woyton.

Mike Geller had a food epiphany while in Africa, and New York and Connecticut are reaping the benefit.

“I think the main thing I learned in Africa was the disconnection between us and our food,” he said. “We live so far from our food in this country.”

Geller, a Greenwich, CT resident, is the founder of Mike’s Organic Delivery. He quit his job in advertising a few years ago and spent two months living in the Kalahari Desert.

Since he was going to be working in the African Bush, he prepared for being away from civilization by purchasing a two-month supply of food from a supermarket in Maun, Botswana.

His revelation? The produce he bought at that store was better than almost anything that could be purchased in a U.S. supermarket and that food tastes better when it is grown locally and doesn’t spend weeks getting to the eventual point of sale.

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“The food system [this country] created is all about uniformity, color and size,” Geller said.

That is what led him to start Mike’s Organic Delivery which serves Westchester County in New York and Fairfield County in Connecticut.

When he came back to the U.S., Geller was committed to sharing what he had learned—how food is grown, knowing where the seeds come from and what the best way is to package, ship and display foods.

So he turned it into a business that would help people to eat well, using the best seasonal meats, dairy and vegetables—much of it organic—but all of it ethically and sustainably produced.

“We need to get closer to our food again,” Geller said. “We can go to the supermarket and we see hamburger, but we don’t think of it as a cow.”

He said learning about food helps people make choices that can benefit both them and the community.

While Geller thinks that people should get closer to their food and that self-reliance is something that we are losing in this country, he is fully aware that people don’t always have the time to do the legwork to find the best of the best food.

“My customers aren't self-reliant,” he said. “They need someone to go out and get the produce.”

Geller said he thinks of himself and his team as ambassadors for the farmers, working with them to get the right products grown and available for his customers.

One of his farmers, Hepworth Farm in Milton, NY grows around 100 varieties of heirloom tomatoes.

“Our customers get to experience a lot of them,” Geller said. “Variety is something we are really big on.”

There is a wide range of offerings that Mike’s Organic Delivery can provide on a weekly basis, from summer seasonal packages (summer for Mike’s starts May 30) to maple syrup, honey, cheeses and jams and jellies.

There is a $10 delivery fee and a one-time cooler fee.

Kathleen Szabo of Rye became an enthusiastic customer after having heard that Mike vets the farmers from whom he gets the produce.

“As of the first delivery, I was hooked,” Szabo said.

One of Mike’s associates brought in the food, quickly explained each item to her and made suggestions for how to prepare it, she said.

Szabo said she had fallen into a sort of rut, buying the same things from the store over and over.

“But now, having a surprise like wild ramps or bok choy makes me go outside of the box and try new things,” she said.

A bonus, Szabo said, was the meat, fish, seafood, cheese and pantry items also available from Mike’s.

“We are thrilled to be their customers,” she said.

Geller said that not everything he provides his customers is organic, despite the name of his company.

He said the cost to a farmer to get organic certification can be quite steep.

“It’s more about the farmer’s practices,” Geller said. “I mean, how good is a certified organic tomato from Mexico?”

More than just selling the products Geller thinks are worthy, he is also about educating children and adults about eating good, locally sourced food.

“It is our responsibility to make our community better,” he said.

“Eating is a very personal decision,” Geller said. “Once you learn about your food, you don’t make the same decisions.”

In Westchester County, NY Mike’s delivers to Rye, Rye Brook, Harrison, Larchmont, Scarsdale, New Rochelle, Mamaroneck, Eastchester, White Plains, Tarrytown, Bedford, Armonk and Chappaqua.

In Fairfield County, CT Mike’s delivers to Greenwich, Riverside, Cos Cob, Old Greenwich, Stamford, Darien, New Canaan, Norwalk, Westport and Wilton.

For Mike’s Organic Delivery partners, go here. For information on how the delivery service works, including frequently asked questions, click here.