Supporting over 100 farms and 90 artisan food makers in North Carolina, The Produce Box uses a team of neighborhood ambassadors to deliver fresh produce, meat, dairy, seafood and artisan items to doorsteps across North Carolina!
Founder and CEO, Courtney Tellefsen, founded the company almost 15 years ago.
“It was in 2008 in the middle of the recession. there were no delivery services at that time. I joined a CSA, a community supported agricultural program.” Tellefson told 97.9 The Hill in a recent radio interview. She said she was supporting one farmer at the time and, since she had a mini-van, felt she could do more. “So I went out, and sent an email to 200 families in my neighborhood, and about 25 families responded. I worked with one farm. I put my kids in the car, I put the produce boxes in the back of the mini-van and I drove around my neighborhood making deliveries. Wow. And that year it grew from 25 families to 200, just with the help of some friends who would come to my house and get their boxes. And then they started taking the boxes to their friends, that’s literally how it happened.”
Now with over 8,000 customers (referred to as “members,”) from Wilmington to Charlotte, The Produce Box has expanded their menu offerings to include fruit, meat, dairy, seafood and a host of artisan food items.
“We have a chef on staff and a kitchen and she’s doing prepared meals and side items. And our members buy that as well, plus meal kits. So really you can get anything from the whole food, the fruit and the vegetable, all the way up to a prepared meal or a meal kit or anything in between using local stuff,” said Tellefson.
With custom sourced weekly menus, members can visit the website each week to select their items. Members pay $25 a year to join, and weekly box deliveries start around $28.
“It is pretty easy to get signed up. Just go on the website, sign up, and it kind of feels like you’re going to the farmer’s market because you have the vegetables, the fruits, meat, dairy, prepared foods, seafood, everything that’s available, but it comes right to you,” said Tellefson. “You don’t have to go anywhere.”
The Produce Box also has a community outreach program. According to their website, every time you order from The Produce Box, you help them send fresh produce to families who couldn’t otherwise afford it via donated boxes, community boxes and donated bulk produce to local food banks in North Carolina. Their Hero Boxes go to local heroes like firemen, policemen and other community helpers.
“I would say that it feels pretty good to work with The Produce Box and partner with us and buy from us. It tastes good because you’re eating something local. It was grown by a neighbor. It feels good because it was delivered by a neighbor. It feels good because you’re supporting those local farms. And if you have the opportunity to support your community, well, it’s just an all around a good thing.”
You can listen to Courtney Tellefsen’s full radio interview, presented by The Produce Box, by clicking the link below.
