Detroit business delivers fresh produce to your doorstep
DETROIT, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - Fresh fruits and vegetables can be hard to come by, especially during the cold winter months.
"We deliver straight to customers right after it's harvested," said Goodpluck founder Chening Duker.
Two years ago, Duker started Goodpluck, a Detroit-based company working with local farms in the city to bring the freshest produce to your doorstep.
"When I first came to Michigan, I went to a farmers market in the winter and it was like 10 degrees out and I thought maybe I can make a platform to make it easier for people to get this really great produce instead of going to the grocery store," Duker said.
At Brother Nature Produce in Corktown, owner Greg Willerer farms leafy greens.
"There's lots of spinach all ready to eat. Mizuna, Sorrel, Radicchio, Frizzee. Things that you can't really find at the grocery store," said Willerer.
"When I first started discovering local farms, the difference in quality is like incredible," Duker said.
Throughout the year, Duker works with about 50 different farms and approximately 10 each week. Brother Nature Produce is one of them.
"It's becoming a movement of sourcing food locally, of providing people healthier food, tastier food," said Willerer.
How does Goodpluck work? It's simple. Customers sign up online and create a basket. The goods get delivered to your door once or twice a week.
"You can add stuff, you can remove stuff," said Duker. "It's a flexible subscription which means every week I'm calling up farms, visiting farms and I'm figuring out what is the best thing that's growing. Every week we suggest a basket of seasonal produce and you can change it if you want."
It's a farm-to-table experience. Duker says the best part is that the company delivers the fresh produce to customers within a day of it being taken out of the ground.
In addition to fresh produce, Goodpluck also sources local breads and eggs.
Duker says each basket has a variety of items and costs around $40. Delivery is free.
The company plans to expand outside of the city but is currently sticking to customers in Metro Detroit.
Goodpluck is also in the process of building a retail space in Midtown so people can pick up their produce. Duker says farmers can come in and he hopes it will connect the community even more.
