Gluten-Free at Fresh Direct

Here in New York City there is a very popular online grocery delivery service called Fresh Direct. Although I have never personally used it (because I like going to the supermarket too much) I have plenty of friends that use this service on a regular basis. It is easy to order online and schedule convenient delivery times any time between 6:30am and 11pm. 

Last week, my friend Rachel (aka @gfgirlnyc on Twitter) forwarded me the Fresh Direct newsletter announcing their gluten-free store. I have to say, I am quite impressed! Fresh Direct worked with nutritionist Maggie Moon to provide their customers information relating to a gluten-free diet. They have also added gluten-free recipes to their website using ingredients available through Fresh Direct. They even claim to have more than 500 gluten-free items in their online store. Fresh Direct sells many of my favorite gluten-free brands including Schar, Udi's, Bob's Red Mill, Enjoy Life, and Erewhon. They even put gluten-free items on sale! For those of you in NYC

Rachel says, "Gluten-free grocery shopping sure has come a long way. I feel pretty lucky to have services like FreshDirect that make it easy for gluten-free NYers to shop with ease for all our favorite GF products! I'm a regular chef's table FD customer and regularly order GF products from their site. The new improvements like recipes, easier site navigation, new products, are all welcome improvements to my weekly visit/order!!"

Between Rachel's feedback and from just browsing the site, I am really curious to give Fresh Direct a try. I will definitely blog about it if I do. Below I have included some screen shots as well as the information from their gluten-free pop-up page.

ABOUT OUR GLUTEN-FREE STORE  

Welcome to our gluten-free store! We have over 500 items in our store, and will continue to keep an eye out for great gluten-free products. We've rounded up all these items and put them under one department to make it easier to find the gluten-free foods you're looking for. 

We know that sticking to a gluten-free diet can be challenging, and that people who must avoid gluten for medical reasons are looking for foods that fit their entire life, not just snack time. That's why we've made sure to include foods for different meal occasions.

In the interest of providing the most helpful selection of products for the gluten-free shopper, we took the extra step of filtering out many naturally gluten-free products like bottled water, yogurt and apples, to name a few. We feel that including those kinds of items would make browsing through the gluten-free store more cumbersome than it needs to be. Check out the tips in our FAQ section for more on seeking out healthful, naturally gluten-free foods. 

What you will — and won't — find in our gluten-free store. 

• You will find foods that are certified gluten-free 

• You will find some foods promoted as gluten-free by its manufacturer. These products may follow good manufacturing practices to prevent cross-contamination, but may not necessarily be certified as gluten-free. These foods go through a review process. For these products, we are selective. Our evaluation includes ensuring a product is in a relevant category — for example, you won't find a product like plain bottled water here just because the packaging says it's gluten-free. But you will find plenty of carb-alternatives in categories that commonly contain gluten, such as breads, pastas and crackers. 

• You will find dairy alternatives that are promoted as gluten-free. That's because casein, a protein in dairy products, has a similar chemical structure to gluten, and sometimes people who don't tolerate gluten also need to limit their dairy intake. 

• Here's what you won't find in our gluten-free store: naked fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry and seafood. That's because these foods are naturally gluten-free!   (Love this!!) 

Healthy Regards,
Maggie Moon, MS, RD 

Our materials have been developed by our nutritionist, Maggie Moon, MS, RD, to provide information relating to a gluten-free diet, but it is not intended to replace medical advice from your health care team.