INDIANAPOLIS — By Steven Penn

steven.penn@flyergroup.com

Green B.E.A.N. Delivery offers its customers the chance to have

fresh, natural food delivered to their doorsteps.

John Freeland, Green B.E.A.N. vice president of sales and

marketing, said the company was founded in Indianapolis in 2007

by his college friend, Matt Ewer, president, and Elizabeth Blessing,

co-owner.

“Matt spent five years prior (to 2007) in Seattle, where he met his

mentor (and learned about) Community-Supported Agriculture

(CSA),” Freeland said.

He said Ewer’s plan was to develop a more feasible CSA model

based on what consumers needed, while incorporating Internet

ordering and home delivery to bring products from a network of

farmers and artisans to the customers’ doors.

“The mission has been to make healthy and local food more

convenient, affordable, and accessible,” Freeland said. “We don’t

consider ourselves a luxury service. There’s just a $35 minimum

and there are no sign-up fees.”

Freeland said Green B.E.A.N. — which is an acronym for

Biodynamic Education Agriculture Nutrition — works with farmers

weeks in advance to predict harvest yields in an attempt to provide

the best available food each week.

He said Green B.E.A.N. offers different sized bins that customers

can look at on the website.

“Each Thursday at 3 p.m., our virtual store opens up and customers

can look at what we found,” Freeland said. “They have the ability to

customize their order for their family.”

For instance, he said, if a family doesn’t eat a specific fruit or

vegetable, they can subtract that from their order and add in

something they will eat.

There is also a grocery section of the virtual store, which offers about

1,000 products like milk, eggs, meat, bread, and even coffee.

Freeland added there are some national brands available and

customers can be sure that everything purchased is 100 percent

natural.

He said Green B.E.A.N. offers its customers the avenue to get into

healthy eating habits by taking away some of the excuses that come

with a busy schedule.

The company’s expansion has been driven by customers’ needs

and the food, he said.

“The food has driven us to make some of these decisions, in terms

of expansion,” Freeland said. “In early 2009, we opened in

Cincinnati.”

Since the expansion there, he said, the company now has main

hubs in Columbus, Ohio, and Louisville, Ky.

In addition, the main hubs of Indianapolis and Cincinnati also

deliver to submarkets in Fort Wayne, Muncie, and Dayton, Ohio.

“It’s about figuring out ways to service smaller communities and

major metropolitan areas,” Freeland said. “Everyone deserves the

opportunity to support local farmers. It has been a neat

accomplishment to reach out to smaller communities.”

Jennifer Griffin of Plainfield has been using the service for about the

last two years.

“They had a Groupon, and it sounded really interesting,” Griffin said,

“so I bought that and stayed.”

She said Green B.E.A.N. Delivery has made her life easier and has

helped her stay on a healthy track.

“It’s a really good, healthy option,” Griffin said. “I work full-time and

then go to school at night, so I don’t have a lot of time to shop. It’s

nice to have it delivered to your house.”

Griffin added that she enjoys being able to customize her order and

add in products like gluten-free options, which are reasonably priced

and sometimes hard to find when shopping in a more traditional

sense.

For more information about Green B.E.A.N. Delivery, visit the website

at www.greenbeandelivery.com.