This month’s Find of the Month is Peapod by Stop&Shop. Peapod is a service offered by Stop & Shop Supermarkets where you can place an order for your groceries online and they will be delivered to you. With a minimum order of $60.00, all your groceries will be conveniently bagged with related items together. Peapod will deliver your order right to your kitchen counter on a day and time that is convenient for you.

The service is really easy to use, simply go to www.peapod.com and click on the items you want to buy. Peapod even keeps track of your previous orders so you don’t need to search for items that you regularly buy.  You can even use coupons with this service. Payment is made by either debit card, credit card or gift card. You can use your Stop&Shop card for savings on groceries and double coupons as well. Simply enter the card number and Peapod will apply the discounts.

This service is available through Peapod by Stop&Shop for Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey. Peapod by Giant is available in Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia. Peapod services Chicagoland, Milwaukee and S.E. Wisconsin.

There are many delivery times to choose from to fit your schedule usually with a 2 hour window. If you are willing to extend the delivery window to 3 1/2 hours, Peapod offers a $1.00 discount.

Once the order arrives at your home you will be given an itemized list of your order. You can review the order for accuracy and if there is anything missing your account will be credited.

There were times when items that I ordered were out of stock and the invoice was adjusted to reflect the change.  I did have a few occasions when some of the items that I ordered were missing so I would recommend checking the order before the delivery person leaves. Because everything is so organized it is fairly easy to quickly check the order.

I have used this service many, many times. It really comes in handy when my rheumatoid arthritis (RA)  is bothering me. I don’t have to worry about how hard it is to push the cart or wonder whether or not I will be able to pick up that gallon of milk without dropping it. I don’t even concern myself with how heavy the bags are because I never have to lift any.

The bags are delivered to my kitchen where I can just simply put things away. The delivery personnel have always been polite and helpful. This service has really come in handy for me especially when I am flaring. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

I actually found that I spent less money on my groceries using this service because I was less likely to impulse buy and just stuck to the list.

I did check around to see if I could find other similar services in other parts of the country. I found  CobornsDelivers that services the greater Twin Cities, Top Banana is a non profit organization which services Washington, DC and a limited area of Maryland and Spud whose service area includes Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Portland. Corborns site seems similar to Peapod. Top Banana is more of a shopping and delivery service where you call or fax them with your order and they will deliver it to you. Spud is an organic grocery delivery service. It might be worth it to check with your local markets and see if they offer a similar service. It really has helped me with a chore that can be difficult when my rheumatoid arthritis is at it’s worst and even when it isn’t.