David and Liz with their children (ages 12, 10, 7, 5, 2, and one on the way!) David is also our Lead Front End Software Engineer. He works on our website customer interface and programs that are used in the warehouse.
Drop Coordinator in Peoria, AZ and also Azure’s Lead Front End Software Engineer
Before we moved to Peoria, Arizona, we had an Azure drop at our home in Oregon…until our HOA shut us down! So when we moved, a major factor in deciding on a house was finding one without an HOA and with enough room for the truck to deliver to us!
I decided to become a DC because, well, we have a big family and we can meet the minimum ourselves every month, so we figured, why not? We were first Azure customers, then I became an employee, and now I’m also a drop coordinator. While our drop is definitely growing, it hasn’t been much work to run it, and it hasn’t been burdensome at all! I send out an email each month, and occasionally field a few questions, but it’s really been a simple and enjoyable experience. Our delivery comes right to our home, which makes it extremely convenient. And all the customers help to unload right onto our large driveway, which makes it easy. Living in Arizona, we haven’t run into any weather-related issues, though I’ve been considering buying a tent for my family and also using it for the drop, just to give us some shade.
We trust and buy most of our groceries from Azure, so it’s not hard to hit the minimum order for delivery. We have about 20 members in our drop right now, and all have been great to work with! I’ve found there are more benefits than getting food…there are substantial benefits to meeting people that are like minded! It seems those who value Azure food also end up having other shared values, so our Azure drop has created a nice community. For example, I’ve met a lot of people here in Arizona doing backyard chickens, so we get to talk chicken, and I even ended up getting more chickens from a drop member. Another member at my drop has a pregnant goat, so I may end up getting a goat from him. We enjoy the cottage industries we have encountered through the drop—one woman ordered 5 bags of 1000 pounds of citric acid for her soap making business. She gave me her card and now I have a source for local made natural soap. And once I held an order for a woman whose car broke down, and she thanked me with fresh sourdough bread and jams that she made! So it’s been a lot of fun!
Some of our favorite Azure products are the Azure Market Coconut Cream (GY1462), we use a lot of it. We buy a lot of oats, rice, and beans. We order the Charcutnuvo sausages by the caseload! But my very favorite is the Renegade Blend Ground Beef and Organs (MT1040) from Thousand Hills—this mix has heart and liver ground in, so it’s really superior nutritionally to everything else out there and it’s a pretty unique product.
Another great product and a fun memory for us was when the Azure truck brought me a cake! The team sent it out to me for an anniversary, and it had been made by Crystal and Brendolynn, who mix up the amazing bakery treats from Azure Hearthstone. If you haven’t tried any of their goodies, well, I highly recommend them!