Morgan Hamilton wants to make it easy for you to eat your vegetables. In fact, she’s willing to have them delivered to your house.
Hamilton is the general manager of Green B.E.A.N. (Biodynamic, Education, Agriculture and Nutrition) Kentucky. The Indianapolis-based food company, which was founded five years ago and came to Louisville in May of 2011, is bringing organic, sustainably produced food to Louisville, Bullitt County and Southern Indiana – areas that traditionally have lacked such options. “Some people use us for the fact that we cover organic,” says Hamilton, a Mt. Washington native who now lives in the Highlands. “Some people use us for local stuff – eggs, beef, pork, chicken, milk. Some people use us for convenience. A lot of people just don’t like going to the grocery store.”
To order, registered customers go to www.greenbeandelivery.com and select a “produce bin” – a standing order that varies according to the size of the customer’s household or needs. After that, deliveries will occur weekly or biweekly, depending on the customer’s preference. Deliveries include a variety of seasonal fruits and vegetables and any à la carte items selected prior to the week’s deadline. The up-to-the-minute produce selection reflects the current bounty – without a premium delivery charge. “One way to save and eat really well is to eat in season,” Hamilton says. “You’re getting a fresh product, rich in vitamins and minerals, and it tastes better. And you’re not buying $7 strawberries in January. You’re buying at the peak and so they’re really good.”
Hamilton caught the healthy living bug in college, as a political science/women’s and gender studies major at University of Louisville. When she decided to do her senior project on local food and sustainability, she met caterer Sherry Hurley, who helped pioneer the local farm-to-table movement. Today, Hamilton sits on the board of Slow Food Bluegrass, which promotes conscious eating and alternatives to fast food. With this expertise, she is hands-on with what goes into the bins. “We try to be as organic as possible,” she says, citing the figure at “about 95 percent.” “Sometimes it’s hard for a farmer to get organic certification, so we go to the farm and see, and then we can label them as organically grown if that’s what they’re doing. We’re very transparent; we label it all so you know what you’re getting.”