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frequently asked questions

Update Regarding Delivery Procedures (Last Updated August 24)

What quality control processes has Seasonal Roots implemented?

We want to be fully transparent about what we are doing to proactively keep both our team and our members safe and healthy during this time. So far, we have taken the following steps:

  • Reinforced training on effective handwashing, handling, and using personal protective equipment.
  • Implemented heightened sanitation practices in our facility.
  • Encouraged team members to stay home from work if they are not feeling well.
  • Implemented no-contact deliveries. Your Market Manager will leave orders where requested and refrain from socializing with individuals they may encounter.
  • Encouraged members to leave out coolers to further limit food exposure.

Additionally, we have been in constant communication with our trusted local farmers and artisans. Seasonal Roots has a short supply chain from farmer to your home, and we want you to take comfort in knowing that our system requires much less handling than that which you would find in a traditional grocery store or grocery delivery service. As things develop, we will continue tracking updates from the CDC and will adjust our policies and procedures as needed.

How has the pandemic affected delivery procedures?

No-Contact Deliveries

During this time, we will be doing no-contact deliveries. This means that we will ring your doorbell or knock on your door to notify you that your delivery has arrived, but we will be refraining from socializing with any individuals whom we may encounter. We strongly recommend leaving out an icy cooler, which will help protect your food from outdoor elements as our Market Managers (aka Veggie Fairies) continue to deliver from a safe distance. We are also monitoring the health of our Veggie Fairies, and we will not allow deliveries by anyone who is feeling unwell.

Delivery

Do you deliver to me?

We sure hope so! Check your address on our delivery area map here. If you're in the shaded area, then you're in an area where we deliver.

When do you deliver?

We deliver on Wednesdays to Northern Virginia, Fredericksburg and Montgomery County, Maryland. We deliver on Thursdays to Greater Richmond, Hampton Roads, and Virginia Beach. We try to complete all deliveries by 4:00pm.

If you won't be able to take your order inside right away, be sure you leave out a cold cooler (with ice packs in the summer!) that's big enough to hold your order. That'll protect your fresh local food from the elements and hungry critters, too.

Do I have to be home for delivery?

Nope. Just be sure you leave out a cold cooler (with ice packs in the summer!) that's big enough to hold your order. That'll protect your fresh local food from the elements and hungry critters. Please note that our Market Managers cannot guarantee the quality of your order without a clean, cold cooler.

What if I'm going out of town? Or if I just don't need any local food this week?

Not a problem. You can skip your weekly order two ways.
  • The weekend before delivery, sign in while the market is open. Scroll down to the bottom of the main order screen, click on the red "Skip This Week" button and follow the directions. Be sure to do this by 11:59pm the Sunday night before delivery.
  • If you know when you'd like to skip farther ahead of time, sign in and hover over the purple gear icon in the upper right corner. In the drop down menu, click on "Delivery Preferences" and follow the directions. Be sure to click the "Save" button at the bottom!

I thought my account was set to skip. Why did I still get a delivery?

This can be caused by a number of things:
  • You may have forgotten to press "Save".
  • Or you may have closed the window before the website could process your request. You will always receive a confirmation email as soon as you select a skip, so if you don't receive one, please go back and do it again.
  • You may have set a certain number of skips a few weeks ago, but this week was not included.
  • You may have set it to skip, but then logged back into your account and accidentally unskipped. Whenever that happens, you receive an email that confirms the cancellation of the skip. If you look back at your emails and don't see an email confirming that the skip was cancelled, please contact us at support@seasonalroots.com.

What do I do with my Seasonal Roots cardboard box?

Collection of boxes and glass bottles is up to the discretion of our Market Managers. If you have boxes and/or bottles that you’d like picked up, please contact your Market Manager.

If I order meat and cheese, do you send ice packs?

We use ice packs to keep animal products cold while they're on the way to you. Once they arrive at your door, though, we don't leave the ice packs in order to keep your costs as low as possible. If you can't take your delivery inside right away, be sure to leave out a cooler each week with ice packs or ice. That'll keep your local food cool and fresh and safe from hungry critters.

How do I update my delivery address, delivery instructions, etc?

Sign in and hover over the purple gear icon in the upper right corner. Click on "Account" and follow the directions to request an address change or to add delivery instructions.

Quality Control

What if my apple is bruised? Or what if...?

We check and double check each item before it reaches you, but if something falls through the cracks we want to know! There are two ways to report it. Here's how:
  • Report it the next time you order. When you finish making your choices, click "Save And Review My Order" and scroll to the bottom of the page. Click on "Report Issue With Last Order", then follow the directions. Be sure to click on the green "Submit Issue" button when you're done.
  • If you think you might forget to report it if you wait until the next time you order, you can also report it right away. Sign in and hover over the purple icon gear in the upper right corner. From the drop down menu, select "Report An Issue", then follow those same directions.
  • If you request a replacement by Sunday night at 11:59 pm, then you will receive your replacement item or credit on your next delivery day.
We always stand behind the quality of our local food. If the item was one of your basket choices, we'll replace it free of charge – even if the same item isn't available the next time you order, we'll still replace it with something comparable. If the item was an Extra that you added to your basket, we'll issue you a credit.

You can monitor the status of any reported issue by signing in and going to the "Report An Issue" page and scrolling down. The status will progress from "Created" to "Approved" and finally to "Replaced" once the order is processed.

What if I don't like a particular food? Or if I have an allergy?

As a Member, you can swap items out of your basket for something you prefer. If someone in your household has an allergy, please mention it in the delivery instructions:
  • Sign in and hover over the purple gear icon in the upper right corner.
  • In the drop down menu, click on "Account" and follow the directions.
Very important for those with severe allergies:
We cannot 100% guarantee that the box your delivery comes in has not been exposed to any particular allergen at some point along the way.

What happens if a crop gets wiped out by rain or cold or...?

Sometimes Mother Nature has plans for our crops that we can't foresee. If a force of nature foils the harvest of a basket item, we will substitute the closest item we can find – for example, yellow squash instead of zucchini. If it's an Extra item that you ordered, we'll issue a credit.

Why is there a sticker on my apple? Why is my cucumber wrapped in plastic? Does that mean they're not local?

Some of our family farmers sell their produce to grocery stores that require them to sticker their produce. It's less work for the farmers if they can treat their whole crop the same way, so we don't require them to remove the stickers or plastic from the produce they supply to us. We sure appreciate you taking a few seconds to remove the stickers so your farmers don't have to. Bottom line: With or without a sticker, you can be sure the local food you get from us is freshly harvested from local fields!

Farmers and Food

What's in my basket?

That's up to you and Mother Nature! We offer a menu of about 2 dozen basket choices each week for Members to choose from, year-round. As the seasons change, the weekly offerings change, too, since we create the weekly menus based on our local farmers' harvest schedules. To get an idea of what's in season when, check out this chart from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
  • EASY BASKET: This is the smallest basket, offering 5 choices for $24.00. It's an easy choice if you don't want to commit to too much food. It's easy to complete only five choices, and easy to use them up if you're a household of one or two people or don't cook much.
  • FAMILY BASKET: This is the middle-sized basket, offering 8 choices for $34.00. It's perfect for a family of four that eats at home several nights a week. It's also a good option for smaller vegetarian households.
  • VEGGIE LOVER BASKET: The biggest basket offers 11 choices for $40.00. This is the one for you if your family is bigger, or eats in all the time, or if you just love your veggies – like the name says!

Are you organic?

We partner with family farmers whose farming practices follow the old school definition of organic. That means that most of our farmers have a low-to-no-spray policy. They use sustainable methods to grow their food as nature intended, and often rely on their land's natural biodiversity to keep pests in check. Many of our farmers also abide by the standards of USDA Organic.

You'll always know who produced your local food – while you're placing your weekly order, click on each menu option to learn who grew it where. There's more on the differences between organic vs sustainable vs local here.

Who are your farmers?

They're local folks who are committed to producing quality food in a sustainable, humane way. Some of our family farmers specialize in one crop. Others grow dozens of different crops, or raise pastured chickens, pigs, cows, and steers. They're all about what's good for you and good for the planet. Get to know them when you place your weekly order – just click on each menu option to learn who grew it where.

Who are your artisans?

We partner with local food artisans who specialize in your favorite farmers market fare: bakers, yogurt- and tofu-makers, fair-trade coffee roasters, a bee-keeper, even creators of superfood snack bars. Our baking artisans are hip to the need for gluten-free and vegan options, too. Get to know them all when you place your weekly order – just click on each menu option to learn who made it where.

How local is local?

There's no official definition for 'local food' or 'regional food'. We consider food 'local' if it's grown or made within about 150 miles. We call it 'regional' if it's outside that range but can still get to us within a day or so of harvest without flying.

Any further than that and it isn't fresh enough or nutritious or flavorful enough for us, and probably comes with a bigger carbon footprint, too. So most of our food is local. For more variety during the colder months when local choices are more limited, we turn to the family farmers we know in Florida, who are still just a day's drive away. Still, some of our members take satisfaction in eating only what nature can provide in season here in Virginia. We always make it clear where each item on our menu is grown or made, and it's easy to swap out a regional item for a local one. Whatever your choice, we're here to support you!

We stick to this local/regional guideline because produce starts losing its nutrients as soon as it's harvested. By minimizing the time your food spends traveling, we maximize the nutrients (and flavor!) we deliver to you. Most of our produce has only been out of the field for a couple days by the time it arrives at your door. You'll be able to taste the difference.

With us, you'll always know where your food comes from. When you place your weekly order, click on each menu option to learn who grew it where. Want to know more about local food vs regional food vs food from far far away? Read this.

Customer Support

How do I get in touch with my delivery person?

As a Member, you'll see the email address and phone number of the neighborhood Market Manager who delivers your local food right there on the screen when you sign into your account. These days there are about one hundred of us across Virginia to serve our delivery areas. We're mostly moms who believe in living better through scrumptious, healthy eating, being kind to animals, protecting the environment, and spreading joy. Most of us started out as Members and eventually chose to start delivering to our neighbors.

On weeks when you order, you'll receive an email reminder from your Market Manager before delivery day. If you have any delivery questions or concerns, your Market Manager is your go-to. They're right around the corner, ready to take care of you with excellent customer service.

What happens if I forget to skip my order?

You can skip orders as often as you like, and it's easy to schedule skips in advance. Just make sure you do it before 11:59pm on Sunday night. After that, we close ordering for the week and place our orders with the farmers Monday morning. If you forgot to skip and aren't able to receive your regular order, we'll be happy to donate it to someone in need, but because of our commitment to support our local farmers, the charge can't be refunded.

Why am I not receiving emails?

This could be happening for several reasons:
  • Make sure support@seasonalroots.com has been added to your contacts list, then check your Spam, Promotions, or Updates folders.
  • You may have accidentally unsubscribed from our email list. For example, if you forwarded one of our emails to another person and they unsubscribed, that would have unsubscribed your email address instead of theirs.
  • If you'd like to receive our weekly blog and newsletter email, scroll to the bottom of any page on www.seasonalroots.com and enter your email address in the box that says, "Sign up for the Eat-Better-Live-Better Newsletter & Veggie Fairy Blog!".

I forgot my password. How do I sign in?

On the sign-in page, click on "Forgot your password?" and a link to reset your password will be sent to the email address on your account. Be sure to access the link right away before it expires.

Didn't click the link in time? No problem – just reclick, "Forgot your password" on the sign-in page and a new password link will immediately be sent to you.

If you don't receive the email, try checking your Spam, Promotions, or Updates folders.

Payment

What does it cost?

Members pay an annual membership fee of just $50 for the first year. Each year after that, memberships automatically renew for $35. As a Member, you can customize your default order or skip as often as you want. Don't want an order one week? No problem! You can skip your order any time before the market closes for the week.

For Members, the prices of the produce baskets are (excluding tax):
Easy Basket (5 choices) - $24.00
Family Basket (8 choices) - $34.00
Veggie Lover Basket (11 choices) - $40.00

Options in the Extras section range from inexpensive items like baked goods that cost only a couple dollars, to more expensive humanely raised grass-fed meats.

Is there a minimum order?

Every order starts with a produce basket and includes delivery. So the minimum order for Members is our smallest basket, the Easy Basket, which gives you 5 choices for $24.00. As a Member, you can customize whichever basket you choose by swapping items or adding Extra items a la carte. If you choose to add more items to your order, the cost of those additional items will be added to your total. Then, before your order is finalized, you can review your order and see your total. With three basket sizes and tons of Extra options, you control how much you buy.

What's the deal with the annual membership fee?

We charge a $50 annual membership fee when a Member joins Seasonal Roots, and then $35 each year after that. The annual membership fee helps support your farmers and gives you privileges like basket customization, unlimited Extra items, and discounted specials on bundles of Extras. The fee is automatically charged on your Seasonal Roots anniversary, unless you've turned off automatic renewal for your account.

When am I charged?

When you join as a paid Member, the annual membership fee is charged to your credit card immediately. For weekly orders (whether you place an order or go for the default), your credit card is charged after your online farmers market closes, between 11:59pm Sunday and 6:00am Monday. Feel free to edit your order as many times as you'd like while the Market's open. Each new order will supersede the previous one, so disregard any previous receipts. Only the most recent order will be processed and charged.

How do I update my credit card?

Sign in and hover over the purple gear icon in the upper right corner. From the drop down menu, select "Account". Then select the "Payment" tab and click the green "Add Card" button. After you add the new card, either set it as the default or delete the old card.

How do I un-pause my account?

Sign in. Right below the text that says, "You've Paused Your Account", click the green "Update My Order Settings" button. Click on the red text that says, "Resume Ordering". If you change your mind, you can re-pause your account under "Delivery Preferences" in that drop down menu from the purple gear icon.

How do I cancel my account?

If you don't want to receive weekly deliveries, the system gives Members a number of options.

To pre-schedule skips for up to 12 weeks in advance or pause all deliveries indefinitely, hover over the purple gear icon in the upper right corner, and from the drop down menu select "Delivery Preferences".

To remain a Member only until your paid annual membership expires or to cancel completely, hover over the purple gear icon in the upper right corner, and from the drop down menu select "Account".
  • To remain a member until your membership expires, turn off "Automatically renew my membership." If you want to skip deliveries, you'll still need to manage your skips by selecting "Delivery Preferences" from the drop down menu under the purple gear icon.
  • To cancel your membership completely, you have to complete several steps. (This is to avoid accidental cancellations.) First, turn off "Automatically renew my membership." Second, click on the red text that says, "Cancel Membership". Then follow the on-screen instructions. Finally, to complete the cancellation, be sure to click the red text that says, "No, I'm sure, delete my account."

Have another question?

If you're a potential member, please email info@seasonalroots.com, or call us at (757) 351-4565. For members, send us an email at support@seasonalroots.com. We're happy to answer any questions you may have!

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Have questions? For potential members, please email questions to info@seasonalroots.com. For all other inquiries, email support@seasonalroots.com.