Azure Standard

In response to my recent post on buying organic and non-GMO products for my family, many of you have asked how I afford this new diet change for my large family of 8.

Put simply, I shop our local grocery store on their discount health food day and purchase a large portion of our monthly grocery items from Azure Standard.

Azure Standard is based out of Durfur, Oregon and ships organic and natural food and household items all across the country. Azure orders are shipped monthly via independent trucking companies and utilize local volunteers for coordinating drop locations. Drop sites are dependent on local interest and the willingness of others to help manage each drop location. I am a drop coordinator for my local location. We receive nothing in return for our efforts, not even a discount on our orders. I work to keep Azure coming to my town because I appreciate the ability to buy organic foods at a discount price compared to my local stores. Azure also carries a wider variety of organic options than what I can find in my midwest town.

Yes, buying all organic and natural foods for a large family can be difficult on the monthly food budget. However, if it is a priority for you then you will find a way to make it happen. I'd encourage you to take a hard look at other areas of your budget and "surplus" spending habits. My husband and I have curtailed much of our impulse purchases and trimmed things from our budget that we do not need to free more money to buy the foods that we feel are most important for our young family.

Being that we are a young family, I enjoy the fact that I can purchase in bulk from Azure at incredibly reasonable prices. For example, I make all of our bread, no more store bought bread for our family. Because of this I use a lot of organic whole wheat flour. If I had to buy the quantity of flour that I need locally, I would break the bank. However, through Azure I can purchase 25lb bags of flour for a fraction of the cost locally (not to mention I can't buy 25lb bags in my town). Not only do I buy our flour in bulk, I also now purchase organic oats, organic sugar, organic pastry flour, and numerous other dry good items in bulk with Azure. The depth and variety of organic and non-GMO items available at Azure is varied and reasonably priced. Best of all, they are adding new products every month so the variety of items we can get through Azure is only getting better.

I'd encourage you to check out Azure and see if there is a drop near you. If there isn't don't be discouraged. Contact Azure directly and they will put you in contact with the trucking company that serves your state. Talk to the trucking company and let them know you would like to have Azure come to your home town.