a box from Thrive Market with olive oil, coffee drinks and other products   Credit: Courtesy Thrive Market



a box from Thrive Market with olive oil, coffee drinks and other products   Credit: Courtesy Thrive Market

a box from Thrive Market with olive oil, coffee drinks and other products Credit: Courtesy Thrive Market

a box from Thrive Market with olive oil, coffee drinks and other products

Credit: Courtesy Thrive Market

I’m usually all about shopping local, and in ordinary times I actually enjoy running around to different stores to find whatever ingredients I need to make my meals. But these are not ordinary times, so while I’m still getting my produce, eggs and meat from a local farm delivery service and many other ingredients from a local restaurant that’s turned into a grocery store, I also recently joined the online subscription-based grocery store Thrive Market to fill in the gaps on food staples, cleaning products and other household supplies. Read on to learn more about how Thrive works and the best products to buy.

What Is Thrive Market & How Does It Work?

How Your Membership Can Help Others

Another selling point for the online shop is that for every paid Thrive Market membership, the company gives a free membership to a low-income family, student, teacher, veteran or first responder. The company also started a COVID-19 Relief Fund, which provides free memberships and grocery stipends to medical professionals, first responders, at-risk individuals for whom going to the grocery store is not possible and others who have been affected by COVID-19. “With the support from our community, we’ve now raised more than $500,000 to fund grocery stipends allocated to over 6,000 families directly affected by the pandemic,” says Nick Green, Co-Founder and CEO of Thrive Market, who donated his salary as CEO for the remainder of this year to the fund.

The Best Products to Buy From Thrive Market

I found a lot of ingredients on Thrive Market that I couldn’t easily find locally, like pasta, chickpeas, quinoa, coconut milk, crackers and this really delicious dark-roasted peanut butter, all at good prices. Of course, I got myself a few treats, too, like dark chocolate peanut butter cups and potato chips. And I restocked on lavender hand soap and this amazing smelling peppermint cleaner to get my aromatherapy and cleaning needs met at the same time.

They also have baking supplies that have been hard to find, like baking soda (Unfortunately they are currently sold out of all-purpose flour, but they do have a number of alternative flours.) They are also currently out of stock on this natural cleaner that’s approved to kill coronavirus, but you can set a reminder for them to let you know when it’s back in stock. Thrive Market shared this list of their top 10 member favorites right now, so you can crib off other people’s shopping lists—I can tell you I am a big fan of #10.

Thrive Market’s Top 10 Member Favorites

Thrive Market Build Your Own Meat & Seafood Box ($120)Thrive Market Bamboo Hybrid Bath Tissue ($7 for 12 pack)Thrive Market Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil ($15 for 25.4 oz bottle)Thrive Market Organic Maple Syrup Grade A Jug Value Size ($20 for 32 oz)Thrive Market Organic Vanilla Extract ($12 for 4 fl oz)Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil Mayo ($7.50 for 12 fl oz jar)Chomps Original Grass-Fed Beef Snack Sticks ($19 for 10 sticks)Thrive Market Organic Oat Beverage ($9 for 4 34-ounce cartons)Thrive Market Almond Flour ($8 for 16 ounces)Simple Mills Fine Ground Salt Almond Flour Crackers ($4.50 for 4.25-ounce box)