Community Bicycle Couriers

For all you folks with a busy lifestyle, there’s a new, sustainable way to get your groceries (and take-out). It’s called Community Couriers, and it serves Downtown, Riverside, Avondale, Ortega, Springfield, San Marco and Murray Hill.

Community Couriers is the brainchild of Benjamin Wilson. He’s a longtime resident of Riverside (since 1973) and a graduate of UNF. Before embarking on this endeavor, he worked for 12 years at a national grocery store chain.

All deliveries are made on bicycle, so far by Wilson himself. Bicycling is something he loves, which he discovered while commuting by bike to work every day. “I found that I really enjoyed it, and it was the best part of my day,” says Wilson. At his former job as an assistant deli manager, he gained an understanding of how shopping during peak hours could be a hazard, to the pocketbook in the form of impulse purchases, to your health and to your stress levels.

Wilson believes that using his service can contribute to healthier eating, because you won’t make impulse purchases and you have to plan ahead. He says that people tend to figure out “what’s a good idea for them, and make better decisions for their diets,” rather than just grabbing convenience foods.

Besides contributing to consumer wellness, he’s also striving to contribute to community wellness, because he does it all by bike, freeing up parking spaces, minimizing air pollution and ultimately “making our neighborhoods safer for other cyclists and pedestrians.” Further, in the interest of sustainability, they can provide reusable tote bags and can return any plastic bags back to the store for recycling.

Community Couriers will shop at any retailer or restaurant in their service area, though they heavily promote local businesses on their website. The fee is 20% of the grocery total, with a $7.50 minimum. You can order by calling or texting (904) 327-6810 or emailing at communitycouriersjax@gmail.com. Hours are 8 am-8 pm Monday-Saturday. They also offer no order minimums on their restaurant delivery options, charging $2.99 for restaurant deliveries, and they will stop at either Riverside Village Wine Shop or W90+ in Avondale to pair a wine with your order at no added charge. See their website at www.communitycouriersjax.com for details.