Featured Review

October 2008

WellnessGrocer.com Makes It Easy to Ship Your Favorite Gluten-Free Foods on to Your Travel Destination!

Welcome to GlutenFreeTravelSite.com! Each month we'll highlight an especially useful travel review as the Featured Review of the Month. The winning reviewer receives a copy of the 2008/2009 edition of Triumph Dining's Essential Gluten-Free Restaurant Guide (a $23.95 value).  Don't miss our past Featured Reviews found in our Archives.

5.0 Palms	WellnessGrocer.com
Review Type:	Service
Location:	Online only
Phone:	1-888-272-8775
Website:	http://www.wellnessgrocer.com
Contact:	support@wellnessgrocer.com
Trip Type:	Will ship anywhere in 50 states and internationally upon request
Travel Dates:	I used the service in the summer of 2008
Review Posted:	September 2008

Both of my children have a severe gluten allergy that affects their brains.  So traveling is a scary prospect indeed, especially if we are not sure that our destination has a store nearby that sells gluten free foods.  Enter WellnessGrocer.com!  I found out about this miracle from a representative of Amy's Kitchen, the frozen food and shelf-stable food company that makes a lot of the gluten free food my children eat.  When my family planned to travel from California to Hawaii for vacation, I was uncertain how much gluten free food I would found near Waikoloa Beach and called Amy's Kitchen to see if they knew of stores on the island where their food was sold.  They told me about Wellnessgrocer.

WellnessGrocer is the Internet's leading e-tailer offering gluten free, natural and organic products delivered to your doorstep, or someone else's doorstep.  They market premium brands that are found in Whole Foods, Wild Oats and many independent health food stores around the country. They offer a large selection of already prepared frozen foods, frozen vegetables and frozen fruits shipped in a custom styrofoam cooler, insuring that your foods arrive frozen and in excellent condition.  Not to mention, their shipping cost for shipping perishable foods via GROUND is extremely reasonable.

I ordered frozen mac 'n cheese, lasagna, baked ziti, pizza and also some GF pastas and sauces, crackers and snacks.  I called the tol-free number and gave my destination address and date of arrival.  We worked out on the phone what day my package would be shipped and when it would arrive.  The cost was very reasonable.  For about 10 gluten-free entrees (frozen and shelf stable), plus the cost of shipping, the bill came to just under $100 (the shipping portion accounted for about half the amount).  Knowing I would have food my children liked waiting for me at my hotel in Hawaii was worth every penny.  Everything came in perfect condition without a hitch.

You can go on the website and look for well-known gluten free products by brand name (Annie's Natural, Amy's Kitchen, Mrs. Lepers, Barbara's Bakery, Glutino etc.)  or by foodcategory (breakfast, snacks, entrees, canned goods, frozen foods, breads, beverages, baked goods etc.)  You can also calculate online how much your shipping costs will be just by entering the zipcode after you choose your products. They have options for regular ground delivery, 2-3 day, and even Next Day Air. Wellness Grocer delivers to the lower 48 continental United States and to Hawaii and Alaska (for an extra $12.50 surcharge). They also have procedures for international shipping, but you must call and order over the phone, since their site is not equipped to handle international orders. To see information on shipping, visit their shipping page. The representatives on the phone were incredibly helpful and even called me back when they had a question about one of the entrees I had chosen.

This service is one I will use again and again when I'm traveling to an unfamiliar destination.  It gives you the security of knowing you have food waiting for you that's gluten free and safe.