The monthly, or weekly, parcel from the horio packed with fruit, cheese, olive oil, honey–anything in season–was common in most urban households as most Greek families extend back to “the village”. But has the Greek capital’s population become so urbanized that box schemes are taking root?

Organic produce box delivery schemes began in large urban centers in the U.K. and the U.S. like San Francisco, an outgrowth of the environmental movement aiming to limit food’s environmental footprint while also encouraging people to support local producers and consume more foods in season. In the U.K. alone, such schemes–which deliver a seasonal selection of fresh vegetables to your doorstep in a box–outnumber farmer’s markets.
But Greek urbanites have greater access to fresh fruit and vegetables thanks to the weekly neighborhood street market, or laiki, where producers sell at stalls. And they receive regular goodie boxes from relatives in the village. Nonetheless, an organic box scheme launched in Athens has quickly built a loyal customer base–not least because produce prices are twenty to twenty-five per cent cheaper than at the market.
Kostas Kremmydas, founder of Greece’s first (and thus far) only organic produce delivery scheme, Biobox, had been involved in organic farming for over a decade when he obtained his M.Sc. in Organic Farming. It was during graduate studies in Scotland that he saw how many organic farmers were selling their goods through box deliveries.
While intrigued, Kremmydas was wary initially. “In the U.K., deliveries began so consumers had access to organic products because it wasn’t easy for farmers to reach consumers. In Greece, there were so many farmers’ markets. People would go to the laiki to pick up their weekly fruits and vegetables.”
Returning to Greece, he realized times were changing. One evening, while stuck in a particularly nasty traffic jam, he was struck by the idea of introducing box schemes to Greece.
 “I was working in Athens then, and whenever I would leave late to go home I would watch all the other people stuck in traffic at 7 p.m. I would think: ‘These people have families, they have to go home with groceries and cook. They didn’t have time to go to a farmers’ market–they didn’t even have time to think.’ Sure, they could run in and pick up something at the supermarket. But they don’t know where their produce comes from, who it comes from, how fresh it is.”
Operating from Kissamos, Crete, Kremmydas launched his website as a direct link between consumers in Athens and organic farmers with their in-season and certified-organic produce. The website would replicate the traditional farmers’ market experience but would be exclusively organic and devoid of middlemen. Online shoppers could inquire about, choose, and order produce at any hour of the day and have it delivered to their homes.  
Kremmydas says the delivery scheme brings the experience of the local, organic farmers’ market right to busy Athenian workaholics’ homes. Through posts on Biobox and emails, Kremmydas informs consumers about what produce is in season and available from organic farmers on Crete–and where each item comes from. He also makes recommendations. “Someone can come home late at night, sit at their laptop, and carefully choose what fruits and vegetables are in season for the family’s kitchen. They trust me. They know I offer fresh, organic produce.”
Having produce delivered rather than selecting it the market or a store, says Kremmydas “is admittedly a modern and new concept for Greece”. Yet he has found consumers in Athens want to fit mindful eating into their busy schedules.
Indeed, more than 400 people have placed orders with Biobox, which processes between fifty and a hundred orders per week. There’s a weekly selection of thirty to forty types of organic fruits and vegetables on offer every week, as well as olive oil.
Consumers also receive a crash course about what they’re ordering as Kremmydas’s weekly email includes information about organic farming in Greece and the farmers themselves. Consumers also receive a produce catalog as Biobox takes orders by email, fax, or phone. “I’m trying to cultivate an even bigger variety of crops. I always suggest in my emails when something is particularly good,” he says. Biobox’s Cretan oranges, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers and the myriad local greens are all popular.
“Many working parents want the best for their children,” he says. “They’re concerned about pollution, about pesticides. But while they start placing orders just for their children, soon they are ordering enough for the whole family.”