5 Dallas Best-Kept Wellness Secrets

office fresh fruit delivery

“Off The Beaten Path” Suggestions for Healthy Living in DFW.

HIKING

Cedar Hill. If you park on the east side of the Cedar Hill 9th Grade Center during non-school hours, you’ll find an open field with a steep slope that serves as a trailhead for some of DFW’s best hiking. You will be led into more than four miles of trails which sit on property once owned by Northwood University, with terrain reminiscent of the best of the Texas Hill Country. Cedar and juniper frame tracks narrow and wide, and there’s even the remnants of an Exertrail (monkey bars and all) over to the east. The elevation changes are as challenging as one can expect in our area, with limestone primarily underfoot to keep the trail from getting as muddy as its Cedar Hill Nature Preserve counterpart. 1515 W Belt Line Rd, Cedar Hill, TX 75104.

BIKING

Oak Cliff Nature Preserve. While many cycling enthusiasts know about this south Dallas gem, there are many casual trail riders who have lived here for decades with no idea of its availability. The trailhead can be accessed by taking the DART Rail Red Line to its Westmoreland Station terminus, and from there, 6.5 miles of intersecting trails can provide hours of interesting technical riding among the pecan and bois d’arc. The preserve is part of the Texas Land Conservancy and maintained by the Dallas Off-Road Bicycle Association2875 Pierce St, Dallas, TX 75233.

EATING

ORCHARD At The OFFICE. This Richardson-based office fruit delivery service has a single purpose: to deliver fresh fruit to businesses in the DFW area. Offerings come in artfully-arranged fruit baskets or in bulk packages for larger operations. Bananas, apples, avocados, clementines, and even mangoes and grapes are available to offices any day of the week. They’re ideal for offices looking for healthy snacks or to make the most of their wellness budgethttps://orchardattheoffice.com 972.295.9091.

DRINKING

Eiland Coffee Roasters. Another Richardson business, Eiland imports coffee beans from all over the world and roasts them in an enormous cast-iron apparatus in their warehouse. They specialize in coffee by the pound, and the beans they supply from various Ethiopian, Brazilian, and Sumatran regions (to name just a few) will make you a coffee snob. Recently they’ve put more energy into their retail side, so whether you’re looking for a vendor for your business or a great-tasting latte, they’re a great choice. http://www.eilandcoffee.com 532 N. Interurban St, Richardson, TX 75081.

WORKOUT

Sweat Society. Just southeast of Frisco’s main square sits a workout facility that serves as an antidote to the big box gym concept. Sweat Society is more of a shared workout experience with seasoned trainers guiding clientele through High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) methods. Loyalty remains high as regulars feel like family, and the skillset of the training staff gives every session a personalized feel. https://sweatsociety.net 7151 Preston Rd Suite 141, Frisco, TX 75034.

Fresh Fruit At The Office Sells Itself

fresh fruit at the office sells itselfWe don’t sell our fresh fruit delivery service so much as offer it. “Would you like fresh fruit delivered to your office?” After that, it’s simply a matter of sorting out the details. ORCHARD At The OFFICE is proud to provide fresh fruit delivery to businesses throughout the Dallas / Fort Worth area. It’s what we do and it’s all we do. Our singleness of purpose gives us the ability to focus on providing the highest quality service to the best of our ability.

FRESH FRUIT SELLS ITSELF

Our fruit baskets consist primarily of “the ABCs” – apples, bananas, and clementines. Bananas are the most popular fresh fruit, not only in Texas but in all of the United States. Americans consume an average of 13.5 pounds per person! The apples we use are primarily JAZZ, a cross between Gala and Braeburn with a subtle sweetness and enduring firm texture that satisfies most palates. Of course, we offer a variety of other fresh fruit, including grapes, berries, mangoes, and so on. With the popularity of the ketogenic diet, we’ve also seen a spike in avocado demand and are happy to accommodate.

fresh fruit in fitness center

OFFICES ARE GETTING HEALTHY

In the past decade, one of the major corporate catchphrases has been “wellness programs.” Company-driven initiatives to promote employee health are encouraged and incentivized. In its worksite wellness manual, the Texas Department of State Health Services lists a variety of measures that businesses can take to improve the fitness of their workforce, including health fairs and “healthy food.” This is, of course, where fresh fruit comes in. (For more information on what your company can do, refer to this D Magazine blog post on “Getting The Most From Your Wellness Program.”)

SUPERIOR CUSTOMER SERVICE

In 2017, we shared some of our secrets on ORCHARD At The OFFICE customer service, and we could probably write a dozen or more articles on the topic…especially as we learn more all the time. The most salient points for anyone thinking “what’s the best office fresh fruit delivery near me?” that comprise the ORCHARD At The OFFICE difference are:

  • We’re local. As a Texas-based company, we can be attentive to your needs in a way that is simply not possible for any larger operation. We’re your neighbors in DFW and Greater Houston and think of you as such.
  • Personalized attention. It never benefits us to oversell. We want you to get “the best banana for the buck”. We’ll work with you to get the quantity and variety you want in a mutually-beneficial arrangement.
  • Simple financial terms. There are never any contracts, so you can try us out with no commitment. We’re certain our fresh fruit and obsessive customer care will keep you coming back. We’ll work with you to provide the service you need. Payments can be made by check (paper or electronic) or credit card.

ANY BUSINESS, ANY SIZE.

Some of the offices we serve have a staff of 5. Others have a workforce of 3,000. Therefore, we’ve developed options that will accommodate any office. While our most common order is a weekly delivery of a Premium Large Basket which holds 50+ pieces of fruit,  we’ll gladly deliver smaller orders such as our Mini Basket (16+ pieces), all the way up to our “Fortune 600 Special”, a bulk special that will satisfy hundreds of staffers. Whatever your needs, we’ve got you covered.

Visit the ORCHARD At The OFFICE website to get Wellness Delivered today.

If you’d like to speak with someone directly, call 972-295-9091.

Laughter, Humility, Dedication: The Heart of Community Service

office fresh fruit delivery

Harvest Project Food Rescue keeps its feet on the ground and a smile on its face.

It’s early Saturday morning. Danae Gutierrez pulls into Lipman Family Farms, a massive produce wholesaler, driving her old white pickup with her son Dorian riding along. She uses it because it gets the job done. She makes this trip every Saturday morning because she gets the job done. Her mission: to pick up as much unsalable but sufficiently edible produce as the flatbed will allow, and drive it down to one of several locations throughout DFW – in this case, San Francisco De Asis Episcopal Church – where a team of volunteers will work to sort the food for redistribution.

It’s called the Harvest Project Food Rescue, and each word in the name is completely accurate.

“We didn’t even have a name when we first started!” laughs Ms. Gutierrez, recalling the origins of an organization that started, and has remained, humble. “We didn’t have a truck or anything. We really started with nothing. That’s why I couldn’t take all the grapefruit!”

To explain that statement necessitates a bit of history…

Gutierrez and her parents emigrated to the United States when she was seven. With low-income potential, her family often experienced food insecurity, unsure of where their next meals would come from. For this reason and many others, her parents placed a high value on education, and Danae’s intellect and vibrant, outgoing personality served her well throughout her formative years. She is not afraid of hard work and is willing to step in when she sees that “somebody needs to do it!”

When her son Dorian became a student at Cigarroa Elementary in Dallas, she saw a need for leadership at the PTA. Before long, she was elected President and even received a DISD Volunteer Impact Award for School Support. During this time, she met Luis Carrillo, a fellow PTA board member who was also working with Dallas Mexico Casa Guanajuato, a community center serving the Mexican citizens of Dallas. Carrillo was seeking quality produce for the senior citizens, as the contributions they were receiving were not always usable. Gutierrez said, “well, somebody needs to do it”, and in the summer of 2014, she went about the process of talking to the produce wholesalers near the Farmers Market.

“I went to this one place, and they had twenty-five boxes of beautiful grapefruit!” Gutierrez recalls. “They had a couple of blemishes on the skin, so they weren’t for sale, but they were in great shape. So I took a box and they were saying, ‘when are you coming back for the other twenty-four?’” She laughs and says, “That’s when I realized there were literal tons of produce going to waste, and we just had to get it to the people who needed it.”

Ms. Gutierrez smiles as she recalls the origins of Harvest Project, as she smiles about many things. Her positivity and tenacity transform the seemingly onerous task of food rescue into a positive mission.

Since 2014, Harvest Project has grown – cautiously, responsibly, and humbly. Gutierrez wants to be sure the nonprofit never gets so ambitious that it overreaches its primary purpose. “We don’t want to have people who are counting on us to be waiting around, because we’re spending too much time going too many places.” In a given month, Harvest Project will take its seven vehicles to seven locations – some weekly, some semi-weekly, some monthly. They now serve thousands of families every month in locations ranging from South Dallas to Arlington.

The volunteer arm is fully self-supporting, in that all of those who serve at each site are participants. Gutierrez explains, “The people who assist are willing to show up early and get things sorted and set up, because they get first choice of the produce.” As always, humility is the acme of the project, and this is a big part of the training as well: since the volunteers are participants, it is made clear that they are to treat their fellow recipients as equals. “We won’t allow people to be like, ‘oh, we’re the ones giving you the food, so we’re better than you.’ Because the volunteers are receiving contributions, and getting first pick of the produce is a perk, everyone’s in the same boat – and we usually have too many volunteers! There’s a waiting list of people willing to help.”

The process of “food rescue” goes beyond distribution. Participants in the programs are given valuable tips on preparation, storage, financially-responsible shopping…even composting. Self-support is always the goal.

While the organization may have started with Hispanic leanings, the participants and volunteers come from all over the globe, as one would expect when dealing with a community as culturally-varied as DFW. “Food insecurity can affect everyone,” Gutierrez says, “and it was humbling for me to find that even I had assumptions of what need looked like, and every week I see proof that it’s a challenge that transcends cultures.” But just as the challenges can be transcendent, so too can solutions, and participants work to find ways of overcoming language and ideological barriers to make Harvest Project work.

Sometimes these differences can provide educational opportunities. “In one area, we have a lot of participants who are refugees from Myanmar,” Gutierrez says, “and I was picking up the produce to bring to that mission, and I got all these banana leaves. I thought, ‘What is anyone going to do with a banana leaf?’ So we get out there, and all these refugees got so excited! I didn’t know that in Myanmar banana leaves are used like husks are used for tamales in Mexico. Not only did I learn something new about a culture, but also I now know how to use a banana leaf to make food in my home!”

The key to the success of Harvest Project Food Rescue is a clarity of purpose and humility. Provide produce and education for communities in DFW experiencing food insecurity one banana at a time – and with a smile.

ORCHARD At The OFFICE, the largest provider of fresh fruit delivery to offices in Texas, is proud to contribute to such an important organization and salutes the inspiring work of Ms. Gutierrez, who has been a member of the ORCHARD At The OFFICE team since 2017. We are grateful to the many others like her in every community, whose names so often go unmentioned.

If you would like to make a donation to Harvest Project Food Rescue, visit http://www.harvestproject.co.

Meet Chris Buchanan and Kevin Long of ORCHARD At The OFFICE

Happy office workers

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Buchanan and Kevin Long.

Chris and Kevin, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
The seed for ORCHARD At The OFFICE was planted in 2010, when our “Chief Banana” (that’s what it says on his business card), Kevin Long, was working as a Creative Director for an advertising firm and decided to bring fresh fruit into the office in lieu of the usual sugary snacks. The fruit was devoured instantly, and Long knew he was onto something. By October of that year, he was ready to convert the potential to kinetic, and ORCHARD At The OFFICE emerged.

In the years since growth has been exponential. For some time we’ve been the largest office fruit delivery service in North Texas, providing Metroplex businesses large and small with tons of bananas, Jazz apples, the ever-popular clementines, plums, grapes, berries… a whole variety of fruit flavors.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Trial and error is, of course, a necessity of growth. Nothing is truly a mistake if one learns from it, and if we did everything the exact same year after year, we’d surely stagnate and eventually wither away!

The biggest challenge we’ve faced – and I doubt it’s unique to us – has been the issue of training and documentation. When it’s just a couple of people running a business, very little is written down: everyone just “knows”. Once the business grows and new people are brought in, knowledge gaps become apparent. After I heard myself saying “Did you not know that? Oh, wait… how would you have known?” I realized we needed to make a concerted effort to put documentation together and create training procedures.

What are you most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others?
Critical to our success is our singleness of purpose: we provide fresh fruit to D/FW offices, pure and simple. Focusing on doing one thing exceptionally well allows us to stay on track. Now, there are plenty of people who could simply provide fruit to offices. The two things that have allowed us to thrive, even as competition has emerged, our dedication to premium quality and superior customer service.

“Premium quality” means that we’re willing to apply the extra time and dime to giving our friends-in-wellness the “best banana for the buck”: top-of-the-line fruit, hand-inspected, and always guaranteed. “Superior customer service” means, not just individual attention, but the goal of a 24-hour turnaround for any issue. No phone trees, no dismissing customer concerns under the guise of “company policy”. We care about our customers and their wishes, and we’re rather obsessive about exceeding their expectations.

Contact Info:

The Best Banana For the Buck

The best in fresh fruit delivery for D/FW

An office fruit delivery company’s value proposition keeps them lean and hungry.

Richardson-based ORCHARD At The OFFICE started in October 2010 with a single and simple concept: delivering fresh fruit to businesses in the Dallas / Fort Worth Metroplex. It’s proved to be a winning idea and we’ve long been the largest office fruit delivery service in north Texas. Our hundreds of clients have staff sizes ranging from two to two thousand, and we treat each of their regular deliveries with the same care we’d show our best friends.

As the Operations Wiseapple, I’ve gotten to see firsthand what’s worked for us, and thought about what might be useful for other small businesses in any industry. It would be accurate to say the keys to our success have been “perseverance”, “focus”, or “determination”, but these generalities do not inherently guarantee longevity. Many businesses founded on good ideas fail. The entrepreneurs involved had loads of determination and focus, and persevered until the bitter end. What’s been the difference for us, in a practical sense?

While there are many answers, some of which I’m too involved to divine, a primary principle I can share involves responsible use of budgets. In our office, we call it getting “the best banana for the buck”. Quite simply, when dealing with any expense, we ask ourselves “will this improve the quality of our customer’s experience?”

A question like this can cause one to be either miserly or extravagant. It can result in spending an exorbitant amount of time and dime attempting to quantify the effects of spending. (“Did customer’s perceptions of our service increase or decrease when our representatives wore salmon-colored collared shirts as opposed to navy?”) I can’t speak to what’s right for every business, but I can freely share our own experience, based on trial-and-error, that’s helped us walk an acceptable middle path.

Aesthetic Value: A Modest-But-Inviting Workplace

During the boom-and-bust of the “dot.com bubble” in the late 1990s, one trend stood out to me more than any other: given a tremendous amount of speculative seed capital, startup companies would rent lavish office space, often laden with sleek Scandinavian furniture, and spare no expense to make their working environment impressive to customers and inviting to talented employees. Of course, most of these web-based firms hadn’t actually worked out monetization, and the predictable result, as history illustrates, was that most went belly-up, sooner than later.

Our takeaway from this was to make sure we found the line between an overly-Spartan and ostentatious workspace. To give a few practical examples: do we need to spend money hiring professionals to stencil our logo on the walls? Not for us. We’re fairly certain our employees know where they are and who they work for. Do we really need nice furniture or fancy artwork? To these, we answered: yes, to a point. We do want our employees to feel comfortable – simple amenities like a couch to relax or healthy snacks (including the fresh fruit we supply) have been shown in studies to create more productive employees. But we have found no added value in buying expensive new furniture, and at the same time we didn’t want to chuck some smoky craigslist abomination of a sofa into a dimly-lit “break room”. Instead, we simply brought surplus items from home and encouraged staff to do the same. It’s created a cozy, eclectic environment that makes hours seem easier and lets dollars go farther.

Driven by Principle: Spreading the Word

On the one hand, a family business must be realistic about its budget. On the other hand, if it only spends like – or thinks like – a family business, that’s all it will ever be. ORCHARD At The OFFICE wants to make sure people are aware of who we are and what we do, but how do we best accomplish that?

This is where the “quality of experience” yardstick comes into play. It would not, in our estimation, help existing or prospective customers enjoy our fruit more if we invested in wraps for our delivery vehicles. Instead, that money is invested in making sure the vehicles we own work, and reliably. Money spent on maintenance goes much farther than money spent on décor, though of course, the two are not mutually exclusive. Additionally, ORCHARD At The OFFICE made the decision many years ago that it would make more sense to pay for someone else’s well-maintained vehicles than try to own a fleet of our own, and so we rent vans as needed throughout the week. We’ve found it works better than asking drivers to put mileage on their own cars (to which they may not apply the same maintenance standards), while keeping us from having to pay for an abundance of vehicles that don’t need to be in service on a daily basis.

So this frees up some money – but where to use it? Our goal isn’t just to have minimal expense, and we still need to promote it. For us, there’s been a variety of methods, but one that’s been of benefit to us (and would be to many others) has been to look to contribute to civic organizations with goals similar to our own.

A primary example is our partnership with the Dallas Running Club, who host a race nearly every month. We’ve been supplying bananas for the athletes to enjoy at the finish line for quite some time, and the exposure has been invaluable. It’s an obvious example of a win-win, and we’re happy to know that regardless of the outcome, we’ve helped contribute to a healthier Dallas! After all, that is the bedrock upon which ORCHARD At The OFFICE was built.

These specific instances may be unique to us, but they are again meant to be illustrative of how the principle of “best banana for the buck” (or “best product for the dollar”, or “best service per cent”) can be applied to all facets of a business, great or small.

Use the Entire Apple

I cannot verify if any group of people, indigenous or otherwise, made use of every bit of any animal they hunted. I can only say that for our business, the idea of repurposing as much as possible has helped us control costs and aided in budget decisions.

To give one example: the Jazz apples we use arrive in cardboard boxes. Obviously, we sell the apples, but what to do with the boxes? The answer was quite simple: for those who wanted a greater quantity of fruit but didn’t require the aesthetic appeal of our trademark baskets, we offered the Office Select Box. The produce is all still hand-selected to guarantee quality, but we don’t spend the money on presentation in a fancy box emblazoned with our logo. This helps us keep the cost down, and instead put the packaging money into buying the baskets for those who want them.

This idea holds true with all our fruit boxes – we use them, as is, for shipping and distribution wherever possible. We let the quality of the product be our brand, and in that regard, we spare little expense. The aforementioned Jazz apples cost considerably more than the thick-skinned Red Delicious doled out to you in the school cafeteria…and with good reason. They’re objectively better quality, and thus meet our criteria of “best banana for the buck”.


 

Perhaps your organization operates under an entirely different premise. You may read every sentence I’ve written and think “we would do the exact opposite”. If that is your reaction, I will still feel I have done a service as my goal is not to seek agreement, but to get small business managers thinking. Considering the “how” and “why” of success allows us to continue down the right path while perhaps taking corrective steps. I certainly encourage other entrepreneurs (or those who work alongside them, as I do) to put their own thoughts and ideas to paper, ideally after enjoying some fresh fruit from ORCHARD At The OFFICE!

To inquire about fresh fruit delivery for your office, visit http://orchardattheoffice.com, e-mail getfruit@orchardattheoffice.com or call 972.295.9091.