Despite being on the subway every other day in Manhattan, I still haven’t developed that “New Yorker look,” as I like to call it. They’re the people on the subway, looking down at their feet or their phones if on a line that has cell service, not making eye contact with anyone around them. I have a tendency to look around a lot and survey my surroundings, which I believe to be a positive thing, and I constantly read those ads sitting above people’s heads. The other day an ad caught my eye for boxed.com.

Boxed.com is like Costco but online, selling wholesale products for surprisingly similar if not identical prices as Costco’s. They actually buy their products from Costco and are a subsidy of Costco. It was started 2 years ago, and it’s been doing relatively well.

One thing I immediately noticed browsing boxed.com’s website is the absence of fruits and vegetables. There are multiple “aisles” to “walk down” and one thing among these categories is “fruit and nuts,” but it is only filled with fruit cups and dried fruits. This could be a fairly obvious solution to food deserts, since wholesale is the cheapest way to buy food. They also offer cleaning, health, beauty, pet, and office supplies, and a lot more of it, mimicking Amazon’s supermarket.

Boxed.com ships anywhere in the US and costs $5.99-$9.99, depending on the size of your order and where you ship it. And your first order ships free. In part of New York, New Jersey, Boston, and Atlanta Boxed Express is offered, where the user chooses a time and a “shopper” will go to the local Costco for you and bring them. Even better, it’s free for orders over $75, and personally my family never goes to Costco without spending at least $150. Compared to the prices of the Costco membership, these shipping costs are pretty minuscule if you only buy groceries once a month. There’s even a mobile app and SO many Retail Me Not coupons, and reward points that are redeemed for coupons. Although, EBT and food stamps are not offered “at this time,” but that probably means they’re looking into it.

Boxed.com could be a relatively simple solution to food deserts, especially since Boxed Express could expand into more areas soon. Boxed.com would probably do best by offering a membership for free shipping, and we can hope they can accept food stamps soon.