Frequently Asked Questions

We are a local, family-owned and operated small business: 

For more than 100 years, our family has brought a farm-to-table approach to the wholesale produce business in the Greater-Boston area, providing fresh produce to restaurants, institutions and grocers. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, we launched New England Country Mart, serving customers throughout Greater- Boston who are increasingly staying home and seeking premium, hand-selected ingredients from local, New England businesses. We’ve expanded our delivery area to include Cape Cod and Rhode Island, with more expansions in the works.  

Synonymous with convenience, quality, and excellent customer service, New England Country Mart knows how to deliver the goods like no one else, carrying products you love, and ones you never knew even existed, produced right in our own backyard. NECM cuts out the middleman, practices sustainability, and connects to the community through local producers and providers to bring you the freshest, most unique, and essential products directly to your door.

Our commitment to quality, safety & health:

We take extraordinary measures to ensure that we deliver only fresh, premium, restaurant-quality ingredients groceries to your home. We offer produce from reputable and trusted growers and other fresh and prepared food products from local partners we know and trust. 

We insist that our growers and warehouse handlers adhere to rigorous safety measures at all times so that you receive the highest quality products. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have ramped up all safety measures and we are following strict protocols and procedures as instructed by the CDC and World Health Organization in preparation of our deliveries and in our warehouse.

Supporting Communities in Need:

We are also proud to support organizations and people in need throughout our community.

We partner with many local organizations such as the Newton Food Pantry, MGH Food Pantry, Newton Public Schools, Wellesley United Church, to name a few. 

Here at NECM, we believe food not only provides sustenance and pleasure, but also brings families and communities closer together. Our family and this service has deep roots in the Greater-Boston area, and we maintain the highest standards in the industry. 

NECM Kitchen is here to bring you convenience, with freshly prepared, cut & chopped fruits, veggies, as well as a growing list of prepared foods such as salads, yogurt parfaits, homemade pasta, chicken and tuna salads, meatballs, chicken parm, lasagnas, homemade marinara sauce, plus pizza, taco, slider and sushi kits and more!  Our prepared foods are flavorful and seasonally curated, and loaded with the same premium, nutritional ingredients from local businesses whose products we carry at New England Country Mart (NECM). NECM Kitchen is a scratch kitchen where everything is small-batch homemade and freshly prepared to order for home delivery. We are building this new service to offer convenience during the pandemic and beyond. 

NECM is committed to quality and locally sourced ingredients, always. This, paired with the culinary background of Chef Justin Wright and our generations of experience with fresh premium ingredients, results in nutritious, flavorful, and thoughtfully prepared foods. This not only helps support our community of local businesses, but also speaks to our commitment to the quality of our service and selection. 

We are a local produce and grocery home delivery service offering the highest quality seasonal fruits and vegetables, as well as a wide variety of other fresh foods and pantry items such as fresh fish and meat, a wide selection specialty cheeses, snacks, sweets, condiments, prepared foods, and more – primarily sourced from roughly 100 local business across New England! We value everything New England has to offer. We carefully curate our offerings with a large variety of local artisan brands and we add new local products each week. We are here to offer a wide variety of options that offer not only freshness and flavor, but also convenience!

Don’t see something you’re looking for? Drop us a message and let us know (info@newenglandcountrymart.com) 

We offer NEXT DAY, FREE delivery if you order by NOON the day before you’d like your order to arrive at your doorstep! 

Never! You only receive food when you log-in and order. 

The minimum order is $75, with next day FREE delivery if your order is placed by 12PM the day before!  

In select towns* orders placed between 12PM-11:59PM the day before your delivery day have a $5.99 next day delivery fee and the order will be delivered on our afternoon route.

Additionally, we offer Same Day Delivery in select towns* Monday through Friday if your order is placed between 12AM-12PM the same day you want delivery for just $8.99.

*At this time, towns include: Allston, Auburndale, Boston, East/South Boston, Brighton, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Chestnut Hill, Dorchester, Everett, Jamaica Plain, Medford, Needham, Needham Heights, Newton, Newton Center, Newton Highlands, West Newton, Newtonville, Roslindale, Somerville, Waban, Wellesley, Wellesley Hills, Weston, West Roxbury.

For all Martha’s Vineyard orders, there will be a $20 ferry surcharge. 

As long as your order is still “in process,” you can modify your delivery date up until 12PM the day before your scheduled delivery date. You can do this when logged-in to your account, through order history.

We set a deadline for all pre-orders to be placed, modified, or canceled. After this deadline, all orders are FINAL SALE. 

No, unfortunately at this time you are not able to edit your order. But, we are here and happy to add anything you need to an order already placed!  Alternatively, you can place another order with the items you desire, or you can contact our team for help (info@newenglandcountrymart.com). 

Yes! What a kind gesture! You will need to create a separate order and ensure the “shipping” address is updated to your desired location.

We deliver Monday through Saturday within the 495 belt. We are making deliveries to parts of Southern NH on Wednesdays,  most of Rhode Island, including Dartmouth (MA), and Westport (MA) on Thursdays, ALL of Cape Cod on Tuesdays & Fridays.

Through summer 2021, Martha’s Vineyard deliveries will be every Thursday beginning June 3, 2021 through Labor Day weekend, with a preview delivery day on May 13!

More details can be found here. 

Please be in touch with us directly for more information (info@newenglandcountrymart.com). 

Yes! As of 1/4/2021, in select cities and towns, we are offering Same Day Delivery if your order is placed between 12AM – 12PM the same day you want delivery for just $8.99. 

At this time, select service areas include: Allston, Auburndale, Boston, East/ South Boston, Brighton, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Chestnut Hill, Dorchester, Everett, Jamaica Plain, Medford, Needham, Needham Heights, Newton, Newton Highlands, Newton Center, West Newton, Newtonville, Roslindale, Somerville, Waban, Wellesley, Wellesley Hills, Weston, West Roxbury

Please note: Orders placed same day will be delivered between 1-5PM unless notified otherwise. 

We hope to expand our Same Day Delivery service area soon, and thank you for your patience as we develop this new service enhancement! 

As always, we will offer FREE NEXT DAY DELIVERY for all orders placed by 12PM the day before with the exception of Martha’s Vineyard deliveries through Summer 2021. 

We offer a wide range of organic products, which are labeled in our online shop. We are expanding our organic product line every week.

The evening before your scheduled delivery, you will receive an e-mail notification with your 1.5 hour delivery window. You will also receive a text and an e-mail notification when your order is delivered. 

Orders placed before 12PM the day before your scheduled delivery will arrive between roughly 6:30AM-12PM. Orders placed after 12PM for Next Day delivery, or 12AM-12PM for Same Day Delivery will be delivered between 1-5PM unless otherwise notified.

Please select the next available delivery date or please contact us for help – we are always willing and happy to accommodate whenever possible! 

Contact us at: info@newenglandcountrymart.com

While you cannot make a recurring order at this time, you can access your order history when you are logged into your account, through Order History and can duplicate a past order, adding/modifying that previous list as you wish!

At check-out, you may choose to add a tip for the delivery driver. Tip cannot be retroactively added to your order once it’s placed. 

All of our meat comes fresh from our supplier several times per week. Additionally,  all meat comes in Cryovac packaging, which is a superior packing technology that allows fresh meat to be kept fresher for longer. Please note: the meat will also sweat while in the packaging and can result in an unpleasant smell when you first open the packaging, which is not an indication of the freshness of the meat. Additionally, meat that has been deprived of oxygen will become darker and the smell is not an indicator of a problem with the meat, it’s known as “confinement odor” and is a result of the vacuum sealing process. After a few minutes the smell will disappear and the color will return to normal.

Meat kept in the refrigerator is recommended to be used within 3-4 days. We recommend you use meats that are put in the freezer within 4 weeks. 

The USDA recommends storing all frozen foods at 0° F (or lower) to retain vitamin content, color, flavor and texture for optimum taste and tenderness.

Once opened, all milk lasts four to seven days past its printed date, if refrigerated. If unopened, whole milk lasts five to seven days, reduced-fat and skim milk may last seven days, and non-fat and lactose-free milk last seven to 10 days past its printed date, if refrigerated properly. How you store your milk is pivotal to its freshness. According to the FDA, if milk is left un-refrigerated for more than two hours, it’s considered unsafe to consume. Additionally, there’s even a recommended, specific location in your refrigerator where you should store your milk — and it’s not on the door’s shelves. Milk should be stored at 38° to 40°F in the same container it came in, and far away from the door. When milk is stored on the refrigerator door’s shelves, it’s being exposed to warm air each time it’s opened, which encourages bacterial growth.

We do not accept returns of items, but please be in touch directly with us within 2-days of receiving your order if it:

• Is missing items
• Contains damaged, spoiled, or otherwise unusable items (please refer to the FAQs about meat and dairy products) and please provide a photo of the product when reaching out to us.

Please be in touch with us directly if any of these apply: info@newenglandcountrymart.com

At J.W. Lopes/New England Country Mart, the health and safety of our customers, employees, and community are our top priority.  We are taking every and all precautions to stay on top of the current COVID-19 outbreak to make sure that we can continue running a safe operation and service our customers. We are carefully monitoring developments with regard to COVID-19, including guidelines issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

To that end, we are ensuring that all of our surfaces and warehouse spaces are being cleaned and disinfected properly and professionally.  We have hand-wipe containers and 60%+ alcohol-based hand-sanitizer dispensers throughout our warehouse, and all employees are gloved and wear masks while preparing orders. 

Despite the abundance of plastic bags we use to prepare each box, we take a great deal of precaution to bag each item within the box to ensure there is no extra handling of each item. Because we are a produce wholesaler, our product comes directly from the distributor right into our warehouse, is packaged and delivered direct to your door. With this process, your produce has much fewer “touch points” than what you are buying at a local grocer, where the product is exposed for long periods of time and handled by various personnel (putting out for presentation, rotating the product, etc.) and customers on a daily basis. 

Additionally, the J.W. Lopes delivery personnel respect social distancing, as the boxes are dropped on your doorstep with contact-less delivery.

As of 12/29/2020, YES! In order to continue our sustainability efforts, and after extensive evaluation of the latest CDC guidelines together with medical guidance, we are thrilled to announce that we will begin offering pick-up of all New England Country Mart packaging. This includes all boxes, packing inserts, and ice packs.

Please note: Our drivers will only collect boxes that are collapsed, ice packs that are defrosted, and additional packaging and liners if they are left outside in a visible location prior to your next delivery. We will not be able to coordinate pick-up outside of our daily delivery routes. 

We are grateful for your continued patience and support as we enhance and develop our local grocery delivery service to best meet your needs. The health and well-being of our customers and employees is our top priority and we appreciate all of your on-going feedback along the way!

We are not a nut free facility, but we do follow a detailed HAACP plan which is the industry standard for food safety. Our plan allows us to keep nuts in a certain area of the building so there is no cross-contamination with other products.