Brooklyn’s Whole Foods is adding another green advancement to its initiatives already in place, including wind turbines and an on-site greenhouse.  Launching this summer, the Whole Foods on 3rd and Third will make deliveries using specially designed bikes with solar powered units to keep food temperature-controlled.  The bikes will replace delivery vans, and will not only reduce the carbon impact of deliveries, they will expedite deliveries as drivers don’t have to search for parking spaces.  A win-win!

Brooklyn Whole Foods Now Makes Bike Deliveries

Cities like New York are making it cool to bike again as commuters ditch their expensive cars for pedal power. It isn’t just the average office worker who is getting a two-wheeled workout though. A Whole Foods market in Brooklyn has begun making deliveries by electric-assisted bicycles, replacing delivery vans as the method of transportation reports Treehugger.

The Whole Foods on Third and 3rd in Brookyln already has a number of sustainable efforts that includes a rooftop garden and solar array. The bicycle delivery scheme is just the latest creative solution to the congested streets of New York. Thanks to a partnership withPeople’s Cargo delivery bikes, the Bullit Cargo bike is now making deliveries across the hipster paradise known as Brooklyn.

The smaller and more maneuverable bikes aim to not only reduce Whole Food’s carbon footprint, but also speed up delivery times as well. How? Because drivers no longer need to search ten minutes for a parking spot to drop off $70 worth of quinoa and kale. It’ll be interesting to see if this idea spreads to other stores, or falls by the wayside once the harsh Northeastern winter returns.But the delivery bike trend has been taking off all over the world and in far colder places, so as long as the roads are plowed, bikers can bike.

With bikes fast becoming more than just a means of commuting, what other businesses might benefit from pedal-powered delivery systems?