It's 11:30 on a Tuesday morning. I'm one hour into a four-hour meeting being conducted at my dining room table. At 2:30, I'll be zipping off to Hillsboro High to pick up my daughter. Thanks to errands, tennis lessons and my son's baseball game, I know I won't be home again until after 7, with only enough time to throw last night's leftovers in the microwave.

From the corner of my eye, I spot the purple Plumgood truck that drives into view of my front porch window and stops in front of my house; I literally clap my hands with delight. Only a sky-blue truck wrapped in a white satin ribbon could make me happier, but I don't think Tiffany's has a home-delivery truck.

And at that moment, what I need is more important than what I want. While Tiffany bling is a luxury—one I am far too rarely afforded—home delivery of groceries is about the most civilized thing I can imagine. For those immersed in the zoom-zoom of active children and demanding jobs, or for those who are housebound for one reason or another, it is a practicality.

Plumgood Food, founded and owned by Kate and Eric Satz, began operations out of its Cannery Row warehouse and offices the last week of October, a milestone that was preceded by months of preparation, planning and marketing. The seed for Plumgood was planted while the couple were living in San Francisco during the rise and fall of the dot.com phenomenon.

One of those spectacular failures was Webvan, an online grocery service that Katie used in San Francisco. When Webvan crashed and burned, Katie found another company that just did organic produce. "You never knew what you were going to get week by week, which was fun for me because I love to cook, but not everyone likes that."

With their children getting older, the Satzes wanted to be closer to their families, so they moved back to Nashville. They wanted to do something entrepreneurial, though they weren't certain what that would be. An idea soon materialized. "I hated driving into Green Hills to do my grocery shopping," Katie says. "It sucked up so much time and was aggravating because, from our experience in San Francisco, I knew there was an easier way."

Bingo. "People in the food business knew online grocery shopping could work; it just had to be done in the right way," says Eric. "This is new to the consumer. We are asking them to change a habit that people have been doing since the beginning of time."

But not necessarily enjoying. A feature story in the New York Times Dining In, Dining Out section noted that, in a 2004 national survey of happiness among women published in Science magazine, grocery shopping ranked 27th of 28 daily activities on the happiness scale. (Cleaning came in last.)

A 2-year-old company called FreshDirect has found success (and $600,000 in parking tickets) in Manhattan and outlying boroughs by aggressive, targeted marketing, expanding vertically by saturating the high-rise apartment buildings common to the city. Applying the same idea to their fledgling business in Nashville, Plumgood decided to target ZIP codes, beginning with the obvious ones in the inner loop, and sent out introductory emails to likely demographics. Just over three months later, their delivery area expanded to 10 additional ZIP codes, and more will be added as interest grows.

The two purple trucks roaming the city and outlying areas represent the final step in the Plumgood process, which begins on the computers in the communal office, shared by the Satzes and the office/creative staff. When an order arrives, it is processed, a ticket is printed, and the order filler follows that ticket through the warehouse—similar to how you grocery shop, though without the distractions of children, acquaintances, irresistible specials and long checkout lines. And, according to the Satzes, the products are fresher. "We're trying to do just-in-time supply," he says. "You order, we order. We're not stocking lots of product that sits on shelves aging." Deliveries are made twice a week to each ZIP code; an order deadline schedule is on the website.

Entering the Plumgood website is not unlike entering a grocery store. Weekly specials are highlighted on the home page. Running down the left side are food and product categories: dairy, produce, meat, condiments, etc. Click on a category and browse the selections—from the comfort of your own home, with a glass of wine or a cup of coffee, at noon or midnight. Click on the item, click "add to cart" and, voilà, you have a 28-ounce jar of marinara sauce, a head of organic lettuce, or a steak, cut fresh by Plumgood's own butcher, who cut many a cow during his long tenure at Green Hills Market.

As time goes by, other categories are being added. I tried a couple of options under the Meals Made Easy category: a pasta selection and the Pizza Night Tote. "Meals Made Easy is for people who want to cook a meal for their families, but have limited time," explains Katie. "We do all the work for you. We have the recipe, the shopping list, and deliver the food. All you have to do is unpack it and put it together."

That's just how it worked for me. In anticipation of a monthly dinner meeting at my home, I clicked on Meals Made Easy, went directly to pasta and found two recipes. (More will be added with the recent hiring of chef Chrisi Harper, who will also spearhead another upcoming feature, Plumgood Prepared Food items.) Choosing spaghetti with caramelized onions and Parmesan, I viewed the recipe and itemized shopping list. Since I already had olive oil and cheese, I just hit "remove" by those items. I also had some spaghetti in the pantry, but decided to splurge on the Cucina Antica Old World Spaghetti (made in Italy!), 18 ounces for $4.99. I ordered the Italian flat leaf parsley, the thyme, the organic onions and, for good measure, a loaf of Provence Tuscan bread.

The Pizza Night Tote lists all the ingredients one needs to make pizza at home, starting with the frozen dough, made exclusively for Plumgood by Provence, at just $1.99 each. From an extensive list, I added a jar of pizza sauce, Applegate Farms Natural Sliced Pepperoni, fresh basil, organic shredded mozzarella cheese, and a package of portabella mushroom caps. I was ready for pizza night with my kids and a friend. Other Tote options include fajitas, stir fry, cheese and fruit, and office snacks.

I completed my order, added my credit card info, hit purchase, and 25 minutes after I started shopping, I was done. For less than $50, I was getting almost everything I needed to feed a total of 14 people. (Wine is not available online.) Do I normally spend $5.49 on a jar of pizza sauce or $4.99 on a bag of pasta? No. Nor do I typically buy organic produce. But the convenience and the quality of the products are worth every penny for those who have the pennies to spare.

"In the world of finance, you focus on the time value of money," explains Eric. "In online grocery shopping, the focus is on the money value of time."

Click on www.plumgoodfood.com to check out the website, find out if your ZIP code is within the delivery zone, and place an order. Contact them at info@plumgoodfood.com or call 248-4448, ext. 100, which connects to customer service manager Sarah Voter. Most customers order online, but Voter walks technology-challenged customers or those without access to a computer through orders via her desktop computer.