These couriers and delivery services are getting your goods to your front door with a minimal carbon footprint.

Whether you need farm fresh produce, a surprise gift for that special someone, office supplies for the boss or even cargo loads of restaurant ingredients, these 6 urban delivery options are sure to power pedal your item of choice to you, without the carbon footprint common with most delivery services. Found all along the west coast, in NYC and D.C., these bike, rickshaw and electric car delivery options trump toxic, fossil-fuel dependent vehicles with their quick, affordable and efficient services.

1. B-Line Urban Sustainable Delivery

Founded and based in Portland, OR, B-Line is a sustainable, city-wide delivery service that functions on tricycles. However, these aren’t any ordinary tricycles, but electrically assisted ones with the capacity to transport up to 600 lbs. of cargo. Not only does this reduce the company’s carbon footprint in a livable downtown environment (alongside Portland’s numerous other ‘greening’ schemes), B-Line also delivers donated food from partners like Whole Foods, New Seasons Market and Dave’s Killer Bread to non-profits that provide for those in need.

2. Revolution Rickshaws

Originally started as a pedicab rental company, Revolution Rickshaws now offers rapid and eco-friendly delivery in the New York City area. These rickshaws, or ‘trikes’ are ideal delivery vehicles for the traffic congested city, offering  a completely viable and much more sustainable service the fuel guzzling trucks and vans.

3. Chicago Cargo

Chicago Cargo operates a local delivery business on their specially designed Bullit Bikes, to connect local, sustainable businesses to their customers. This unique bike has a built in holding flat in between the front and back wheels, making cargo transport efficient and easy. Chicago Cargo’s custom delivery options allow small local businesses to be in control of how and when their products are delivered, which is especially important in the case of fresh produce and other perishable goods.

4. Urban Delivery

Operating on uber-cool online platform (that is also downloadable as an iPhone app), this Washington D.C. based delivery service operates entirely on two wheels. Customers can enter any item from any business within the city into the online portal, and Urban Delivery’s speedy cyclists will purchase and deliver it within an hour. Their “Shop Locally” option even allows you to reduce your carbon footprint further by seeing what’s available in local stores and restaurants.

5. GeaZone Eco-Courier

Based in Victoria, BC, GeaZone Eco-Courier operates its sustainable delivery service on electric cars and human-fueled bikes and tricycles. GeaZone has partnered with local businesses, large and small, helping companies and individuals reduce their emissions and carbon outputs. The business also helps raise awareness of ecologically friendlier options within the community by promoting their ethos in everything they do.

Image: B-Line

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I rarely regret voicing my opinion, but in the time since what I deemed an enlightened cupcake rant went to press, my father has taken it upon himself to send me every possible card, photo, and present that relates to the still-trendy dessert. Case in point: on a recent visit, he showed up at my apartment practically exploding with giddiness, which is something to behold from a bearded man of 6’4″. He handed me a wine bottle wrapped in pastel-colored cupcake wrapping paper. The content, shockingly enough, was a wine bottle from Cupcake Vineyards. My father found this hilarious.

Personal opinion aside, foodies concur, cupcakes are so last year. There are plenty of foodie forward replacement options, from chic and cosmopolitan to straight-out-of-the-family-reunion category. And they’re all giving cupcakes a run for their money.

1. Cookies on a string

In San Francisco, you can buy cookies straight out of a window. Fat Cookies entices its consumers with cookies in a paper bag, delivered by a dangling string. Now that’s the coolest bakery concept I’ve seen in awhile.

2. Pie By Bike

It’s fitting that Piecycle, just like Fat Cookie, doesn’t have an actual website. Just a Facebook page and Twitter stream – the marketing tools of guerilla foodies. It’s simple really: $3 for a slice and $20 for a whole pie, all delivered in the wee hours of the weekend, via two wheels in the University District of Seattle. Piecycle is certainly taking advantage of the late night sweet tooth – much like Voodoo Doughnuts of Portland, Oregon – but it’s also combining the two loves of 20-something urbanites: DIY food and bikes. It’s a match made in flaky, fruity heaven. And if you’re not into the whole bike delivery thing, there’s always the pop-up pie variety.

3. Macarons

They’re French and they’re fabulous (and shown at top). In fact, some might say they’re a little bourgeois, but at a handful of pocket change a pop, macarons aren’t limited to the upper echelons of foodie society. There are cafes devoted to them, whole books written about them and, just like cupcakes, with their flavor variations and transportable size, they’re the dessert that can fit every occasion, from weddings to picnics in the park.

4. Cake Pops

It’s almost a cupcake. But not. And they’re everywhere. Apartment Therapy thinks they’re cool. I’m currently attempting a creative, organic, non high-fructose corn syrup version (check back for that in a couple of weeks). If you’re new to cake pops, they’re just that: cake batter rolled in frosting and turned into what looks like a lollipop. The new cupcake? With cake pop focused businesses popping up all over the place, you better believe it.

5. The -frees

Kick the sugar habit and get on the healthy train. Trust us, everyone is doing it. Seems like every week here at EcoSalon we’ve got another recipe packed with antioxidants and Omega-3s, and if there’s anything that cupcakes can’t do, it’s be good for you. Which is why healthier desserts are on the up and coming list. Think dark chocolate covered kale chips.

There’s a reason gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free and other “free” bakeries and patisseries are taking off. It’s not just for those who have food allergies or adhere to certain culinary lifestyles. Many of these foods are better for you and the planet, and people are eating them willingly. Take Sweetpea in Portland, which always seems to be serving a salivating crowd. A girl still needs a recipe heavy in eggs, cream and butter once in awhile. But when alternatives abound we can go much farther than the standard cupcake, and that will please any foodie.

This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground, taking a conscious look at what’s bubbling in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to the culinary avant garde.

Images: bloggyboulga, sandwichgirl, Piecycle, imcountingufoz, sweetpea baking co

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Kombucha, organics, whole grains, kale – there’s a lot happening in the underground food movement that relates directly to living a healthier lifestyle – except for maybe cupcakes. Foodies have long understood the value of living a balanced lifestyle, and having an appreciation for good food is often teamed with being more conscious about everyday lifestyle choices. Which might be why there’s been an influx of bike influence when it comes to food. Think about it: opting for food that’s delivered by two wheels instead of four certainly makes a statement, and it’s one that plenty urbanite foodies are happy to make.

But every foodie has a weak spot, and a lot of us are well versed in the realm of caffeine addiction. Which means that no matter how many kale chips and sweet potato fries we may commit to, we’re always going to make room for that morning double americano. So what’s a conscious coffee-lover to do? Take advantage of the sustainable lifestyle trend that’s taken a hold of the food movement and get your beans delivered by bike.

Who’s doling out coffee beans a la velo? Lots of people.

If you’re already familiar with coffee bike-delivery, chances are you’ve heard mention of Peace Coffee. They’ve been delivering their beans by bike (wherever appropriate) in the Minneapolis area since 1999, well ahead of the trend. But this isn’t the only Midwest region that gets to enjoy the benefits of bike-delivered caffeine; Madison is home to Just Coffee Cooperative, who employs bikes for most of their local deliveries.

In San Francisco you can take advantage of Bicycle Coffee Company who provides organic, fair trade beans roasted in the San Francisco area to a variety of vendors including one of my favorite foodie destinations, Bi-Rite.

Coffee capital Portland is home to Courier Coffee Roasters, who deliver their home-roasted beans to plenty of cafes around and even offer home bean delivery, all by super cool looking cargo bikes. And the home delivered beans are served up in mason jars. This operation is so popular that they’re soon going to open a coffee bar in downtown Portland, where I am sure we can expect ample bike parking. Not to be outdone, fellow Pacific Northwest java central, Seattle, has Small Cog Coffee.

And don’t think that bike-delivered coffee is something that’s solely taking place in bike-centric metropolises. In Flagstaff be sure to check out The Coffee Pedaler, who not only delivers coffee by bike, but also has an espresso bar and full service bicycle shop all under one roof. What more could you ask for?

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground. Each week, Anna will be taking a look at something new and different that’s taking place in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to culinary avant garde.

Image: Anna Brones

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