MNN - Mother Nature Network

If you eat as much organic fruit and veggies as I do, we probably have the same complaint: hauling produce seems like a part-time job sometimes, especially when combined with a car-lite lifestyle. I try to keep my eats as local as possible by shopping at a local farmers market on Sundays, but usually, my weekend haul runs out by Tuesday. And all the local community supported agriculture (CSA) pick-up spots near me are too far away for walking.

 

Enter Farm Fresh to You. This CSA program stretches the definition of local organic CSAs — because a lot of the produce comes from farther away — at least for me — in Southern California. The company farm is 90 miles northeast of San Francisco in Capay Valley, and the produce boxes are supplemented with produce from other farms, some outside of California.

 

Still, Farm Fresh to You sounded a lot greener to me than the stuff at Pavilions and Trader Joe's (the two grocery stores walkable from my place) — so when the company offered a special of $25 (usually $31.50) for the first delivered box at the Go Green Expo last month, I signed up.

 

And I'm glad I did. My fruits and veggies arrived on the appointed day in a neatly packed reusable box — fresh and ready for eating. I wish there was a little more variety — or more specifically, why six yams? — but I did end up eating them it all in a few days!

 

Farm Fresh to You makes online customization easy. For more local produce, you can select the "Capay Valley Organic Service," and all your produce will come from farms in Capay Organic Valley — though you'd have even less variety at that point. Don't like a veggie? You can add items to a "no" list — like I did to broccoli after my first delivery (I can't digest the stuff). And plastic shunners can opt out of the plastic bag that the leafy greens come wrapped in.

 

At $31.50 for a regular box, the service is a little more expensive than most local CSA pick-up programs — but almost $20 cheaper than the other local produce delivery program I've tried, Farm Box LA. However, Farm Fresh to You is also less local and has less personalized service than Farm Box LA, which is run by a local L.A. woman who gets her goodies straight from the Hollywood Farmers Market.

 

 

In fact, so far, Farm Fresh to You has delivered my first two boxes to the wrong apartment complex — despite the fact that I put a note in their system advising them of their mistake after the first week. I plan to call them this week, and hopefully haranguing them via voice will ensure actual door-to-door service next week.

 

Want to try Farm Fresh to You yourself? Use the code 6164 for a $5 discount.