Your nearby community supported agriculture (CSA) program and farmers’ market let you enjoy fresh local eats while supporting your local economy. But if pickup times or market hours just don’t work with your schedule, an organic produce delivery service can fill the gap — and have you trying out new fruits and veggies too.

 

The Fruit Guys is one handy organic produce delivery service. MNN food blogger Robin Shreeves wrote about the The Fruit Guys’ fruit delivery service — a healthy alternative for office snacks — a while back, but the company also offers a weekly home delivery service that brings California fruits, vegetables, and other yummy treats grown within 100 miles of San Francisco to the doorsteps of California residents!

 

 

My slim suitcase-sized box arrived with a burst of fresh produce — plus a bag each of California-grown beans and raisins! A one-sheet guide to the produce (also available online) let me know where all the produce came from. My meyer lemons, for example, came from Redwood City, navel oranges from Springville, and blood oranges from Pauma Valley. Most of the produce — including the rapini, curly parsley, and shallots — came from Coke Farm in San Juan Bautista, while the delicata squash were grown by Blue Moon Organics in Aptos.

 

The backside of the one-sheeter — made of post-consumer recycled materials, of course — had recipes for penne pasta and steamed artichokes and shallots that sounded delicious — though my lactose intolerant self couldn’t handle the creamy, cheesy dishes. But I made do, deliciously, by making baked delicata squash, parsley-heavy tabouli, and a garlicky rapini dish.

 

 

The delivery was delicious, relative locavore-friendly for me, and of course, convenient. The one downside, however, is the packaging waste. While The Fruit Guys will pick up the 75 – 100% post-consumer recycled content boxes for reuse in the San Francisco Bay area, Southern Californians aren’t so lucky, and have to toss them in the recycling bin along with the paper padding used to cushion the produce.

 

For this reason, I’ll personally stick to the L.A.-based delivery companies that will let me reuse my box — but will miss the yummy extras like the beans and raisins in The Fruit Guys’ deliveries. If you live in the Bay area — or in other California towns that don’t have local organic produce delivery services — I highly recommend trying The Fruit Guys.

 

A regular Fruit & Veggie Case delivery (pictured) from The Fruit Guys costs $32; a small case (16 servings) is also available for $24. You can also pick from all fruit and all veggie cases for the same prices. Set up a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly delivery — or just try out the service with a one-time delivery.