CSA (Community-supported agriculture) in the Bay Area
March 10, 2016 1:46 PM Subscribe
I've been half-assedly looking into joining a CSA/getting a box of produce weekly for a while now and really haven't made much head way on deciding. I'd love to hear personal recommendations or warning about being over-produced from Mefites. Worth it? What's your favorite farms or providers?
(We're in San Mateo if it matters)
(We're in San Mateo if it matters)
If you want something a little different, I'm a huge fan of Sea Forager—which is essentially a CSA for locally caught fish. It's a bit pricey ($24 for around a pound of fish), but we've gotten some incredibly fresh stuff that we might not have otherwise tried. It'll legit spoil your for buying fish.
posted by themadthinker at 2:26 PM on March 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by themadthinker at 2:26 PM on March 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
my housemates and i get a CSA box from Phat Beets and we love them! they only seem to have pickup locations in oakland or berkeley, though, so that might be a bit out of the way for you.
posted by burgerrr at 2:50 PM on March 10, 2016
posted by burgerrr at 2:50 PM on March 10, 2016
We've been getting CSA boxes from Full Belly for a little over a year. Love them so, so much. They just sent out a year in review newsletter that pointed out (paraphrasing) that we'd eaten 26 kinds of vegetables, 13 kinds of fruits, 12 kinds of greens, 10 herbs, etc. in the previous year. Which is a great way to look at what a CSA means! It means you'll be put in a position to learn how to eat, cook with, store, manage all sorts of things that you know about but otherwise never eat. I now know a dozen ways to eat butternut squash, which was never my favorite but nevertheless had to be used. I've also tasted guavasteen and jujubes for the first time. And I love tokyo turnips now, which I must have had before but never routinely. Ditto red kuri squash, which is my favorite food now.
They have a drop off location about a mile and a half from my house, so every Wednesday after work I walk over, fill up my messenger bag with the week's food, and walk home. Never too much, never too little, always easy enough to schlep home on my back.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 3:02 PM on March 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
They have a drop off location about a mile and a half from my house, so every Wednesday after work I walk over, fill up my messenger bag with the week's food, and walk home. Never too much, never too little, always easy enough to schlep home on my back.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 3:02 PM on March 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
The CSAs I've used don't deliver to the Peninsula, so I can't make recommendations there. But some general advice:
- Think about the vegetables (and fruit) you enjoy eating generally, and then look at what seasons they're available in. (Here's a great chart from Cuesa; here's a more visual one from Food Geeks.) CSAs are difficult for my household to sustain in the late fall and winter, since we're not big fans of leafy greens (at least not three or four different bunches per week) nor squash, both of which tend to pop up a lot then. Spring and summer generally provide a greater variety of produce, so it may be easier to start the habit of using CSA produce now then later in the year. If your household is really picky about what produce you eat, CSAs may not be a good fit for you.
- Eggs from chickens that run around a local farm are AMAZING, and totally worth the cost increase compared to grocery store eggs. So much tastier, and much better nutritionally too. With my last CSA I was paying $4 for 6 eggs, but it was so worth it. I would definitely recommend finding a CSA with eggs if you can.
- I highly recommend that everyone who gets a CSA pick up Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone. This book is essentially a reference book for cooking with produce - every vegetable has its own section, with suggestions on a few simple dishes that feature the vegetable, along with more complicated recipes that incorporate a bunch of other things. Spices that go well with the particular vegetable, cooking methods and hints for that vegetable, etc. etc. It's the perfect cure for the "well, what the hell do I do with this... vegetable... thing?" that can hit you when you get something in your box that you've never cooked with before.
- CSA boxes are definitely better for folks who are adventurous and up for improvisation in the kitchen. If you're the sort of cook who opens the fridge and says "well, I have three oranges, a pile of dandalion greens, and some scallions... what can I do with that?", and then comes up with a plan, then getting through the CSA vegetables will be a snap. If you're the sort of cook that finds it more difficult to come up with something on the go, you may have more challenges - but it's still doable! If possible, I recommend finding a CSA that provides recipes for that week's box to help overcome this hurdle.
- Frittatas and stir fries are your friend! Keep a good stock of eggs, cheese, simple meats (sausages & ground beef or turkey), your carb of choice (noodles/rice/quinoa) and sauces (soy, black bean, garlic or ginger paste), and you can almost always turn a few random vegetables into a complete meal.
posted by Jaclyn at 3:13 PM on March 10, 2016
- Think about the vegetables (and fruit) you enjoy eating generally, and then look at what seasons they're available in. (Here's a great chart from Cuesa; here's a more visual one from Food Geeks.) CSAs are difficult for my household to sustain in the late fall and winter, since we're not big fans of leafy greens (at least not three or four different bunches per week) nor squash, both of which tend to pop up a lot then. Spring and summer generally provide a greater variety of produce, so it may be easier to start the habit of using CSA produce now then later in the year. If your household is really picky about what produce you eat, CSAs may not be a good fit for you.
- Eggs from chickens that run around a local farm are AMAZING, and totally worth the cost increase compared to grocery store eggs. So much tastier, and much better nutritionally too. With my last CSA I was paying $4 for 6 eggs, but it was so worth it. I would definitely recommend finding a CSA with eggs if you can.
- I highly recommend that everyone who gets a CSA pick up Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone. This book is essentially a reference book for cooking with produce - every vegetable has its own section, with suggestions on a few simple dishes that feature the vegetable, along with more complicated recipes that incorporate a bunch of other things. Spices that go well with the particular vegetable, cooking methods and hints for that vegetable, etc. etc. It's the perfect cure for the "well, what the hell do I do with this... vegetable... thing?" that can hit you when you get something in your box that you've never cooked with before.
- CSA boxes are definitely better for folks who are adventurous and up for improvisation in the kitchen. If you're the sort of cook who opens the fridge and says "well, I have three oranges, a pile of dandalion greens, and some scallions... what can I do with that?", and then comes up with a plan, then getting through the CSA vegetables will be a snap. If you're the sort of cook that finds it more difficult to come up with something on the go, you may have more challenges - but it's still doable! If possible, I recommend finding a CSA that provides recipes for that week's box to help overcome this hurdle.
- Frittatas and stir fries are your friend! Keep a good stock of eggs, cheese, simple meats (sausages & ground beef or turkey), your carb of choice (noodles/rice/quinoa) and sauces (soy, black bean, garlic or ginger paste), and you can almost always turn a few random vegetables into a complete meal.
posted by Jaclyn at 3:13 PM on March 10, 2016
I really liked Farmigo, which is more of a pick-your-own produce with individually bagged items. The quality was top-notch and they have meat, milk, bread, etc. so you can pretty much get all your shopping done. They have a "bestsellers" box but it's the exact same items week after week. Same carrots, same pasta, same apples, so for me it wasn't that helpful. Prices are competitive with med-high end farmer's markets, so sometimes it would be cheap and other times it would be "$30 for a pie?". The lead time was pretty long, you had to have products selected Thursday midnight for delivery the following Monday. I was sad when they stopped delivering to my neighborhood pick up point. I really miss the Straus "Barista" milk which was only slightly homogenized and really, really delicious.
Lately I've been using Farm Fresh to You, which is all organic and based on Capay Organics produce. It also gathers from a lot of other producers, including some in other states (you can get organic bananas, which, global warming aside, are not being grown in California). The great part is that the weekly box changes, and you have a bunch of options (mostly fruit, mostly veggie), but you can choose how often to get deliveries and completely customize the box as late as 10 a.m. Sunday for a Tuesday early-morning delivery to your door. The only requirement is to hit the minimum price for your box type. The quality is also excellent, with the caveat that everything gets thrown in a big plastic bag, so sometimes your kiwis are bruised on the bottom and everything is covered in broccoli florets and you have to scrounge a plastic bag for the lettuce so it doesn't wilt. Selection is almost exclusively produce and adjacent items, such as jams, olive oil, etc. but I'm very happy.
posted by wnissen at 3:22 PM on March 10, 2016
Lately I've been using Farm Fresh to You, which is all organic and based on Capay Organics produce. It also gathers from a lot of other producers, including some in other states (you can get organic bananas, which, global warming aside, are not being grown in California). The great part is that the weekly box changes, and you have a bunch of options (mostly fruit, mostly veggie), but you can choose how often to get deliveries and completely customize the box as late as 10 a.m. Sunday for a Tuesday early-morning delivery to your door. The only requirement is to hit the minimum price for your box type. The quality is also excellent, with the caveat that everything gets thrown in a big plastic bag, so sometimes your kiwis are bruised on the bottom and everything is covered in broccoli florets and you have to scrounge a plastic bag for the lettuce so it doesn't wilt. Selection is almost exclusively produce and adjacent items, such as jams, olive oil, etc. but I'm very happy.
posted by wnissen at 3:22 PM on March 10, 2016
I also use Farm Fresh to You and I have been very happy with it! I picked it because the produce is awesome and I love that they deliver to me. It's also really easy to customize your box if there are things you don't like or extra like. A++ would eat again!
posted by chatongriffes at 3:39 PM on March 10, 2016
posted by chatongriffes at 3:39 PM on March 10, 2016
I used Full Belly Farm for a year and liked it a lot, so another vote for that. Looks like they have a San Carlos pick up, which would be the closest one to you. Or you could do delivery, but that would be extra.
posted by thewumpusisdead at 4:09 PM on March 10, 2016
posted by thewumpusisdead at 4:09 PM on March 10, 2016
I popped in to recommend Sea Forager, but I see themadthinker already beat me to it!
posted by smartyboots at 4:25 PM on March 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by smartyboots at 4:25 PM on March 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
I also use Farm Fresh to You and have for several years. It's definitely one of the most "corporate" or "consumer" of the options (I don't feel like I'm a little part of Ma and Pa's farm or anything) but is nonetheless highly awesome. The customizability and on/off switch are great as well.
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly at 4:37 PM on March 10, 2016
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly at 4:37 PM on March 10, 2016
Fifth Crow has a great stand at the Saturday farmers market at CSM. I haven't done their CSA, but I like their produce a lot, so thirding that!
For years, we were members of the not-currently-operating Mariquita Farm CSA. Andy Griffin (the farmer) isn't doing a CSA proper anymore, but he delivers "mystery boxes" and bulk orders of seasonal vegetables at Piccino in San Francisco and in West Menlo Park. If either of you work north or south from San Mateo, they might be a good way to dip your toe into the CSA world.
posted by purpleclover at 4:58 PM on March 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
For years, we were members of the not-currently-operating Mariquita Farm CSA. Andy Griffin (the farmer) isn't doing a CSA proper anymore, but he delivers "mystery boxes" and bulk orders of seasonal vegetables at Piccino in San Francisco and in West Menlo Park. If either of you work north or south from San Mateo, they might be a good way to dip your toe into the CSA world.
posted by purpleclover at 4:58 PM on March 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
I used to use Farm Fresh to You, and was NOT super pleased with them. At first I loved having a source for ethical eggs, but they changed the rules re: minimum order frequency and neglected to inform their customers, which was not awesome. The deliveries also felt like they had a lot of filler and repetition - I didn't feel I was getting a good value when my box was mostly cabbage, celery, bok choi, and carrots.
I've been interested in trying Imperfect, which sells perfectly tasty fruit and vegetables that just didn't meet the aesthetic or size requirements to be sold at regular grocery stores. It starts at $11/box.
posted by soleiluna at 5:25 PM on March 10, 2016
I've been interested in trying Imperfect, which sells perfectly tasty fruit and vegetables that just didn't meet the aesthetic or size requirements to be sold at regular grocery stores. It starts at $11/box.
posted by soleiluna at 5:25 PM on March 10, 2016
I've tried three options in the past year. All of these do home delivery (in Oakland, anyway) which is essential for me. If I were better at being places at times to retrieve objects, I'd probably try Phat Beets instead.
Full Belly:
+ All organic, generally very high-quality, direct relationship to a single farm, more weird veggies i wouldn't normally buy (I like this, but YMMV)
- Since it's a single farm, contents are non-customizable and constrained to whatever's ready to harvest
Imperfect (my current choice):
+ Cheaper, reduces food waste, weekly box contents can be customized online, the imperfections are totally not a problem
- Mostly non-organic and organic options are more expensive, default contents are a bit boring (sooo many apples and oranges and potatoes!), average quality slightly lower (more like Safeway than farmer's market)
Albert and Eve:
+ Sources from multiple farms in the region so lots of variety, high-quality, all organic, can be customized, huge selection of non-produce add-ons (pantry stuff, bread, dairy, etc) if you don't mind paying for convenience
- I only tried it for a few weeks because it's more expensive than the above two
posted by introcosm at 6:25 PM on March 10, 2016
Full Belly:
+ All organic, generally very high-quality, direct relationship to a single farm, more weird veggies i wouldn't normally buy (I like this, but YMMV)
- Since it's a single farm, contents are non-customizable and constrained to whatever's ready to harvest
Imperfect (my current choice):
+ Cheaper, reduces food waste, weekly box contents can be customized online, the imperfections are totally not a problem
- Mostly non-organic and organic options are more expensive, default contents are a bit boring (sooo many apples and oranges and potatoes!), average quality slightly lower (more like Safeway than farmer's market)
Albert and Eve:
+ Sources from multiple farms in the region so lots of variety, high-quality, all organic, can be customized, huge selection of non-produce add-ons (pantry stuff, bread, dairy, etc) if you don't mind paying for convenience
- I only tried it for a few weeks because it's more expensive than the above two
posted by introcosm at 6:25 PM on March 10, 2016
I use Eating with the Seasons -- you pay for a certain amount of credits every week (I get 6), and you get to customize what's in your bag every week via an online shop interface. Most items are 1 credit, but sometimes if something is very new/not plentiful yet, it'll be 2 credits (like the first asparagus that just came in). It's super-helpful if I want to plan ahead, and I get to pick what I like without getting overloaded on a specific fruit/veggie.
The customer service team is super-friendly and very easy -- if I'm going out of town, I can email and say "please hold this next week" and they'll pause and credit my account. I used to do pick-up but now I have it delivered to me (the pick-up house had a dog that did not like it when people were on the porch).
posted by littlemisslaika at 7:56 PM on March 10, 2016
The customer service team is super-friendly and very easy -- if I'm going out of town, I can email and say "please hold this next week" and they'll pause and credit my account. I used to do pick-up but now I have it delivered to me (the pick-up house had a dog that did not like it when people were on the porch).
posted by littlemisslaika at 7:56 PM on March 10, 2016
Another Farm Fresh to You user. It's not the most "homey" csa, but I like being able to select what I'm getting. Plus, there's no going to pick it up. It gets delivered to your door. We get the smallest box and then add on whatever we need.
posted by 26.2 at 11:06 PM on March 10, 2016
posted by 26.2 at 11:06 PM on March 10, 2016
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posted by delight at 1:49 PM on March 10, 2016