After a year and a half, I finally decided to call it quits with my CSA Farm Fresh To You. Like most relationships, it started off hot and heavy. My initial boxes were always eagerly overflowing with sumptuous, ripe fruit, crisp vegetables and even love letters from the owner. But, in the past few months, things have turned sour. Literally. Sometimes my lettuce arrives wilted and many times I’m disappointed with the lack of variety. Christina also received some decidedly non-local items as well.
Needless to say, I’m excited to introduce you to my new CSA – Capay Valley Farm Shop! We’re still getting to know each other, but even after one box I can tell that we have a long future together!
Although all of the produce comes from the same region as my last box, the selection is more diverse and seems a bit fresher, perhaps because it’s a collaboration between several farms and ranches. (Read some adorable bios about them here). It’s also seems less expensive – $24 for a “bushel” compared to $25 for a “Small Mixed” .
But, unlike Farm Fresh to You, they don’t deliver to customers’ homes. Instead, they deliver to a handful of centralized locations – mostly large corporate offices – around the Bay area. It’s still convenient; I simply pick up my box in my mailroom every other Friday instead of having it delivered to my front door – a fair tradeoff to save a few bucks each month.
The other tradeoff is selection. Farm Fresh to You has 20 different box types to select from, whereas Capay Valley Farm Shop only has two – a “peck” or a “bushel”. But, they do have some cool add-on options like nuts, olive oil and spices. I’m planning to add eggs to my box next month!
If you work for a large company and know your coworkers may be interested, try contacting Capay Valley Farm Shop. They may be open to delivering to your office as well!
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