Life is like a box of produce…
Tuesday, September 1, 2009 21:52A month and a half ago, I wrote about attending Extravaganza for the Senses. One of the booths there was a new organic produce delivery service. Now, I’ve heard of these services, and it seemed very convenient, but I was always a little turned off by price. Then I talked to Farm Fresh To You. They are a no commitment, free delivery service, and the lowest priced item they had (mixed small box) was $23, which is the cheapest I’ve seen as far as these services go. I figured there was no harm in trying, and they told me they would be making their very first delivery in September.
I completely forgot about this until today. I was still at work when I got a phone call from my intercom system (it gets forwarded to my cell phone) telling me Farm Fresh To You was at my door. I was really excited to come home to find out what goodies were waiting for me. Then I panicked… What if there wasn’t much produce? What if I don’t like what’s in the box? What if everything is spoiled? I opened the box, and all the “what ifs” were silenced.
Enclosed in the box is their newsletter, with some information about Farm Fresh To You, as well as an inventory of what is in the box. For my small box, I received 1 lb of crimson grapes, 4 gala apples, 1 head of lettuce, 1 pint of cherry tomatoes, 1.5 lb of heirloom tomatoes, and 1 cucumber. A regular box ($31.50) would have everything I got plus galia melon, Valencia oranges, gypsy peppers, zucchini, Italian parsley, and yellow onions. So everything looked great, but how does it all taste? Well, seeing how my dinner was a slice of strawberry shortcake, I figured I should sample a little of my new produce. The cherry tomatoes are incredibly sweet. I can probably finish the entire pint while watching tv tonight. The grapes aren’t particularly juicy, but like the tomatoes, they also very sweet. The apples are - surprise, surprise - fairly sweet as well.
As I mentioned previously, this is the first delivery, and I’m pretty happy with the result. I think I’m signed up to receive a shipment once a month (though I could be mistaken). If this is too much or not enough, I can always adjust the scheduling, as this service seems to be extremely flexible. Also for those who still think the prices are a bit expensive, there are a couple things you can do. They have a refer-a-friend program, which will give the person trying their service for the first time a $5 discount. (If you’re doing the referring, you get 1 free delivery.) Also, you can send in your favorite recipes to them, and if your recipe is selected for their next newsletter, you get $10 off your next delivery. Even without the discounts, I would still say that Farm Fresh To You is worth a try.
Farm Fresh To You
Phone: (800) 796-6009
Fax: (530) 796-3344
By Pauline (see more of her posts).
Will says:
September 1st, 2009 at 10:17 pm
Try http://www.southcentralfarmers.com/ — $15/box, and you can buy a box whenever you want without subscribing. They have a bunch of pickup locations which are fairly convenient.
http://www.runawaysquirrels.com/2009/08/first-bounty-from-the-csa/
The quality is mostly pretty good; some of the stuff is a little funky looking, but most of it has been very tasty.
Pauline says:
September 2nd, 2009 at 10:06 am
SCFCA does look pretty good, and the price is right, too. It’s a good option for those who can pick up their boxes or prefers to do so instead of home delivery. Thanks for the tip, Will!
Rex says:
September 3rd, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Can you provide us info on the referral service? I would like to try it and wouldn’t mind getting the referral from you for a discount on my first order. My email should be on the comment.
Pauline says:
September 3rd, 2009 at 8:46 pm
Promo code is #6164. Enjoy!
Natalie DeJohn says:
September 20th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
This is awesome. I’ve always wanted to try one of these produce delivery programs. Thanks for the post. Great blog!
Pauline says:
September 25th, 2009 at 12:36 am
Glad you’re enjoying the blog, Natalie! I’m very happy with this service… mainly because nothing reminds me to eat my fruits and veggies more than having it delivered to my front door. :)
Karl says:
August 25th, 2010 at 5:32 pm
Great review! You can also get $10 off your first box (renewal works too I think) with code 2866.