The Produce Box is here! The Produce Box is here!
Pulling into my driveway last night, I saw an unfamiliar car behind me. The car pulled into my drive and stopped. Someone looking for directions? Someone complaining about my lack of green grass in the yard? Nope. It was my Produce Box Neighborhood Organizer delivering my first Produce Box of the growing season! Life is good.
I’ve blogged about The Produce Box before (HERE), but this is the first box we have received since last fall, so it merits some additional blog time! The Produce Box sources all its vegetables and farm products (cheese, bread, honey, jam) from North Carolina farms, packages them into CSA-type boxes and delivers them to the house. Members also contribute a small fee (I think it was $3 this year) to provide small grants to local farmers to help address issues on their farms (some of this year’s grants included purchasing seed starting supplies, purchasing refrigeration units, educational opportunities, etc).
Because The Produce Box works with several farms, they do offer a greater variety of vegetables than a traditional CSA, which also reduces the risk of not receiving anything if one farmer has a crop fail. Members can pick among several boxes each week, including an organic box and a small box for folks who can’t consume all the veggies in the standard box. And I have to say it, I love having my vegetables delivered. One thing I can cross of my list. But you know, meeting with and talking to farmers has been a real joy for me, so even though I get my produce box delivered, I’ll still be heading out to the farmer’s markets to pick up anything not in my box as well as cheese, pasta, meat, eggs, etc.
What did we get in our first box? Due to a late season frost last week, this week’s box is smaller than usual, but still a very welcome sight! We received two packages of strawberries, sweet potatoes, spinach, a HUGE head of lettuce, greenhouse cucumbers, and carrots so fresh they still have the dirt on ’em. Yum. Just in time for saladpalooza night!
yearofhealthierliving 
Heather @ SugarDish(Me)
/ April 19, 2012This is so fun! I would love delivery of fresh vegetables š
Year Of Healthier Living
/ April 19, 2012I definitely feel spoiled even though it isn’t any more expensive than the csa we belonged to! Actually, it’s probably less expensive since I don’t forget to pick up my food š
food4five
/ April 19, 2012Looks lovely!
Tammy
/ April 20, 2012I got my delivery today also. What will you do with yours?
Year Of Healthier Living
/ April 20, 2012We had a salad night we call saladpalooza last night and we’re making strawberry cobbler with our berries tonight! What about you?
inherchucks
/ April 20, 2012Awesome! Everything looks great š
I would love for you to link up to my CSA link party to share your CSA goodness…http://inherchucks.com/2012/04/19/whats-in-the-box-22/. Look forward to seeing you there!