FarmBox SF Rolls Into Town

Beautiful local produce delivered right to your door with FarmBox SF

Beautiful local produce delivered right to your door with FarmBox SF.

 

Imagine all the fresh pickings from a farmers market — only delivered right to your door.

That’s what FarmBox SF aims to do.

The company started in Los Angeles three years ago, and just expanded to the Bay Area this summer.

It’s similar to Community Supported Agriculture, only FarmBox partners with more than 25 sustainable and organic Bay Area farms to deliver a wider selection.

Recently, I had the chance to try out a special delivery. I say “special” because FarmBox SF delivers only to San Francisco and Marin County right now, not to the South Bay yet. But Branch Manager Taylor Flohr was kind enough to make a trip out of the way to get one to me. Plans call for expanding to the East Bay next and perhaps to the Peninsula/South Bay after that.

Here’s how it normally works: You sign up and get an email on Tuesday about what’s available. You have until midnight Wednesday to make any additions or deletions to your order. On Saturday, your FarmBox arrives.

The actual box, er, basket, of goodies.

The actual box, er, basket, of goodies.

It’s actually more like a basket — a bright red one at that. You can choose what size suits your needs. You can also choose more specific baskets such as “Fruit-Only” or “Juicing” or “CrossFit Paleo.” Additionally, you can add staples such as coffee, gluten-free baked goods, jams, breads, pickles, and organic butter.

What I received was the small “Complete FarmBox,” which costs $77.95. That includes the cost of delivery, too.

It contained: Blue House Farm baby artichokes, Zuckerman’s Farm Yukon Gold potatoes, Lucero Organic Farms zucchini, Dirty Girl’s famed dry-farmed Early Girl tomatoes, Hidden Star Orchards Honey Crisp apples, Dirty Girl leeks and butter lettuce, Yerena Farms strawberries, Bernard Ranches Valencia oranges and Heirloom Organic Gardens baby scarlett turnips, rainbow carrots, cilantro and braising greens.

Additionally, there were a half dozen pasture-raised eggs from Rolling Oaks Ranch, a pint of cherry-apple cider from Hidden Star Orchards, a loaf of sourdough from Panorama Bakery, a tub of Marin Gourmet Caper Hummus and Spring Hill Jersey Organic Sage Cheddar.

More provisions in the basket.

More provisions in the basket.

For two people, it was plenty of fixings for a week and a half that went into salads, sandwiches, homemade lentil-veggie soup, a stir-fry and smoothies.

In particular, the potatoes had much more flavor than most. And the dry-farmed tomatoes were like candy.

Each week on the FarmBox Web site, you’ll also find recipes, prepping tips and storage advice for the different types of produce in your box.

After unpacking your provisions, you leave the basket, mesh produce bags and reusable ice packs for the driver to pick up when your next order is delivered.

What’s more, for every delivery made, FarmBox SF donates 1 pound of fresh produce to Leah’s Pantry, a San Francisco non-profit that runs cooking and nutrition programs.

In that way, you’ll be helping to nourish others as you enjoy your own fruits and veggies.

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