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Produce Delivery
updated: Jun 08, 2011, 7:22 AM

Does anyone use a CSA/produce delivery service? I have been contemplating it for awhile and would love to hear about readers positive or negative experience. I would prefer a program that delivers. Thanks!

Places People Are Talking About:

Fairview Gardens	Givens	Local Harvest Delivery
Pacifica Graduate Institute	Plow to Porch	Shepherd Farms

What People Are Saying:

COMMENT 180732	2011-06-08 07:36 AM
John Givens Farms has a CSA program that delivers. We used to receive a box every other week, but no longer do. We also have a garden so we were overwhelmed by the amount of produce and too much was going to waste. The plusses are obvious; great fresh produce delivered to your door. You get to try new veggies you likely wouldn't have bought on your own, forces creativity. The cons are you have no say for what you get in your box, so if you don't like something you are SOL. Also some things can get a bit monotonous when they show up every week. Also the produce shows up straight out of the ground and dirty, not necessarily a bad thing, but when your box shows up be prepared to do some washing. If I did it again I'd split a share with a friend.
COMMENT 180744	2011-06-08 07:47 AM
We had Plow to Porch service for about 6 months this past year, but now just support the local farmer's markets for many of the same reasons mentioned above. Plow to Porch though was a great reliable service and we really enjoyed the variety of produce.
COMMENT 180767	2011-06-08 08:21 AM
Great post... I've been contemplating this too. I have a brown thumb, although I keep trying to get vegetables out of my patch of dirt! The idea of sharing with a neighbor sounds like a good one.
COMMENT 180772	2011-06-08 08:25 AM
@SPEAKOUT Also forgot to mention with Givens Farms they allow you for you to do a trial period before you sign up for the whole six weeks to see if it is right for you. I found them to be a lot more flexible (like offering every other week and allowing you to skip a week if you are out of town). They are very friendly and excited about their CSA. While Plow to Porch is a great service, they are a service not a CSA, if that's matters to you that something else to factor in.
COMMENT 180795	2011-06-08 09:02 AM
I highly recommend Plow to Porch. You get a weekly delivery of a large variety of vegetables and fruit. Because of the variety, you never get tired of receiving the same produce from week to week.
COMMENT 180822	2011-06-08 09:36 AM
I love plow to porch. They keep track of items we don't like, and trace with other stuff, they use local farms produce, always fresh & delicious, can cancel when out of town, 4 box sizes.
COMMENT 180823	2011-06-08 09:36 AM
We used to do a half-share at Fairview Gardens (pick-up instead of delivery). I liked getting a variety of produce that I hadn't eaten before, along with recipes for what to do with them. We moved downtown and stopped our share. We keep contemplating joining another CSA, but are too busy right now. Our worm bin had the best fed worms, eating the produce we didn't have time to deal with.
COMMENT 180857	2011-06-08 10:37 AM
Our family uses Local Harvest Delivery. Same benefits as the others mentioned above. Great customer service - VERY friendly staff! The biggest draw, for me, is the feature of being able to create a "no" list of foods my family won't eat, and substituting or adding on foods they like. This is a great way to avoid trying to have to sneak eggplant past an 8-year-old, for example. I've been a customer of theirs for 2 years and love them! Though I do still go to the Farmers Market on my own, too, from time to time - for the most part it frees up my Saturday or Sunday mornings to do other things.
COMMENT 180883	2011-06-08 11:29 AM
A bunch of places run this in town. Givens, Fairview Gardens, Plow To Porch, Local Harvest Delivery, uhhh... others... If you google Santa Barbara CSA or vegetable delivery a few places pop up. I used Local Harvest Delivery, and they allowed me to say if I didn't want things each week. They have a No list & a Yes list - if you hate broccoli, but wouldn't mind an extra head of lettuce they'll try to accommodate. They always did for me. It was just too much stuff. I frequently brought extras to work. I would highly recommend them if you want to go for a business (I haven't used PTP, so I can't say how they are). I used Givens for a trial, and only got one box to try (neighbors ate our box as it was left in between our places) so I can't give a real review for them. The one box we got was good. But I think they don't allow switching like LHD did, which was why I tried them instead. Regardless of who you use, give good directions of where to leave the box. :)
COMMENT 180899	2011-06-08 12:11 PM
Plow to Porch
COMMENT 180903P	2011-06-08 12:15 PM
Marshall Chrostowski will deliver vegetables from his garden at the Pacifica Graduate Institute. There is a $10 minimum order and a $7 delivery fee (mostly due to high cost of gas). They deliver 3 days a week. You can order online. Here's the link: link It's not a CSA. They only deliver when you order. It fits my schedule, as some weeks I'm out of town or busy and not able to cook and don't need a produce delivery. Other weeks, I have company and need extra produce. Marshall and his crew are amazing people. The vegetables and fruits taste like they're grown with love.
COMMENT 180975	2011-06-08 02:19 PM
Love Local Harvest Delivery! The service is great and they have enough "add-ons" for C'est Cheese, Our Daily Bread and others I can get almost all of my groceries from them. They introduced a 'mini-box' last year that solved the 'too much' issue - and it's only $25/week which is lower than when they first started deliveries. and they give you recipes and information on the more unusual items so you know what to do with them. Everyone I've referred has been really happy with their service. www.localharvestdelivery.com
COMMENT 181023P	2011-06-08 03:26 PM
I would advise against it unless you have a larger family. It's hard to incorporate all the items you get in one delivery if it's just two or three of you, even if you choose the smaller family size. Also, you invariably get some stuff that someone doesn't really care for. To me, having tried it before, it's much easier, less expensive and creates less waste to just go one of the many excellent FMarkets in this area....we have one every day of the week, now someplace.
COMMENT 181031	2011-06-08 03:40 PM
There's only two of us and the Local Harvest Delivery mini-box is great. Your best bet is to try one or two and see what you like. LHD also allows you to manage your account, "yes" and "no" lists and order additions online. Very convenient.
COMMENT 181190	2011-06-09 08:15 AM
I'll put a plug in for Shepherd Farms. There are 2 of us and I get 1/2 box a week - plenty of salad mix and other things to last the week. They delivery it to work and it a very good way to support local farmers and try new produce.... I'm still not sure I like kale and chard but I've given it a try...
COMMENT 181278P	2011-06-09 11:19 AM
Thanks you to everyone for you input! There's nothing better than personal references.
RAINE5360	2011-10-30 05:44 AM
Gladden & Sons just opened yesterday and they make home deliveries. They are located on Hollister near Patterson next to The Water Store. They specialize in top quality products but prices are competitive.