43636 Thu Feb 16 09:18:13 -0800 2006 16 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 213771 These are the 3 CSAs that have pickups closest to my home and work. Riverdog delivers right to my workplace, but I'm not sure of the quality or selection. I've read good things about Full Belly here on the board and they're the least expensive. Don't know too much about Eatwell, but the have a pickup a few blocks away from my house. Any other suggestions for good CSAs with pickups near Sunset district in SF or Emeryville are also welcome. Thanks Thu Feb 16 09:18:13 -0800 2006 0 tedm 1 213784 I think they deliver everywhere in SF, but you can call them to have you zip code checked. I am loving my FFTY deliveries. Aside from having extremely fresh and delicious food, they have excellent customer service. Any time I have a problem, I send an e-mail and it's taken care of within a day or two. For example, my deliveries are Wednesday. Sunday night, I realized I had way too many leeks and carrots piled up in the fridge. I sent an e-mail, and by late Monday I had a reply. And when I got my box yesterday, the leeks and carrots had been replaced with mushrooms and oranges (I had listed mushrooms and lemons as my top preferences, but told them to do whatever they could). In my e-mail, I complimented them on their produce but mentioned offhand that I think I'm allergic to rutabaga. I got an e-mail back asking if I'd like rutabagas to be placed on my "do not send" list. I didn't even remember that was an option! If you want a small box instead of a big box one week, or need a break from your CSA, an e-mail takes care of it all. Of course, they are a small family operation and I would never bother them more than is absolutely necessary. But their attention to detail and flexibility is something I truly appreciate. Also, now that more produce and fruit is in season I've noticed the boxes getting heavier with each week. Wonderful! FFTY also does a "herb of the month" where they send something that I normally would not buy but is fun to learn about. Yesterday it was oatstraw. Other interesting things on the list include orange peel, purslane, cornsilk, and lambsquarter. Check out their site! (if you do join, would you mind terribly e-mailing me? I get a free box if I recommend someone. Sorry for this semi-shill, I promise I don't know anyone on the farm personally. Thanks!) This photo is last week's $30 large box, about 15 lbs of stuff: a sack of kiwis a sack of satsumas a few apples a few meyer lemons kale lettuce rutabagas carrots onions, yellow and red leeks Link: http://www.farmfreshtoyou.com/delivery.html Image: http://www.chezpei.com/uploaded_images/DSCN0400-716774.JPG Thu Feb 16 11:40:16 -0800 2006 213771 0 nooodles 2 213859 We also get FFTY and have been very happy with it. I like that they deliver to my doorstep, and most weeks come early enough that I can stash the box contents in the fridge before I leave for work. My one complaint is that the broccoli comes fairly regularly with "extra critters" tucked into the florets deep enough that washing is not an option. thanks, nooodles, for posting about your quick responses to your emails. Reminds me I need to do the same when I encounter problems (as with the brocc.) The carrots have been soooo good lately. Thu Feb 16 16:59:28 -0800 2006 213784 0 foodnut 1 213801 Eatwell and Capay Organic (dba Farm Fresh to You) are good but I think Full Belly's quality is higher. Dunno about Riverdog. Thu Feb 16 13:22:54 -0800 2006 213771 0 Robert Lauriston 2 213832 Do any of these (or all?) deliver to the inner Richmond? I'd rather not have to go to a pickup site each time, but I have been dying to sign up for one of these for a while now. Thu Feb 16 14:58:23 -0800 2006 213801 0 Maya 3 213836 You have to call and find out. Farm Fresh to you (which I linked in this thread earlier) says they deliver throughout SF but that you have to check to verify by zip code. Thu Feb 16 15:07:03 -0800 2006 213832 0 nooodles 3 213845 I pick up at 11th and Anza. Thu Feb 16 15:42:25 -0800 2006 213832 0 Leaseachef 2 214164 I take it back, I know Riverdog from the Berkeley farmers market. Dunno about their CSA box but they have good produce. Sat Feb 18 13:46:40 -0800 2006 213801 0 Robert Lauriston 1 213805 I've not looked into CSA's because my wife shops for (mostly Asian) produce daily, but Eatwell would be the last one I would think of. They behave almost like a franchise using stringers, hitting all the Farmers Markets, even simultaneously if need be, like that ubiquitous Indian fast food vendor. I always wonder who's tending to the farm. They also seem to be always pushing high-profit non-food stuff like body scrubs. (Cosmetics at Farmers Markets is a pet peeve of mine, up there with scented candles in the Ferry Building Marketplace.) Just my two cents. Link: http://eatingchinese.org Thu Feb 16 13:39:17 -0800 2006 213771 0 Gary Soup 2 213828 Gary, that is just so unfair to single this place out like that ... and with incorrect information. Eatwell only sells at three other farmers markets Check the link below. Rancho Gordo, who we both like, sells at the same number of markets. Nigel Walker, the owner, has been at almost every Saturday market for the decade I shopped there weekly. When I stop by occasionaly now, he is still there. I'm not sure what you mean by stringers, but if you mean the farmer or family is not there at the market, that is true of almost every vendor that does multiple farmers markets. That is what makes Ferry Plaza exceptional, it is the one market that is usually manned by the farm owners so you can get a lot more information than someone who is just there to sell the product. That is why Marin comes in second, for upscale markets. Most of the owners don't show up there. Swanton is almost as ubiquous as any vendor and I don't even think the owners show up often at Ferry Plaza. If you check the link to Eatwell Farms below, you will see that Eatwell only participates in two other farmers markets year round and one other market during the summer. As someone who has been to almost every farmers market in the Bay Area, Eatwell is certainly not up there as far as hitting them all. I would say that would be Swanton ... a good thing, IMO. The great fig place (name escapes me) is usually manned by people that usually help out at other places. I know the woman who works with Helen Marshall, helps out at the fig stand during the fig season. Eatwell grows lavendar, so besides selling it fresh, they have a few products made of lavendar. It takes up a small part of the stand and in the decade that I have been there, that has NEVER ... NEVER ... been pushed. They have one of the best selections of tomatoes during the summer at pretty good prices. I look forward each fall to the gypsy peppers. I know that you are not enamoured with Ferry Plaza, but as someone who has happily stopped by Eatwell farms almost weekly for over a decade, I have to disagree with your assessment. I might have thought you mistook this vendor for another if you had not mentioned the body scrubs and even THEN I had to check the site to see if they sold these. There is a vendor that sells at markets other than Ferry Plaza (they got kicked out), that I have never named on the board even though they are known for being unscrupulous. IMO, the info in your post projects an unfair image of a reliable vendor that is not based on fact or familiarity, but personal prejudice and speculation. However, since you don't usually, if ever, attend the Saturday market, I might guess that your assesment is based upon Eatwell's appearance at the Tuesday market. Few of the farmers show up during the week and for most stands their selection doesn't equal what is sold on Saturday. Like you, I HATE non food products at farmers markets. Ferry Plaza is far more restrictive than either of us in what it will let vendors sell. So if only a tiny part of the stand has non food prodcuts ... and those based on the flowers they sell ... that hardly qualifies as being unacceptable. I don't begrudge the honey vendor for selling beeswax candles. Now if they only sold the candles and no honey, that would be different. The farmers at almost all the stands are hard working people and, if from personal experience, you can say you bought their products and were unhappy, that is one thing. However, based on speculation it is irresponsible to say something like that. This is someone's business. Sorry, like Gary, I can't answer the question about the CSA for Eatwell though. Eatwell is one of my favorite vendors ... but that doesn't mean too much in terms of the quality of their CSA. Link: http://www.eatwell.com/ Thu Feb 16 14:42:42 -0800 2006 213805 0 rworange 3 213834 I do go to the Saturday Market often for a look-see, If only out of sheer journalistic curiosity and perversity. Gastro-tourism is a pet interest of mine, and ancillary to my profession to a marginal extent. I also hate missing it when the earnest Japanese tour groups come through. I seldom go to the Tuesday Market, even though it's a short walk from work; just too puny. I have seen Eatwell Farms at Ferry Plaza and Cannery Farmers Market on the same day. If not the cosmetics, at least the lavendar salt is "pushed" by eatwell, IMHO, always given the most proiminent display, and that's not the kind of stuff people should be spending their Food Stamps on... Thu Feb 16 15:03:00 -0800 2006 213828 0 Gary Soup 4 213847 As a BA in Journalism, I will say the one thing that is stressed is accuracy and fact checking for credible reporters. So while you make check out farmers markets for your own curiosity, based on that post would you call it "journalistic" curiosity? I hardly consider any of my Chowhound posts as journalistic since I don't do extensive fact checking. I do the best I can but it is not what I would do if I wrote for a publication or my own site or blog. It is one of the secondary reason that I would not have a food website. I would be a stickler for facts and don't want to put that time in. You based your perception on two farmers markets, didn't check the website and in another post said, uh, maybe you remember them at one other place. Maybe. You quote as your source a 2003 article. Would you base any restaurant assessment on a three year old article ... without your own personal trial of the food? So whether or not the Cannery market was something that they tried out and then decided to abanodon, I can't say. Lots of farmers gave up on that Cannery market. So you don't like the fact that they sell lavander salt, which I'm guessing you have never tried. I can say that they don't feature it prominently at Ferry Plaza. Actually I was thrilled when you said that Eatwell might be at more than one market. I learned that it is at Grand Lake which is nearer me. Again ... SO WHAT if they sell at more than one market on the same day ... almost everyone does that. In fact, the farmers that don't are the short list ... Small Potatoes, Crane Lake, and really just a handful of others. Too many to list the farmers that do double duty. As mentioned Swanton ... all the markets on Saturday, Marshall Honey ... ditto. Fatted Calf - two so far, etc., etc. etc. That did not answer the OP's question, it is not based on any personal experience with the product. Based on the fact that you posted incorrectly, did not retract what you said but reinforeced it ... why? From the CUESA site Eatwell grows: Approximately 50 different crops, including melons, onions, potatoes, salad greens, heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, fresh herbs, sunflowers, dried lavender, lavender products.. Based on the flowers which I am not sure have your approval to be sold at a farmers market, Eatwell also sells: Essential Oils (culinary use) True Lavender Honey (culinary) Lavender Salt and Rosemary Salt (culnary) Lavender Sachets ... a very popular item. Lavender, Rose Geranium, Lemon Verbena and Lemon Balm Hydrosols (culinary use) Lavender and Calendula Sugar Body Scrub Lavender and Calendula Healing Salve So out of over 53 products three cannot be based on culinary use. If you think your original post was accurate and fair, what can I say? Should you be interested in checking facts on future posts, here's the list of Ferry Plaza farmers, many with links to their websites that mention what other places they sell. Link: http://www.ferryplazafarmersmarket.com/markets/farmers/ Thu Feb 16 16:10:15 -0800 2006 213834 0 rworange 3 213851 I used to get the Eatwell basket (I stopped because the size of my household contracted drastically), and was generally pleased by the quality of my veggie loot. My fondest memories are of the watermelon radishes, romanesco, and dried strawberries (in the dead of winter). Also we occasionally got some of the dried lavender, which was great. I also really liked the swap baskets they have at each pickup site- I couldn't believe some people would throw all their cauliflower in there (and I'd snatch it up), and they probably couldn't believe I'd deposit all my oranges (no one in my house likes them!). I think you can get a 4 basket trial with them to see if you like it- check it out for yourself. Thu Feb 16 16:24:01 -0800 2006 213828 0 Ace 1 213816 I love the box I get from Two Small Farms and my pick-up site is in the Sunset district (19th and Noriega). The vegetables from Mariquita farms and High Ground Organics are fantastic and the variety and quality are incredible. I used to subscribe to Eatwell Farms but stopped my subscription because the quality of the produce was inconsistent. The box from Two Small Farms is vegetable-intensive but when they do put in fruit, it is awesome! The strawberries I get from Two Small Farms are fantastic -- in contrast to the inedible, dessicated, hairy, tiny strawberries put in my basket week after week from Eatwell. The Two Small Farms CSA season starts on March 15th so sign up soon! I know I am totally gushing but getting a box of great produce from Two Small Farms every week has totally changed how my family eats for the better. My only selfish gripe is that the CSA season is not year-round but I understand the reasoning behind it. Link: http://twosmallfarms.com Thu Feb 16 14:06:56 -0800 2006 213771 0 armaburrito 2 214001 I agree. Two Small Farms is wonderful. Fri Feb 17 13:54:20 -0800 2006 213816 0 Donna 1 214042 I've been a Fully Belly CSA member for over 3 years now and am completely satisfied. The quality of produce is outstanding and a great value for $14.25 (I don't get it delivered, but pick the box up at the Tuesday Berkeley farmers market). Of course, Winter is less exciting (potatoes and kale again?), but I love that it is year round. More than enough food for two who like to cook - but not too much that there is a lot of waste. Fri Feb 17 16:21:41 -0800 2006 213771 0 oaklandfoodie 1 214127 We've been members of Eatwell for at least two years. The quality and quantity is always good, and you can get farm fresh eggs now with your box. During the tomato season they pack so many different tomatoes in the boxes it's a steal. Winter has been lots of greens, which keeps us happy. I think Eatwell is excellent - highly recommended! Sat Feb 18 00:12:23 -0800 2006 213771 0 Kevin