What a shame! I'm sorry you are disappointed in your CSA share.

Here I've gotten great quality/quantity, but I'm paying more than double what you cited in your previous thread.

I hope it improves for you.

AM

From your previous post you are paying about $25 a week for local, fresh and organic produce.
I can't think that you would get any more anywhere else.

That's a paltry amount for $25.00, it seems to me. I shop organic and local at the farmer's market and get much more for the money.

Yep, $25/week for a whole share, but I split with a neighbor so the picture is $12.50 worth. Maybe it is what is to be expected. Maybe my expectations were too high. Nevertheless, it is a disappointment.

I'm not sure this farm is organic. Nothing in any of the information or on the farm's website mentions "organic."

This morning my neighbor and I went to our town's little farmer's market after leaving the CSA farm. All of the produce there is grown within 20 miles. I looked at what $12.50 could buy. I think I will do better next year just hitting the farmer's market on Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings.

Not all CSAs are created equal. I had a disappointing experience a couple of years ago with a CSA up here in gold country, but my daughter has been using a great one in Sacramento. It's frustrating because you want to eat locally grown produce, want to support local farmers, and want to eat fresher, healthier produce. But I found that most of the produce offered was poorer quality than what I could purchase at local farmers markets. Herbs that had already bolted, squashes that were gigantic, measly assortment of stunted tomatoes, etc. I ended up buying the same vegetables at the farmers market that I had received from the CSA in order to get something I actually wanted to eat. Needless to say, I didn't sign up for shares again.

Tomatoes? You got tomatoes in you CSA? When I picked up my few veggies today, I was given the opportunity to buy tomatoes, but they were not included in the CSA offering. They were $4/lb. At the little farmer's market in town, they were $1.50/lb. At the home of the man down the road, they were $1/lb. We chose to support the man down the road (he's 89 and has a huge tomato patch that he appears to work by himself).

bbstx, I'd certainly be disappointed in that "share" too, I'd expect much more for $25 from a CSA here.

Wasn't your share supposed to be enough for 4 people each week? No way would that plate feed two adults vegetables for a week, or not in my house anyway.

Nope, I wouldn't sign up with them again and I'd probably have to tell them why.

Annie

Shambo, which Sacramento CSA does your daughter use? We use Farm Fresh to You and are pretty happy with them, though the winter selection can get a little monotonous (but winter produce in Sacramento is still pretty good so I shouldn't complain).

annie1992, the picture is 1/2 of one share. We split with our neighbors. However, you are right, one share is supposed to be enough for a family of 4 for one week. So, mine should be enough for two for a week. I don't think so. :-(

I need to tell them how disappointed I am, but I keep thinking, "next week it will be better."

Cloud, I think my daughter uses the same CSA. She's very happy with them, or at least a whole lot happier than I was with the one I used in El Dorado County. I understand about winter monotony. I get pretty tired of apples being the main fruit choice. But you're right, there's still a lot of variety available. I try to hit the Sunrise all year market a couple of times during the winter months.

bbstx, if you want to see what our CSA delivers for a box, you can go to:
http://info2.farmfreshtoyou.com/index.php?cmd=BF&Service_Name=Regular

It will probably ask for a zip code so you can put in 95608. We usually get the "Valley box" which is the most local with everything coming from their farm or neighboring farms. The regular box goes a bit farther afield to get more winter variety. We get one regular box every 2 weeks and it works pretty well for supplying most of the produce for the two of us but we get some from the store to get additional variety. It is more economical for us to get that every two weeks instead of the $25 small box every week.

It seems like your farm might be trying to cater to those who like fancy baby vegetables (which are pretty expensive in the store) instead of providing a reasonable quantity.

You said you pick up your box, I think. Ours is delivered to our house.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://info2.farmfreshtoyou.com/index.php?cmd=BF&Service_Name=Regular

Wow! Cloud_swift, that is an impressive box of food you are getting.

I think you are right about the farm growing "different" veggies (DH keeps asking when he is going to get something "normal"). Nevertheless, there is not enough for a family of 4 for a week, as advertised, which is why I am so disappointed.

The concept of a CSA is that it is "member owned" unlike what you wouuld get at a Farmer's Market. So you are a shareholder and you should definately speak to the managment about your displeasure.

I grew up in farm country and am used to getting fresh produce at a farm market where I could see the produce growing out back. They brought in bushel baskets of the stuff right from the fields, and some of my friends worked there picking over the summer. Meanwhile, we got bags of tomatoes, scallions, cucumbers and zuchinni from friends' and coworkers' gardens. We've come so far from those days folks don't know what they are missing!!

We've gone from 10% of the country making a living from farming back when I was growing up to less than 5%. I don't think this bodes well for our future meals. Folks won't fight to preserve what they never knew in the first place.

lpink, I know your explanation of CSA is accurate, but I don't think that is how this one is working. I am pretty sure this is a commercial enterprise using the term "CSA" as a sort of shorthand to indicate pre-payment of weekly veggies.

There is another CSA in our area. They ask their subscribers to come help out in the fields when they can. I think that is closer to an actual Community Supported Agriculture farm, isn't it?