These CSAs Deliver Fresh Meat and Produce From the Farm Straight to Your Door

4 years ago

Summer Sundays used to mean riding my bike to the farmers’ market and moseying through stands overflowing with bright produce, free samples, and farmers who could tell me exactly how to cook with rhubarb. Now that a pandemic has prompted many farmers to forgo their weekly trip to the market, many of us find ourselves searching for a new way to secure freshly picked fruits and veggies. The solve? Farm delivery services that drop crops right at your doorstep.

While nothing will replace the ritual of going to the farmers’ market and picking your own produce, the following delivery services come pretty darn close. (If you don’t call New York City, Austin, San Francisco, Chicago, or Seattle home, the database Farms That Are Delivering will tell you exactly which farms are delivering to your area.)

Farm delivery services near major metropolitan areas

1. New York City: Farm to People (starting at $25 per week)

Farm to People delivers small, medium, and large CSAs (community-supported agriculture boxes) of produce to Manhattan and some parts of Brooklyn and Queens. Inside, you’ll find a rotating variety of seasonal fruits and veggies. And you can also choose to add on produce, baked goods, meats, dairy, or eggs to your order so that the haul delivered to your doorstep actually lasts all week long. Right now, expect oyster mushrooms, blueberries, tomatoes, fennel, baby watermelon, and more summer deliciousness.

2. Austin: Farmhouse Delivery (starting at $23 per week)

Farmhouse Delivery sends ranch boxes of pasture-raised meat and produces boxes of peak-season produce to you so you don’t have to go anywhere to stock your fridge. As fruits and veggies move in and out of season, Farmhouse Delivery updates their website with recipes you can reference to use up every last parsnip and beet. Order a box now and you’ll get butter lettuce, spaghetti squash, green beans, and all the apples.

3. San Francisco: Green Hearts Family Farm (starting at $40 a week)

Green Hearts Family Farm lets you buy a whole year of CSA boxes so you don’t even have to think about buying fresh produce again until summer 2021 (you’re welcome). Everything the farm offers is pasture-raised, organic, and eco-driven. For this one, you won’t get to see what’s coming—so expect a surprise each week, San Franciscans.

4. Chicago: Nichols Farm Fruit and Vegetable CSA (starting at $240 for 8 weeks)

Expect six to seven crops from Nichols Farm Fruit and Vegetable CSA to arrive at your doorstep each week. If you want a look at what to expect in your box, you can check out the CSA’s seasonal calendar. Right now, apples, Swiss chard, apricots, artichokes, and garlic are all on the menu for tasty and fresh summer meals.

5. Seattle: Pacific Coast Harvest (self-priced)

Pacific Coast Harvest delivers highly-customizable boxes to different areas of Seattle throughout the week. You won’t find any standard boxes in its offerings; instead, you’ll get to pick from produce, animal products, and even specialty items like kale chips. From the website, you can see exactly where Pacific Coast Harvest sources its ultra-local ingredients.