Category — CSA

1. Shop at your local farmer’s market. If you wait towards the end of the market, many farmers are willing to sell at lower rates to get rid of inventory.
2. Join a local CSA in your area for a weekly produce box, fresh from a local farm. Some of these items are much cheaper than at Whole Foods. Some examples of CSAs are FarmFreshToYou and others found on Om Organics’ website in the San Francisco Bay Area.
3. Find private label organic food items. At Safeway, they now sell their own organic food line O Organics. At Whole Foods, they have their 365 everyday value items. These items tend to have reasonable food prices.
4. Shop at your local co-op. My personal favorite is Rainbow Grocery in San Francisco. It is like the Costco of Whole Foods. Not necessarily the prettiest place to shop, but full of choices, bulk and great prices.
5. Buy bulk items. Don’t bother buying core items like rice and oatmeal from small boxes. At places like Whole Foods, and co-ops like Rainbow Grocery, it is easy to find wide varieties of healthy grains, nuts, dried fruits and other goodies in the bulk aisle. One of my favorite items is the almond butter, fresh and bulk.
6. My personal favorite store for value-Trader Joe’s. Sure their produce quality is not the best, but many of their packaged items are great prices.
7. Use food delivery services like Planet Organics in the San Francisco Bay Area. They deliver straight to your home once a week, and you can choose any items you want, unlike a CSA. I’ve been using them for a month, and really enjoy the quality of their produce.
8. Grow your own vegetables and fruits in your patio or yard. Tomatoes are especially a good thing to grow as they tend to be more expensive than other produce.
9. Find coupons for organic and local food. Whole Foods has a coupon flyer in their stores that has many discounts on natural food items. There are local guides such as Green Zebra and EcoMetro Guide that have dozens of discounts for organic and local items.
10. Avoid chains and try shopping at local markets. My favorite local market is Sigona’s in Redwood City for produce. Their produce prices are some of the best in the area given the quality of their organic and local sourcing. Another example is the Milk Pail in Mountain View.

I was fortunate to see a sneak preview of Food Inc a couple weeks ago at a special Yelp event in San Francisco. After the viewing, there was a Q&A session live with Michael Pollan and Robert Kenner. I was so excited to see the movie and listen to the panel. Here are some reactions from Yelp Elites.

In a nutshell, you will feel inspired to be careful what you buy and eat. I became vegetarian almost 20 years ago after watching a movie like Food Inc after watching the meat processing scenes. Those with quesy stomachs may want to not watch, but those with a foodie and green interest will want to see this film.

Famous foodies Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma) are featured along with forward thinking social
entrepreneurs like Stonyfield Farms’ Gary Hirschberg and Polyface Farms’ Joe Salatin, Food, Inc. reveals surprising — and often shocking truths — about what we eat, how it’s produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.

Here’s an interesting fact among many found in the film (and in Omnivore’s Dilemma if you’ve read the book)–Corn products include: ketchup, cheese, Twinkies, batteries, peanut butter, Cheez-Its, salad dressings, Coke, jelly, Sweet & Low, syrup, juice, Kool-Aid, charcoal, diapers, Motrin, meat and fast food.

Hmm, you’ve gotta wonder what’s in your food sometimes before you eat it. Many thumbs up for this movie!

With summer in full force, check out the San Francisco Bay Area’s 90 farmers market according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The picture above shows organic carrots and other veggies being sold by Calderon Organic Farms of Hollister.

Here is a list of resources from the San Francisco Chronicle to find a farmers market.

• SFGate. www.sfgate.com/food/farmersmarkets. A list of Bay Area farmers’ markets.
• Planet Drum. www.planetdrum.org/gc_farmers_markets.htm. Information about farmers’ markets and local agriculture.
• Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture. www.cuesa.org. Information about seasonality and the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market.
• California Federation of Certified Farmers’ Markets. www.cafarmersmarkets.com/search. Information about markets throughout the state.
• KQED. www.kqed.org/topics/home/cooking/farmers-markets.jsp. A market guide. =
• The Green Gate. www.nrdc.org/greengate/guides/markets.asp. National Resources Defense Council’s Bay Area guide.

One of my favorite places in the Bay Area is a small community farm and environmental education center for children called Hidden Villa. I took my parents one day to go hiking in their public trails, and we first started by looking at their wonderful vegetable garden where we ran into Hidden Villa’s cat. We then walked by their farms and pasture and then at the start of the trailhead from the creek. We saw beautiful leaves of different colors as we strolled by the creekside. We then hiked up the mountain where we saw the skyline view of neighboring San Antonio Park. Better yet, you can stay at their quaint hostel, which interestingly is the oldest hostel in California. You can also participate in their CSA program where you can buy a share of their produce. Don’t miss this oasis! Hidden Villa is located in 26870 Moody Road in Los Altos Hills.

Yesterday, I got my CSA box for the month from Capay Farms’ Farm Fresh to You program. All the produce is organic and locally grown through Capay or one of their partners. I’ve been with them for about half a year and so far I’ve enjoyed it quite a bit. You just let them know what box size you want, and whether you want the mix of veggies/fruits. They come and deliver straight to your door each month or week depending on your preference.

For $21.50 a box (I get the smaller box), you get 4 veggies and 2 fruits. This week I got about 1 lb of heirloom tomatoes, 2 lbs of star frinson red pears (see picture to the left), 1.5 lbs of organic grapes, 2 lemon cucumbers (never seen this before!), and organic bok choy. In the picture below, I stir fried the bok choy for dinner today in fresh ground garlic and ginger and then tossed some salt, soy sauce and sesame oil to complete the dish. Give this CSA program a try! They deliver to most of the Bay Area.

Yesterday, my family and I went to a secret orchard in Cupertino where we picked fresh apples and heirloom tomatoes. This orchard is not open to the public but you can find their apples sold by Irene at the Palo Alto Farmer’s Market. Their Macintosh apples and heirloom tomatoes were delicious and much cheaper. Plus, it’s a fun and more fulfilling experience to see where the food comes from.

Here are some other locations to pick organic produce in the Bay Area:

• Gabriel Farm, Sebastopol (apples), must make reservations in advance
• Mariquita Farm, Hollister (heirloom tomatoes), Saturday, September 16
• Nicasio Valley Farms Pumpkin Patch, Nicasio Square (pumpkins, strawberries) Sunday, October 8
• Web Ranch Farm, Menlo Park (berries, flowers, apples, corn)
• Swanton Berry Farm, Davenport (strawberries, olallieberries, kiwi, Christmas trees). California certified Organic Farm.